PLAINFIELD, NJ—GMC Hoops traveled out to Plainfield High School one last time to take in the first HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic Championship it has seen since 2003 when South Plainfield defeated Plainfield for its second straight Fall-Ball Classic Championship. Ironically, Plainfield was in this year’s title tilt as the Cardinals were making their third straight appearance, and fourth in the last five years. There would be another source of irony though because like in 2003, the Cards would fall short this time as the Cougars of Columbia in Maplewood not only avenged last year’s Championship Game with a 57-48 victory, but also earned its first ever Fall-Ball Classic crown. The Cougars, which compete in the Iron Division of the Iron Hills Conference, managed to do this despite having standout player, Yvon Raymond in foul trouble in the second half, and with Plainfield having one of its top players, Isiah Epps back in the lineup after missing the semifinal game against Watchung Hills.
Columbia got solid efforts from role players such as Floyd Melvin, who knocked down a couple key trifectas at the beginning of the second half, Kenny Rubenstein, who drained a couple key treys himself a short time later in half number two, and Jamal Reynolds, who played well in the paint for the third straight game. Jameel Grace did a great job of pushing the ball upcourt, penetrating and kicking to his teammates for open shots while stepping up and knocking down pivotal foul shots down the stretch to put the game away. Speaking of foul shots, from the time GMC Hoops arrived in the gym at the 7:31 mark of the first half until the 6:56 mark of the second half, the Cougars shot only 1 of 8 at the free throw line. However, in the final 6:56, Columbia came up big with 12 of 15 from the charity stripe to go 13 of 23 overall in the final 27:31 of the contest. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Plainfield started strong at the line with a 6 of 6 showing at the free throw line in the final 7:31 of the first half, and then made only 3 of 6 attempts in the second half. Another key was the three point shot as Columbia made four threes over the final 27:31 while Plainfield only had a trey by Mike Price at the 35.3 second mark of the first half. To the Cardinals credit, they battled like a defending champion should after being down 22-9 in the first 12:29 of the game. Plainfield fought back with a 13-5 spurt to end the half including nine points by Price and four by Anthony Baskerville to make it a five point, 27-22 lead for Columbia at the break.
Unfortunately for Plainfield, it couldn’t get any closer as Columbia went up by as many ten once, and as much as nine five times in the second half (40-31 at the 12:32 mark, 47-38 at the 6:00 mark, 51-42 at the 1:21 mark, 55-46 at the 52.32 mark, and the final 57-48 score). Twelve of those points in the second half came by way of the three pointer as both Melvin and Rubenstein connected for both of their treys within the first 9:51 for a 43-33 lead. Now, while the Cardinals would fight back with a 9-4 rally over the next 6:49 to pull within five at 47-42 at the 3:02 mark, the hometown team couldn’t get any closer than that as the Cougars pulled away down the stretch with a 10-6 showing for the nine point, 57-48 victory. The Cougars scored 22 of the first 31 points over the first 12:29 to open the game, and Plainfield didn’t get another point until the 5:50 mark so that Cardinals were held under ten points for the first 14:10 of the contest. Shortly after our arrival, John Wrool picked up a blocking foul for the Cardinals, but it didn’t have any consequence as Columbia didn’t cash in on it. Plainfield finally broke through with a little less than six minutes remaining in the first half as Baskerville was fouled on the drive, and netted two free throws for a 22-11 Cougar lead.
A little less than a minute later, Columbia went back up by thirteen as Raymond got the ball on the right side, and made a spin and drive past Isiah Epps for a score over several Plainfield defenders to make it a 24-11 game at the 4:55 mark. On a subsequent Cardinal possession, Mike Price got an offensive rebound, and was fouled on the follow, which resulted in a pair of free throws for a 24-13 Cougar lead at the 4:20 mark. Thirty seconds later, Columbia went back up by thirteen again at 26-13 as Raymond got an easy layup off a fast break opportunity at the 3:50 mark. Plainfield refused to let the lead get any bigger than that though as Baskerville cashed in on being fouled during a putback attempt by making both his foul shots for a 26-15 Columbia lead at the 3:26 mark. After Raymond made one of two from the line at the 2:32 mark for a 27-15 advantage, Plainfield scored the last seven points of the first half as an offensive rebound by Dominique Blackmon off a missed jumper by Price was cashed in for a score with under a minute left, Epps stripped the ball from Jamal Reynolds for a steal and assist on a three point by Price with 35.3 remaining, and then Price got a steal himself, and converted that into a layup at the 18.8 mark to make the halftime tally, 27-22 in favor of Columbia. In the second half, the Essex County school outscored their opponent by a four point, 30-26 margin to come away with the win.
It would be Plainfield though with the first points of the second half as the Cards got a basket within the first 17 seconds after the intermission for a 27-24 Columbia lead. However, the Cougars reasserted themselves thanks to Floyd Melvin, who connected for a three pointer from the right wing for a 30-24 lead at the 19:24 mark. The Cardinals then turned the ball over on a carrying call assessed to Epps at the 18:58 mark, but Columbia couldn’t take advantage. Eventually, Plainfield was able to cut the lead again to four on a steal by Shaun Blackmon, who passed downcourt to Price, who then dished to Wrool for a layup that made the score, 30-26 at the 18:29 mark. Once again though, Melvin scored from downtown on a shot from the left side to help his team keep Plainfield at arm’s length as the score now read 33-26 with 18:15 to play. The Cards then scored the next three points over a span of 1:33 with a basket, and then one of two at the line by Baskerville at the 16:42 mark to close the gap again to four at 33-29. Approximately 1:16 later, Columbia pushed its edge back up to six with a score before Grace found Reynolds underneath for a layup attempt that resulted in a foul at the 15:26 mark. Unfortunately, Reynolds couldn’t cash in as he missed both free throws, and the score remained 35-29.
A little more than a half minute after that, Baskerville connected on a jumper from the right wing to cut into Columbia’s lead again, and make the score, 35-31 at the 13:54 mark. Once more though, the Cougars used the three pointer to give them much needed breathing room as Grace found Rubenstein in the left corner for a trey that made it a seven point game at 38-31 with 12:54 to play. Grace, who was constantly on the attack, then followed that up some twenty-two seconds later with a short jumper to make it 40-31 with 12:32 remaining. Columbia could have gone up by even more as Rubenstein was fouled on a putback attempt off a Grace miss, but went 0 of 2 at the line with 12:02 left so it remained a nine point lead. Plainfield then got a basket to pull within seven at 40-33 before Grace penetrated and kicked out to Rubenstein on the left wing for another key three to make it a ten point lead at 43-33 nearly midway through the second half. On the ropes, Plainfield tried to bounce back into the contest as Baskerville got a score while being fouled for a three point play at the 9:33 mark for a 43-36 lead. Epps followed that up with a layup while being fouled himself, but misfired on the bonus free throw for a 43-38 Columbia lead with 7:15 left.
Adding more fuel to the fire was the continued poor shooting at the foul line by the Cougars. With 6:56 to play in the game, Grace made a nice drive and spin for a shot attempt that he was fouled on. However, the senior point guard, who went six of eight at the line in the second half, misfired on a couple attempts from the charity stripe. Picking Grace up was fellow teammate, Reynolds, who took in a pass by Rubenstein following a rebound by the Columbia guard off a miss by Price, and went in for a layup attempt and was fouled resulting in two free throws for a 47-38 advantage at the six minute mark. Price got those free throws back with two from the line himself after getting an offensive rebound, and being fouled on the follow at the 4:33 mark for a 47-40 Columbia lead. About a minute and a half later, Baskerville made a sharp pass from close range underneath to Epps for a layup that made the score, 47-42 in favor of the Cougars with 3:02 remaining. However, that would be as close as Plainfield would get the rest of the way as Columbia pulled away thanks to a strong finish at the free throw line by making 10 of its last 13 shots for the nine point victory. With the victory, Columbia finished the fall unblemished at 13-0 while Plainfield ended up at 8-5.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia (13-0) | 27 | 30 | 57 |
| Plainfield (8-5) | 22 | 26 | 48 |
Note: As mentioned earlier, it was Columbia’s first ever Championship in the Fall-Ball Classic. The Cougars joined the HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic in the 2003 season, and each year they went further in the playoffs. In its inaugural season in the league, Columbia lost to Roselle Catholic in the second round. The following season, 2004, the Cougars were defeated by Bridgewater in the Quarterfinals. The following year, 2005, the Cougars lost to Immaculata in the semis. Last year, Columbia was defeated by Plainfield in the Championship, and finally this year, they broke through by dethroning the two-time defending champs. A salute should be given to the two-time defending champs, which over a five year period, went 51-13 as a program including an unbeaten 13-0 in 2006, won two championships, and made four finals appearances.