Tigers Reach North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Semifinals for 1st Time Since 2007
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ—For the first time in 15 years, South Plainfield will be playing in a sectional semifinal. On Thursday afternoon, the 2nd seeded Tigers equaled its entire first half output in a 29-15 third quarter surge to turn what was an eight point halftime deficit into a 58-36 lead. From there, South Plainfield cruised to a 73-54 victory over 10th seeded Mount Olive of Morris County in the 2022 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Quarterfinals at a raucous Cotoia Gymnasium.
Junior guard, Brandon Dean led the charge for the Tigers as he shared game high honors with 28 points including three treys. Senior Anthony Nigro and junior Tareak Williams chipped in with 13 points apiece. Sophomore forward Ikenna Ibeku added 6 points while Joe Oduro also contributed with 5 points. Jack Massett (4 points), Steven Moench (2 points), and Michael Mendez (2 points) rounded out the Tigers’ scoring.
Tony Del Vescovo led the Marauders of Mount Olive, a first round winner over 7th seeded Millburn, with 28 points to share game high with Dean. Sean Harris and Donovan Rauh each chipped in with 7 points while five other players: Brandon Risueno, Nicolas Del Vescovo, Jalani Joseph, Will Ncoletti, and Anthony Giammonco scored two points apiece.
The Tigers, which last reached the semifinal round of a sectional tournament in 2007, outscored Mount Olive by a 42-28 margin from within the arc, and a 27-12 margin from long distance while the Marauders had a 10-4 edge in points scored from the foul line. South Plainfield outscored Mount Olive in each of the first three periods as it built up a 22 point lead.
The game was tenuous for much of the first quarter with South Plainfield only leading by one at 10-9 late in the period before scoring the last six points including two scores from Dean to take a seven point advantage into the second period. South Plainfield then began the second by scoring 7 of the first 12 points including a layup by Williams off a superb dish from Nigro for a 23-14 lead at the 3:53 mark.
After the Tigers added a three pointer to go up by a dozen at 26-14, Mount Olive scored seven unanswered points including a three from the left wing, and two layups to close the gap to 26-21. However, the Marauders were unable to get any closer as South Plainfield finished the first half with the final three points including a layup by Nigro to lead by eight at 29-21 going into the intermission.
When play resumed in the third quarter, South Plainfield picked up the tempo offensively, and ended up scoring as many points in the frame as it did during the entire first half. As a result, the Tigers increased their lead by nearly three fold. Over the first 2:54 of the second half, South Plainfield scored 7 of the first 9 points including a putback by Oduro for a 36-23 lead with a little over five minutes to play in the third.
Williams, Nigro, and Dean then connected for threes during a 12-5 spurt to push South Plainfield’s advantage to 20 at 48-28. Williams then added two more treys as the Tigers scored 10 of the last 18 points in the frame for its largest lead of the contest. In the fourth period, the Tigers were outscored 18-15 by the Marauders, but still got threes from Williams and Dean while Massett wrapped up the win with two scores down the stretch.
With the victory, South Plainfield improved to 22-6 overall on the season, which represents the most wins by the school since the 2003-04 SPHS team when the team won its first ever GMCT, reached the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Championship, and finished 27-1. The Tigers advance to the sectional semifinals, where they will host 3rd seeded West Morris Central at Cotoia Gymnasium on Saturday at 11:00 AM.
South Plainfield Boys Basketball—All Time Seasons
| Year | Record |
| 2003-04 | 27-1 |
| 1963-64 | 24-1 |
| 1959-60 | 21-1 |
| 1964-65 | 22-3 |
| 1990-91 | 24-4 |
| 2021-22 | 22-6 |
| 1961-62 | 20-4 |
| 1989-90 | 20-8 |
Meanwhile, Mount Olive concluded its season at 15-12. In other action in North Jersey Section 2 Group 3, top seeded Colonia pulled away from a 40-36 lead early in the fourth period by scoring 17 of the last 24 points for a 57-43 victory over 9th seeded Cranford. Saivon Pressley sparked the final spurt with a traditional three point play at the 6:48 mark.
Pressley added another score while Billy Anderson chipped in with a bucket to help the Patriots increase the lead to 48-36 before Cranford scored four unanswered to draw within single digits again at 48-40 with 2:58 remaining. Colonia increased its lead to a baker’s dozen at 53-40 after a layup from Noah Taylor and a three point play by Jaeden Jones with 1:48 to play.
Taylor then added another score underneath to wrap up the victory. Colonia will now face 5th seeded Mendham, which was a 41-34 winner over 4th seeded Voorhees in Glen Gardner. The last time South Plainfield reached the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 semifinals in 2007, it lost to Colonia in CTown, 61-41. The then top seeded Patriots went on to defeat Union Hill in the championship, 84-83 in three overtimes at Plainfield High School.