GMC Hoops Highlights–March 21, 2016–#3 Linden vs. #1 St. Anthony’s–TOC Boys Final

Here are highlights from the action in the 2016 NJSIAA T of C Final between third seeded Linden and top seeded St. Anthony’s at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton. St. Anthony’s claimed its 13th overall T of C title, and first since 2012 with a 55-38 victory over Linden. The Friars jumped out to a 12-4 first quarter lead on a three pointer by R.J. Cole, two layups by Idris Joyner, a three by Asante Gist, and a floater before the buzzer by Jagan Mosely.

Linden battled back though by scoring the first 8 points of the second on threes by point guard Joey Krempa and sophomore Tavon Jones, and a bucket by Jones to knot the score at 12-12. St. Anthony’s retook the lead on back to back layups by Gist before Linden got another three from Krempa, and then a free throw to tie the score again at 16-16. The Friars would take the lead for good though by scoring 8 of the last 12 points including another trey by Gist, who had 10 first half points while Joyner chipped in with eight. Jones led Linden with 7 points while Krempa chipped in with 6.

The third quarter saw St. Anthony’s increase its advantage even further with a 17-8 showing including a layup by Joyner at the 4:50 mark for a 33-23 lead and a trey by Gist late in the period for a 41-28 lead. The Friars maintained their 13 point lead at 46-33 when Joyner got another score inside off a great feed by R.J. Cole at the 5:44 mark. Cole then got into the act with a transition layup at the 3:11 mark for a 53-37 lead. St. Anthony’s then ran out the clock for much of the last two minutes of the contest as it cruised to a 55-38 victory.

Gist and Joyner were huge in this game for St. Anthony’s. Gist, who had played his first two seasons at Roselle Catholic before transferring to Marist a year ago, and then to St. Anthony’s this year, finished with 16 points including four threes while Joyner added 12 points. R.J. Cole, who transferred in from Newark Tech a year ago, chipped in with 11 points while Georgetown bound, Mosely finished with 10. Linden was led by Khalief Crawford with 13 points including three treys while Jones finished with 12. Both teams combined to have 13 different players score in the contest including 7 for St. Anthony’s and 6 for Linden. Each team had six threes in the contest as well.

According to NJ.com, St. Anthony’s had a 21-20 edge in rebounds including 11 from guard Juvaris Hayes, who also dished out 7 assists. The Friars also had a 9-2 edge in points scored from the foul line, and a 28-18 edge in points scored from within the arc. Leading 21-20 late in the first half, St. Anthony’s outscored Linden by a margin of 34-18 over the last 17 minutes or so of the game. With the victory, St. Anthony’s improves to 32-0 and 13-1 in TOC finals, and 28-1 overall in the 14 years it has appeared in the TOC. The only loss suffered during that stretch was to Elizabeth in 1990. One of those years, 1995, the Friars were actually a 3rd seed, played all three rounds and won it all by defeating top seeded Shawnee (47-44). Linden concludes its season at 25-6, and the public school T of C drought now extends to 17 years.