Here are video highlights from the NJSIAA Non-Public A State Championship between St. Joseph’s of Metuchen and St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City. St. Joseph’s, winnners of Non-Public A South for the second straight year, fell behind early as the Marauders took an 11-4 lead, but slowly and surely, Joes climbed back into the game as it trimmed the deficit to one at the end of the first, and then took the lead at 22-19 going into the intermission.
St. Joseph’s pulled away in the second half by outscoring St. Peter’s Prep by a score of 35-28 in the second half, but it wasn’t easy. The Falcons only led 39-37 with 3:42 remaining, and had to close the game with a 18-10 run as Karl Towns, who was saddled with foul trouble, flushed home two dunks to seal the win.
The Falcons shot 50 percent from the field while the Marauders shot only 37 percent. St. Joseph’s was 73 percent from the line while St. Peter’s was 75 percent. Both teams shot 25 percent from three and had nine points from beyond the arc. St. Joe’s had fewer fouls (15-18), and outrebounded St. Peter’s Prep by a margin of 29-20. The big three of Wade Baldwin (17 points), Marques Townes (14 points), and Karl Towns (12 points) combined for 43 of the Falcons 57 points on 15 of 26 shooting.
Jimbo Long had some key contributions though including a three pointer en route to his 7 points while Raven Owen came off the bench to score 5 points. James Ziemba rounded out the Falcon scoring with two points on a key layin in the second half. Trevis Wyche led St. Peter’s Prep with 16 points while backcourt mate, Austin White added 14. Vic Jusino chipped in with 9 points, but only had two in the second half before fouling out. With the win, St. Joe’s became the first Middlesex County team to win back to back state titles since Sayreville in 1951-52.