ROSELLE, NJ–On Sunday afternoon, GMC Hoops headed over to Roselle Catholic High School for the first time in almost four years to see Bishop Ahr take on Franklin in both the Freshmen and JV Tournaments. It was a tough today for the Trojans underclassmen as Franklin won both games.
Franklin Pulls Away From Ahr In Freshmen Tourney, 49-39
In the opener of the Freshmen Tournament, the Little Warriors of Franklin held a 36-30 lead with 5:16 to play. The Somerset County school then outscored BGA by a 13-9 margin the rest of the way for the ten point victory. The Little Trojans, which were being coached by varsity coach, Dennis O’Keefe, went 3 of 8 at the line over the final five plus minutes, and couldn’t get closer than six points.
Ahr had chances to get closer early on, but missed the front end of a one and one at the 4:30 mark, and then was called for traveling at the 4:08 mark. Seconds later, Franklin got a field goal to go up by eight with just inside four minutes to play. After the Little Trojans made one of two from the foul line, the Little Warriors got a basket and the foul for a conventional three point play that put them up 41-31 with 3:29 remaining. Bishop Ahr scored the next four points on a basket while being fouled (missed the bonus free throw) and a short jumper to pull within six again at 41-35 before Franklin responded with a layup and one of two from the line for a 44-35 lead with 2:09 left.
FHS then closed out the game with a 5-4 run to get the victory and advance to the Championship Game on Tuesday night.
Franklin’s First Half Surge Enough For Slim Victory, 51-50
In the Junior Varsity Tournament’s opening game, Bishop Ahr almost came back from a 12 point halftime deficit, but lost by one. The game was a battle right from the get go as both teams exchanged leads three times before the Junior Trojans went on a 6-0 run to take a 10-5 lead at the 4:30 of the first quarter. The Junior Warriors responded by making a 9-6 run to end the period, but Ahr still led by two at 16-14 heading into the second.
After a one of two showing at the line by Franklin to start the second, the Junior Trojans got a three pointer and a layup for a 5-0 run to take a 21-15 lead at the 5:10 mark. However, they didn’t score for the rest of the period as Franklin got a basket and then a three point play to spark a 17-0 rampage the rest of the half. The Junior Warriors capped the run with two offensive rebounds for putbacks, and then a last second heave for a three pointer to take a 32-21 lead at halftime.
In the second half, BGA rallied with a 29-19 effort, but it fell short as Franklin advanced to the Championship Game on Tuesday night.