Plainfield Pulls Away From Neptune In Tremendous Display of Talent And Athleticism
TOMS RIVER, NJ–For three quarters, Neptune gave Plainfield all it could handle. Playing virtually in its backyard, the Scarlet Fliers, winners of the Central Jersey Group III Championship, and state semifinal winner over historic rival Camden, took it to a Plainfield Cardinals team that may have been looking ahead at a possible rematch with St. Anthony’s in the Tournament of Champions. However, the Cards showed what great teams are made of in the fourth and final frame to earn its second straight state crown.
Despite the 58-48 final score, the game was much closer than that. Neptune actually dominated much of the first half. Playing an up-tempo style that Plainfield had trouble keeping up with at times, the Scarlet Fliers opened up a 26-14 lead. With Keith Kirkwood, Ikie Calderon, and Jaheem Woods making plays and hitting shots, Neptune was able to take it to the defending Group III champs. However, Plainfield fought back with a 13-0 spurt including the last seven points of the first half, and the first six points of the second half to take a 27-26 lead early in the third.
After both teams went back and forth for a bit, and Neptune took a 35-34 lead into the fourth, Plainfield closed the game with a 24-13 showing to come away with the ten point victory. There was a ton of great plays in this game by both sides. True, there was the incredible one handed dunk from about the foul line by Plainfield’s Dijon Allen-Jordan late in the first half that got the Cards going, but there were a lot of great defensive and hustle plays as well. The first four minutes of the contest was the busiest and most back and forth exchange between two teams without much in the way of points that I ever saw.
There were blocked shots, steals, players diving for loose balls, and both teams going up and down the floor. Both teams had a lot of energy in those opening minutes. Neptune was the first two settle in though with four straight points to take an 8-3 lead with about three minutes left in the first period. Justin Sears, the Yale bound forward from Plainfield, who had nine blocked shots for the game, had five alone in the first period. His defense helped the Cardinals withstand the early onslaught by the Scarlet Fliers. Neptune also had a number of blocked shots, and these weren’t your typical varsity basketball blocks, they were major league swats. After taking a 12-8 lead at the end of the first, the Fliers, which won the Shore Conference title over Colts Neck in February, opened the second period with a 14-6 tear to take a 12 point lead.
The Cardinals would settle down though, and establish their game in the second half. Neptune wasn’t able to connect from the outside, especially when they needed threes late in the game. Sekou Harris, who struggled to find his shot in the first half, took over in the fourth period to end up with 14 points on the night for Plainfield. His aggressive drive to the basket for a layup from the right side with about a minute to go in the contest, helped put the game away. Allen-Jordan ended up with 17 points including three dunks while Jahmal Lane added 13 for the Cards. Sears ended up with 11 points and 17 rebounds in addition to his 9 blocks. The Fliers were led by Kirkwood with 15 points while Calderon chipped in with 14, and Woods added 13 points in a losing cause.