Patriots Unable to Overcome First Half Struggles in Loss to Raiders
PHILLIPSBURG, NJ—On Thursday night, second ranked Colonia, the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 champion, was hoping the fourth time would be the charm. Three previous times since 2007, the Patriots had reached the Group 3 State Semifinals, and each time they were turned away. The most recent occasion was in 2019 when it fell to Ramapo, 35-32 at East Orange Campus.
Unfortunately due to first half struggles with turnovers and getting into a rhythm offensively due to Ramapo’s tenacious defense, Colonia fell to the Raiders for the second time in four years. The Patriots turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, and only went 4 of 17 from the field as they fell behind Ramapo, 25-11 late in the second period. Colonia rallied to pull within four twice late in the third, and once again early in the fourth, but in the end, couldn’t overcome the first half double digit deficit in a 49-39 Group 3 State Semifinal loss at Phillipsburg High School.
2022 NJSIAA Group 3 State Semifinal—Team Statistics
| Stat | Ramapo | Colonia |
| FG % | 55% | 42% |
| 3 PT FG % | 22% | 25% |
| FT % | 82% | 75% |
| Total Points Scored | 49 | 39 |
| Largest Lead | 14 | 1 |
| Points Scored Inside the Arc | 32 | 24 |
| Points Scored from Long Distance | 6 | 9 |
| Points Scored from the Line | 11 | 6 |
| Total Number of Players Scored | 6 | 5 |
| Players Scoring in Double Figures | 2 | 2 |
| Total Rebounds | 16 | 18 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 4 | 5 |
| 2nd Chance Points | 4 | 6 |
| Total Assists | 8 | 6 |
| Total Steals | 11 | 10 |
| Total Blocks | 0 | 2 |
| Total Turnovers | 12 | 15 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 15 | 11 |
| Team Fouls | 11 | 15 |
| Number of Players Fouled Out | 0 | 1 |
Leading the way in victory for Ramapo was sophomore Peyton Seals, who scored a game high 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting from the floor and 7 of 9 shooting from the foul line. Seals also collected 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Also scoring in double figures for the Raiders was junior Nathaniel Burleson, who added 12 points and a steal.
Meanwhile, for Colonia, sophomore point guard, Jaeden Jones scored a team high 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting including 2 of 3 from long range. Jones, also a football standout, scored 10 in the third quarter when the Patriots rallied from a 29-15 deficit with a 16-6 surge to trail by only four at 35-31 heading into the fourth. Jones also collected 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.
Game Links
- View the GMC Hoops Preview of this NJSIAA Group 3 State Semifinal Game
- View the 2022 NJSIAA Group 3 State Semifinals and Championship Bracket
- View the 2022 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 State Tournament Bracket
- View the GMC Hoops Game Notes from this contest
- View Ramapo’s statistics from this game
- View Colonia’s statistics from this game
- View photos from the action in this game courtesy of GMC Hoops
- View highlights from the action in this game courtesy of GMC Hoops
- Listen to the live radio broadcast of this game courtesy of Central Jersey Sports Radio
- View the live stream footage of this game courtesy of NJ.com
Senior guard, Saivon Pressley, who entered the contest averaging 20 points per game was limited to 11 points including just four in the first half. Pressley, who finished his career with 1,469 points, also picked up 3 rebounds, 3 steals, an assist, and a block. Fellow classmate, Billy Anderson also chipped in with 8 points, 4 rebounds, a steal, assist, and a block.
For the game, Colonia shot only 15 of 36 for 42 percent from the floor while Ramapo made 18 of 33 shots for 55 percent. In addition, the Raiders only committed 12 turnovers while forcing the Patriots to make 15. Ramapo converted Colonia’s miscues into 12 points while the Pats converted the Raiders mistakes into 11 points. Ramapo also made 11 of 14 from the line while Colonia made 6 of 8 foul shots.
There were only two lead changes in the contest. Ramapo’s largest lead was 14 on two occasions while Colonia’s only lead was 3-2 early on in the game. The Raiders seized control of the game after that by scoring 16 of the last 20 points of the opening period including 10 of the last 12, and the final 6 unanswered. Seals capped the crucial spurt with a putback of his own miss in the waning moments for an 18-7 edge going into the second.
Ramapo’s defense, which had Colonia all out of sorts including 10 of its turnovers in the first half, converted those miscues into 10 points including 8 in the first period alone. The Raiders built up a 21-9 lead after a three pointer by Chris Cervino (5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals), and then increased it to 25-11 after a dunk by Nathaniel Burleson and another score from Cervino, who scored all his points in this period.
On the other hand, Colonia’s offense remained stuck in either neutral or reverse. The Patriots went without a field goal for the last 7:26 of the second after Pressley got his final points of the opening half to narrow the deficit to 18-9. The only points the Pats could muster during the span were a pair of free throws from Anderson and Jones as they trailed by a dozen going into the intermission.
The third period didn’t start too well for Colonia either. Although the Patriots opened the second half scoring with a Jones layup off a steal by Anderson to trim the gap to 25-15, they quickly fell behind by 14 again. Ramapo responded with four unanswered points including a pair of free throws by Seals, and steal by Nathaniel Burleson that led to his second slam of the game for a 29-15 advantage.
Sensing the game and an opportunity to play in its first ever state championship slipping away, Colonia stepped up its game on the defensive end, and as a result, put together a 16-6 rally to end the third. Anderson sparked the run with a score to trim the deficit to twelve again at 29-17. Jones then struck for the first of his two threes in the period to get the Patriots within single digits at 29-20.
Anderson, who combined with Jones to score 14 of Colonia’s 18 points in the frame, grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, and then another off his own miss to score on a putback that pulled the Pats within seven at 29-22. One thing that Ramapo was able to do throughout the second half was to get key baskets at the right time such as a Nathaniel Burleson layup off a nice dish from Grant Sloan for a 31-22 lead.
Continuing to battle back though, Colonia scored the next four points including a bucket from Jones and two foul shots by Pressley for his only points of the third to close the gap further at 31-26. Once again though, Ramapo came up with a clutch score as Sloan scored off an assist from Wyatt Ellington-Manner (7 points, 4 steals, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists) to go back up by seven at 33-26.
The two teams then exchanged scores down the stretch to end the period. First, Jones connected for his final three of the game on a jumper from the right side to get the Patriots within four at 33-29. Seals then answered with a layup at the other end to put Ramapo back up by six at 35-29. Justin Gordon (6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal) closed out the third quarter scoring with a putback of his own miss as time ran out to pull the Pats within four again at 35-31 heading into the final stanza.
As it had done in the final minutes of the third, Ramapo began the fourth with another huge score. The Raiders opened the final period scoring with a clutch three pointer from the right corner by Ellington-Manner off an assist from Seals to take a 38-31 lead. Colonia refused to go away though as it scored 4 of the next 5 points to pull within four again at 39-35 thanks to baskets from Anderson and Gordon, who scored all 6 of his points in the second half.
Sadly, Colonia was unable to get over the hump and get any closer in the contest. Ramapo got another important basket in the form of a Nathaniel Burleson layup off another dish by Sloan to go back up by six 41-35. Sophomore Nehemiah Burleson followed that up with a score of his own as he was fouled for a conventional three point play, and a 44-35 advantage.
Ramapo, which closed the contest with a 10-4 spurt, then sealed the game at the line by making 6 of 7 down the stretch. The Raiders made 7 of 10 from the charity stripe in the final frame including 5 of 7 from Seals. Colonia was 4 of 8 from the floor in the fourth, but missed both of its three point attempts. In addition, the Patriots, which had only one miscue in the third, made 4 turnovers in the fourth, which led to three Ramapo points.
With the victory, Ramapo improved to 23-6 overall on the season, and advanced to its second state championship game in the last four years. The Raiders faced Woodrow Wilson High School of Camden, and lost in the state final (43-42) to conclude its year at 23-7. Colonia finished its season at 25-5 overall with three of those losses to the GMC’s top team, St. Thomas Aquinas, and non-conference losses to Lenape (80-64) and Ramapo.