Second Quarter Explosion Propels Lions Into T of C Final, 78-64
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ–All season long, Newark Tech, the Group II state champion, and fifth seed in this year’s Tournament of Champions, has started slow in games.  Against Medford Tech in the Group II state final at Rutgers, the Terriers trailed 16-6 after a quarter.  Then, in the opening round of the  T of C, Newark Tech fell behind by 16 late in the second before rallying.
On Friday night against top seeded Roselle Catholic, the Terriers got off to a fast start by scoring the first five points of the game, and having a 7-4 lead with a little less than three minutes gone by in the contest. Â The good start for the Terriers proved to be a bad omen. Â The Lions, playing their first game in almost a week, turned the tables by scoring 11 of the last 13 points of the period, and then breaking the game open in the second with a 31-13 surge for a 46-22 lead late in the frame before going into halftime up, 48-28.
Roselle Catholic never let Newark Tech get closer than 14 points after that en route to an easy 78-64 victory. Â Five RC players scored in double figures including four starters. Â The Lions outscored the Terriers by a margin of 24-9 from beyond the arc. Â The Union County school also had an 18-13 edge in free throws made while Newark Tech had more two point field goals (21-18). Â Malachi Richardson led all scorers with 21 points for Roselle Catholic while Rakwan Kelly was a bright spot for the Terriers with 19 points. Â Newark Tech had three players score in double figures as Dwayne Murrill chipped in with 13and Tyree Sykes added 10.
Despite the physical play that developed in the second half, Hakim Saintil managed to chip in with 13 points including seven from the line for the Lions while Kory Highsmith came off the bench, and fired in 11 points including three treys. Tyler Roberson and freshman Asante Gist added 10 points each for the winners. Â The game was over by the half as Roselle Catholic outscored Newark Tech by a margin of 46-17 over a span of 12:41 to take a 24 point lead. Â The Lions sank five of their threes in the second quarter. Â Roselle Catholic was able to get out in transition and get easy baskets in the form of threes or layups. Â While Newark Tech didn’t give up, and kept fighting until the end, the damage was done. Â
The Terriers tried to get more physical in the second half.  Saintil was fouled hard on several occasions in the second half as things got a bit chippy.  However, the Lions didn’t lose their cool, and instead increased their lead back to 20 late in the fourth quarter before Newark Tech finished the game with the final six points.  According to the Star-Ledger, Roselle Catholic shot 70 percent from three in the  first half, and ended up shooting 61 percent from long distance for the entire contest.  The Lions also took advantage of mistakes by Newark Tech as they converted eight first half turnovers into 13 points.  Both teams had 9 players get into the contest with seven of them scoring.
The win improved RC’s record to 24-6 overall on the season, and put the top two seeds in the T of C final for the first time since 2010. Â Newark Tech finished the season at 23-9.