Calzonetti Unstoppable In 2nd Half To Lead Point Beach To First Ever Title
PISCATAWAY, NJ–For the first time in school history, Point Pleasant Beach has a state title for boys basketball. Â In a battle of choice schools, the Garnet Gulls broke away from a 26-25 lead after three quarters with a 17-8 run to start the fourth for a 43-33 lead late in the fourth before winning, 43-39 over Jonathan Dayton of Springfield in the Group I State Championship at Rutgers on Sunday night.
Riley Calzonetti played a huge role in the win. Â The only double digit scorer in the game with 18 points, Calzonetti finished well as he scored 12 of those points in the second half. Â Jonathan Dayton had more people get into the scorebook (7-6), had more score in double figures (2-1), and had more points from beyond the arc (9-6), but Point Beach had more two point field goals (14-12) and free throws made (9-6).Â
The Garnet Gulls also scored in double figures in three of the four periods played while the Bulldogs only did that in two of the periods. Â One big key to Point Beach’s victory was its ability to shut down Dayton’s top scorer, Jared Clayton, who only scored four points including the first bucket of the game. Â The Bulldogs got a big performance from Jared Clayton in the sectional semifinals against Dunellen, but the sharpshooting guard was unable to get on track against Point Beach.Joe Rogers came off the bench to score a team high 12 points for the Bulldogs as the Gulls were unable to put the clamps on him, particularly in the first half.
After Dayton jumped out in front on Clayton’s layup, Point Beach responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points over a 3:26 span including its only two threes in the contest as four different players scored for the Gulls to give them a 10-4 lead at the 2:49 mark.  The Bulldogs battled back with the final six points including four in the final 1:10 by Joe Rogers to tie the game at 10-10.  The second period continued to see a tight struggle with  Point Pleasant Beach getting a 10-7 edge for a 20-17 halftime lead as athletic forward Dominique Uhl scored all 7 of his points in the final 2:35 of the half including an alleyoop jam at the 1:30 mark, and a three from the left wing with under a minute to go in the half.
The third period was a back and forth battle between the two schools with four lead changes in the frame while neither team had a lead bigger than three points.  Dayton would score the first four points of the second  half on a pair of free throws by Anthony Cioffi at the 7:23 mark, and Youssef Zaki at the 5:20 mark for a 21-20 lead.  The Garnet Gulls scored the next four points including a bucket by Noah Yates at the 3:19 mark for a 24-21 lead.  Elijah Brown, who had 10 points including two threes for the Bulldogs, and Isaiah Rogers, who was also shut down with just two points, got scores at the 2:59 and 2:06 marks respectively for a 25-24 lead.
Calzonetti then took over with the final two points of the third for a 26-25 Garnet Gulls lead entering the fourth, and 11 of the first 13 Point Beach points of the final period on four field goals and 3 of  4 from the line to help give the Ocean County school a ten point cushion with just 24.6 seconds remaining.  P.J. Kinneavy, who had 9 points in the contest for the Gulls, scored the other  six points during the decisive run on a layup and two pairs of free throws.  Point Beach did a great job in the fourth of being disciplined and patient, which resulted in either an easy basket, or made free throws.  The Gulls were 7 of 8 from the line in the fourth including a perfect 6 of 6 in the game’s final minute.
Jonathan Dayton was playing in its second state final in three years.  Two years ago, Dayton lost to another Shore Conference school in Asbury Park in the 2011 Group I state final.  The Garnet Gulls rolled  into the state final with easy wins over Bound Brook in the Central Jersey Group I sectional championship and over Paulsboro in the state semifinal.  With the win, Point Pleasant Beach improved to  27-3 overall, and earned the sixth seed in the Tournament of Champions that gets underway on Wednesday night.  Dayton, which defeated University in the North Jersey Section 2 Group I sectional final and Waldwick in the other state semi, finishes its year at 22-6.