SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The eighth day of state tournament action has completed, and the lone GMC team remaining in state tourney play advanced. Top seeded and top ranked St. Joseph’s returned to the Non-Public A South Championship for the fourth time in five years with an impressive 98-69 victory over 4th seeded Notre Dame of Lawrenceville in the sectional semifinals. The two teams battled it out for the better part of two and a half quarters before Joes pulled away for a seemingly easy victory. The Falcons put on a show as they threw down four dunks in the contest that brought the house down. Here’s a capsule on the action from this contest:
Non-Public A South State Playoffs
For the fourth time in five years, the top ranked St. Joseph’s Falcons will be playing for the Non-Public A South Championship. The Falcons earned that right with a 98-69 victory over Notre Dame of Lawrenceville in the third edition of the Clash of the Turcos. The win was the third in as many meetings for Dave Turco over his brother Bob dating back to 2010. All three games were won by an average margin of 25 points per contest. The game was quite close early on though as Notre Dame battled St. Joe’s for much of the first half, and for a portion of the third quarter.
The Falcons jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to two early baskets including a three point play by sophomore center, Alanzo Frink, and a transition layup by Branislav Vujadinovic. However, the Irish fought back to pull within one. Then the game got heater skelter. First, with St. Joseph’s leading 17-13, Bree Tyree took a loose ball off of a rebound, and darted up court to throw down an apparent two handed dunk, but it was waived off due to a charging call on Tyree. Moments later though, Tyus Battle got his hands on a loose ball, and stampeded his way to a monster two handed jam that literally had the St. Joseph’s student section dunking for cover, and gave the Falcons a 21-16 lead with 1:15 to go in the first period.
Seconds later, Battle got the ball on an outlet pass again near midcourt along the sideline near the visitors section, and rambled again to the bucket for a second dunk as the Falcons took a 25-20 lead after one period. Tyree added an acrobatic score at the 6:51 mark for a 29-24 lead, but Notre Dame battled back again within one thanks to a 9-5 spurt over a 2:51 span for a 34-33 St. Joe’s lead midway through the second. The Falcons kept the Irish at arm’s length though with a 10-1 tear to take a 44-34 lead late in the period before Notre Dame scored five of the last seven points of the half for a 46-39 Joes lead at the intermission. The Irish had a chance to get closer as South Brunswick native, Isaiah Wong swiped a steal in the St. Joe’s backcourt, and went in for a layup, but the buzzer had sounded, and the score wasn’t allowed.
Notre Dame stayed within striking distance for a good deal of the third as well. St. Joseph’s opened the second half with a 15-12 run capped by a layin from Xavier Townes at the 3:02 mark for a 61-51 lead. The Irish scored the next four points including a three by Mike Walley that closed the gap to 61-55 with 2:13 remaining in the frame. The Falcons then scored 10 unanswered points in a span of just 1:37 including a trey by Khalif Battle before Wong connected on a trey from left wing for a 71-58 St. Joseph’s lead. Joes added another basket before the third period ended for a 73-58 advantage heading into the fourth. The final period saw Joes continue to pull away with a 25-11 showing that included scores from Tyus Battle, Mike Granda, Vujadinovic, Frink, and a two handed jam by Khalif Battle to wrap up the victory.
Tyus Battle finished with a triple double of 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists while Frink finished with a monster double-double of 31 points and 13 boards. Vujadinovic added 17 points while Tyree chipped in with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block. As a team, Joes had 7 blocks. Wong led Notre Dame in a losing cause with 19 points while Sean Hoggs and Troy Jones chipped in with 14. With the win, St. Joseph’s improved to 22-5 on the season, and will take on St. Augustine’s of Richland in the Championship Game on Thursday afternoon at 5:00 PM at Jackson Liberty High School. Notre Dame concludes its season at 27-3.