Spartans Finish Game on 24-2 Surge to Advance to Championship
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ—After having to delay the start of its 2021-22 season due to COVID protocols, Woodbridge was finally able to get things underway when it took on Immaculata in the opening round of the 2021 Monroe Township Holiday Tournament on Tuesday morning. The result was not a pleasant one for the Barrons as the Spartans finished the contest on a 24-2 tear to come away with a 74-41 win.
Junior guard, Sean Givens led the charge for Immaculata with a game high 24 points along with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Givens connected on 8 field goals including a three pointer and made 7 foul shots for the Spartans while Devin Pombo chipped in with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal, and Jayden Street added 13 points including a two handed fourth quarter jam, 8 boards, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.
Woodbridge was led by sophomore guard, Micah Eason, who had a team high 16 points along with a steal while senior forward, Nick Helenski chipped in with 6 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. The Spartans enjoyed a 44-14 advantage in points scored inside the arc, a 15-12 edge in points scored from long distance, and 13-10 edge in points scored from the line.
Immaculata also outrebounded Woodbridge by a 31-9 margin, handed out more assists (12-5), and swatted away 6 shots. The Barrons had a 6-5 edge in steals as freshmen Bryan Anderson (3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) and Derek Anderson (2 points and 2 steals) had two each in a losing cause. Both teams had 7 players score in the contest, but the Spartans had three score in double figures to the Barrons one.
Woodbridge dug a hole for itself early as Immaculata scored the first seven points of the game including a three from Pombo as he was fouled, and increased the advantage to 13-4 at the 2:46 mark. The Spartans then scored 5 of the last 9 points of the period including a three from just to the left of the top of the key by Givens for an 18-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter also didn’t start well for the Barrons as Immaculata scored 12 of the first 18 points for a 30-14 lead at the 4:11 mark despite a three from WHS’ Jake Serrano (3 points and 2 rebounds). Woodbridge didn’t give up though, and began to battle back by scoring 6 of the last 10 points of the first half including a score before the buzzer by Helenski that trimmed the deficit to 34-20 at the intermission.
Outscoring the Barrons by an 11-8 margin to start the 2nd half, the Spartans pushed the lead back up to 45-28 at the 3:46 mark of the third as junior Cameron Chadwick (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) scored in the paint to cap the run. Woodbridge continued to persist though as Kendall Pala (3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal) and Dylan Bradley (3 points) hit back to back threes to close the gap to 47-34, and Immaculata would enter the fourth leading 48-35.
The Barrons then scored 4 of the first 6 points of the final period as Eason struck for a triple from the right wing at the 7:05 mark to close the gap to 50-39, but they wouldn’t get any closer. The Spartans finally broke Woodbridge’s spirit with 6 straight points over a span of just 57 seconds as Street capped the run with a two handed jam off an alleyoop pass for a 56-39 advantage with 6:08 remaining in the contest.
Immaculata was never threatened after that as it closed the game with 18 of the last 20 points highlighted by a Miles Tucker three with 29 seconds left for the 74-41 victory. With the win, Immaculata, which didn’t play its first game of the season until it defeated Phillipsburg (60-47) on December 23rd, improved to 2-0, and advanced to face Monroe in the Championship Game at 12:00 PM on Thursday.
With the loss, Woodbridge dropped to 0-1, and will take on Monroe in a consolation game at 11:00 AM on Tuesday. Then, the Barrons will finally get into regular season play after the New Year with tough GMC White games at top ranked St. Thomas Aquinas on January 4th, and at 3rd ranked Colonia on January 6th.