GMC Hoops Game Notes–#6 Asbury Park vs. #3 Plainfield–NJSIAA Tournament Of Champions Quarterfinals–March 14, 2012

Cardinals Switch Defensive Tactics To Overcome Blue Bishops In 2nd Half

TOMS RIVER, NJ–In a rematch of last year’s T of C quarterfinal won by Plainfield, the third ranked Cardinals found itself in a bit more of a struggle this time around with an Asbury Park team that surged in the state playoffs to its second straight Group I state championship. In the end though, the Cards would prevail thanks to a change in defensive strategy in the second half.

Plainfield head coach, Jeff Lubreski, who is in his fourth year at the school, has always been a preacher of tough man-to-man defense. However, after Asbury Park took a page out of Neptune’s playbook from the Group III State Championship on Saturday with an up tempo style that attacked the basket to give the Bishops a 16-5 first quarter lead, Lubreski had to make adjustments.

At first, the Cardinals tried to slow Asbury Park down with a 1-2-2 zone press in the first half, which helped thwart the Bishops to some extent. Justin Sears (15 points) thundered home two slam dunks and Sekou Harris (13 points) knocked down two of his three treys to help Plainfield put together a 17-6 tear that knotted the game at 22-22. From there, the Cards went back and forth with Asbury Park for the final 4:30 of the half as the two teams combined for four ties and a lead change during that stretch.

In the second half, however, the Cardinals went to a 2-3 zone in the halfcourt, which stopped the Bishops ability to penetrate and drive to the basket like they had been able to do in the first half. Asbury Park was forced to beat Plainfield from the perimeter, which it could not do. The two time defending Group I champions only had one trey the entire game, and that was from Thomond Hammary (13 points) with under two minutes to play in the contest.

With Asbury Park unable to click from the perimeter and stifled from getting to the basket, Plainfield was able to get one and done possessions on the defensive end, get rebounds and out into the open floor for layups. Jahmal Lane (21 points) was the benefactor of many of these easy baskets, especially in the fourth quarter when Plainfield continued to pull away from a 48-40 third quarter lead. Leading by only one at 39-38 with 2:58 to go in the third, Plainfield went on a 15-2 tear including a flush by Sears to end the third.

After Asbury Park got a basket from Amir Conover at the 4:29 mark, Dijon Allen-Jordan (17 points) thundered home a dunk that sent all the Asbury Park fans to the exits as Plainfield led 56-42 a little less than midway through the final frame. For the game, the Cardinals had a total of seven dunks including four by Allen-Jordan and three by Sears. The Blue Bishops also had a couple dunks of their own thanks to the Conover twins, Amir (14 points) and Armond (18 points). It was another great display of athleticism on the floor although there weren’t as many blocked shots as there were in the Neptune game on Saturday.

Plainfield again was put on the ropes early in this one as Asbury Park fed off the energy of its large contingent of fans. The Blue Bishops had a 12-0 run over a span of 4:10 of the first period to turn a 5-4 deficit into an 11 point lead. The Cards also didn’t help themselves early on by missing 7 of their first 8 free throws. Eventually, the Union County Tournament and two time defending Group III champions, would settle down, and take over in the second half for the win. Plainfield advances to the TOC semifinals to take on St. Joseph’s of Metuchen on Friday night at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway.