Patriots Host South Plainfield in N2G3 Championship on Tuesday in Colonia
COLONIA, NJ—The Greater Middlesex Conference will have a sectional champion in 2022. After South Plainfield defeated West Morris Central in the other 2022 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Sectional Semifinal, Colonia hosted Mendham in the other semi, and overcame a 24-17 second quarter deficit with a 13-0 spurt to end the first half for a 30-24 lead, and never relinquished the lead en route to a 62-46 victory.
The Patriots victory not only set up the first sectional playoff meeting with South Plainfield since 2007, and the first in a sectional championship since 1990, but it also put Colonia in its third sectional final in the past four years. Keep in mind there were no state playoffs in 2020-21 due to COVID. Colonia has won North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 titles in 2007, 2015, and 2019, and also reached finals in 2008 and 2020.
Once again leading the way for Colonia was Saivon Pressley, who scored a game high 30 points including 9 total field goals (2 were threes), and 10 free throws, and also collected 4 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist. It was the fifth time this season that Pressley scored 30 points or more. Senior Justin Gordon chipped in with 13 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist while fellow classmate Billy Anderson added 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Junior Noah Taylor also contributed with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Sophomore Jaeden Jones only had one point, but handed out 10 assists while also picking up 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Senior forward, Mike Howell rounded out Colonia’s scoring with 2 points and a rebound while Matt Scherb, Anthony Gooden, and Demond Nelson also saw action for the Patriots.
Meanwhile, Mendham was led in defeat by Noah Pit, who scored a team high 18 points including four three pointers. Marty Mahoney and Mike Ewing each added 8 while Brian Walsh chipped in with five. Brendan Brunnock (3 points), Luca Cresti (2 points), and Dillon Higgins (2 points) rounded out the scoring for the Minutemen while football standout Frank Kontely and Tyler Cilio also played in the contest.
Falling behind 15-11 in the first period, Colonia outscored Mendham in each of the last three periods including a combined margin of 30-16 in the middle two periods to seize control of the contest. Although the Minutemen outscored the Patriots by a margin of 21-9 from long distance, Colonia enjoyed a 38-16 edge in points scored within the arc, and a 15-9 advantage in points from the line.
In addition, Colonia tallied 15 rebounds, 15 assists, 11 steals, and 2 blocks as a team in the contest. Mendham played with lots of passion and enthusiasm at the game’s outset. The Minutemen struck for two threes in jumping out to a 6-2 lead at the 5:10 mark. After Colonia battled back to tie the game at 6-6, Mendham responded with 9 unanswered points including a three pointer at the 1:25 mark for a 15-6 lead.
The Patriots closed out the opening period by scoring the last five points to draw within four, and got two buckets from Gordon to stay within four at 21-17 at the 4:55 mark. Mendham then sank a three for its largest lead of the game before Colonia took control for good. Anderson sparked the decisive rally for the Pats with a score underneath at the 2:55 mark. Pressley then sank a three from the left wing at the 1:13 mark, and swiped a steal for another score with 16.3 seconds to play in the half to highlight the rest of the 13-0 run for a 30-24 Patriots lead at the intermission.
After Mendham opened the second half scoring with a bucket, Colonia scored the next five including another Pressley three at the 5:07 mark for a 35-26 advantage. The Patriots then increased the edge to double digits at 41-31 heading into the fourth following a free throw from Pressley. Colonia pushed its lead to 11 when Anderson opened the final stanza with a score for a 43-32 advantage at the 5:16 mark.
Quickly responding on its next offensive possession, Mendham closed the gap to 43-35 with a three pointer at the 5:02 mark that prompted a Colonia timeout. Despite a three pointer by the Minutemen at the 2:52 mark, the Patriots still scored 6 of the next 11 points over a stretch of 2:10 for a 49-40 lead. The Pats then added 5 of the next 7 points including a steal and score from Pressley at the 2:02 mark for a 54-42 advantage.
Following another Mendham three to pull within 9 with 1:50 remaining, Colonia closed out the contest with 8 of the last 9 points including a bucket by Anderson. With the victory, Colonia improved to 24-4 overall on the season, and will host South Plainfield for the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Championship on Tuesday at Colonia High School. The Patriots have won 18 straight games versus the Tigers since losing to SPHS in 2005 GMCT Semis, and 26 of the last 33 meetings since GMC Hoops was launched in 2000-01.
With the loss, Mendham, which won 15 of its last 20 games since starting the season at 2-4 after a 92-84 loss versus Chatham on January 6th, concluded its season at 17-9. The Minutemen reached the sectional semifinals for the first time since losing to Plainfield in the 2012 North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Championship. Colonia played Mendham for the first time since opening round of 2011 N2G3 Tourney.