Bleriot Thompson and Chase Barneys Score In Double Figures To Lead Colonia Past Ahr, 48-29
NORTH EDISON–In a rare night game on this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Colonia and Bishop Ahr renewed their neighborhood rivalry in a crossover contest. Â The Patriots, led by senior forward, Bleriot Thompson and freshman guard, Chase Barneys, jumped out to a 18-6 lead midway through the second quarter, and never looked back in a 48-29 win. Â The victory was the third in the last four games for a Colonia team that started the season at 1-9.
The younger Barneys scored 10 points including two threes while the elder Thompson registered a game high 16 points on eight field goals.  Jodrell  Thompson chipped in with 8 points while James Corbett added 6.  Bishop Ahr, which had no players score in double figures, was led by senior guard, Greg Patuto with 9 points including his only three of the game from the left side of the key with 30.3 seconds remaining to help shape the final score.  Sophomore Tom Weiler chipped in with 8 points including a three as well.  Weiler scored seven of those points in the third quarter when Ahr trailed by nine on several occasions.
Colonia outscored Ahr by a 12-6 margin in points scored from beyond the arc. The Patriots also had more two point field goals (17-8). Â Ahr enjoyed a 7-5 edge in points scored from the foul line. Â The Pats scored in double digits in three of the four periods while the Trojans scored in single digits in each period. Â Eight different players scored for Colonia while only five did for the BGA. Â Entering the contest with two straight wins after losing three straight, Bishop Ahr struggled to get into the flow offensively as Colonia’s defense kept the Trojans out of sync.
Bishop Ahr got no closer than nine points over the last 19:24 of the contest.  The Trojans trailed by that much on six different occasions including twice at the end of the first half, and four times at the start of the third quarter before Colonia put the game out of reach.  Leading 29-20 late in the third, the Patriots scored the last four points of that period, and opened the fourth with a  14-6 tear to take a commanding 47-26 lead with a minute left.  Bleriot Thompson had at least six points during the run while Chase Barneys added a three, and Corbett made 3 of 4 from the foul line. Amir Allen also got into the act with his only points of the game on a teardrop shot from the right baseline in the waning moments of the third.
The Patriots have gotten off to bad starts in each of the last three seasons. Â Moving up to the tougher Red Division has been difficult for Colonia. Â However, head coach Chris Chiera has always found a way to get his Pats playing better in the second half of the season. Â Perhaps this recent stretch of success is only the beginning of another late season run.