Barnes Becomes All Time Leading Scorer for Eagles in Playoff Loss
WESTFIELD, NJ—On Wednesday night, Edison was looking to make more history. After the 10th seeded Eagles downed 7th seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the opening round of the 2022 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 State Tournament on Monday night, Edison had won its first state playoff game in 43 years, and had their 2nd 1,000 point scorer in school history.
Equaling the 19 win total of the 2019-20 Edison team, which claimed a division title for the first time in school history, the 2021-22 Eagles were looking to not only advance to the sectional semifinals, but also earn its first 20 win season ever. In addition, senior Niko Barnes was on the precipice of becoming EHS’ all time leading scorer in boys basketball. Unfortunately, second seeded Westfield stood in the way.
Taking advantage of 11 first half Eagle turnovers including eight alone in the first period, the Blue Devils jumped out to an 11-8 first quarter lead, and then outscored Edison by a margin of 19-15 in the second to lead 30-23 at the half. Westfield increased that lead to 16 late in the third before the Eagles rallied with a three to end the fourth, and a three point play to begin the final period, but couldn’t get closer than 10 in a 59-43 loss.
Barnes, who had been playing hurt, and was just one point shy of the all time scoring mark set 51 years ago by Tom McKenzie, opened the Eagles scoring with a three pointer from the right corner and finished with 15 points to end his splendid career with the new all time mark of 1,017 points. Teammate Elisha White chipped in with 14 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, steal, and block before leaving midway through the third due to an injury.
Football standout, Selbin Sabio added 5 points including a three pointer to end the third along with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist. Senior forward, Joe Greer also contributed with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks while Brian Hobson left it all on the floor literally by drawing a charge and diving for a loose ball in the first half while finishing with 3 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Justyn Britton, another senior, rounded out the Eagles scoring with 2 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and a steal while Jonathan Baio (a rebound), Joseph Montesano, Ermin Kapo, and Michael Strachan also saw action in the contest. Meanwhile, Westfield big man and Davidson commit, Sean Logan turned in a dominant performance for the victorious Blue Devils.
The 6’10” senior turned in a triple double with 23 points including three treys, 12 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots while also picking up 3 assists and 2 steals to lead all scorers. Junior guard, Theo Sica chipped in with 14 points, 3 steals and a rebound while Zander Barraza added 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. T.J. Halloran also contributed with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block.
Rounding out the scoring for the Blue Devils was Pete Meixner (3 points and 5 assists), Tyrone Hamilton (2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal), and Owen Shakal (2 points and a block). Also seeing action in the contest for Westfield was Shane Sheehan (a rebound) and Bill Ryan (an assist).
Outscoring Edison in each of the four periods, Westfield enjoyed a 32-20 advantage in points scored within the arc, and a 30-15 edge in points from long distance. The Eagles had an 8-3 edge in points scored from the foul line. The Blue Devils also had edges in rebounding (31-25), assists (16-7), blocks (13-3), and steals (12-7).
The Blue Devils opened the game with the first five points on a three pointer from the top of the key followed by an and one before Barnes got the Eagles rolling with a three that not only set the new EHS scoring mark but also closed the gap to 5-3. Westfield then ended the opening period with 6 of the last 11 points for a three point advantage heading into the second.
Taking advantage of Edison’s problems handling the basketball, Westfield increased its lead in the second by scoring 19 of the first 31 points of the frame including a two handed jam by Logan, a three from the right wing and a transition layup by Sica to take a 30-20 advantage late in the period. White would come up with a huge play for the Eagles as he converted a traditional three point play at the other end to keep the visitors within single digits at 30-23 going into halftime.
Westfield maintained that 10 point lead at 41-31 midway through the third before scoring six straight points including another Sica three to go up 47-31 with 34 seconds left in the frame. Sabio gave the Eagles some much needed momentum and enthusiasm when he sank a high arching three from the left side in the waning moments of the third to close the gap to 47-34 heading into the fourth.
Building off the momentum that ended the third, Edison pulled to within ten again as Barnes drew contact while scoring in traffic, and made the bonus free throw for a three point play that made the score 47-37 with under six minutes to play. Unfortunately, Edison was unable to get any closer as the Blue Devils finished off the game on a 12-6 spurt to wrap up the 59-43 victory.
With the win, Westfield improved to 19-7 overall on the season, and advanced to the North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 semifinals on Friday night at home versus 3rd seeded Linden, which defeated 6th seeded Ridge (69-58) in another quarterfinal. Top seeded Watchung Hills and fourth seeded Franklin were knocked off on the other side of the bracket by 9th seeded Elizabeth (58-56) and 5th seeded Newark East Side (46-43) respectively.
Meanwhile, Edison’s season came to a close with an overall mark of 19-9, which just shy of the 2019-20 team’s final record of 19-7. Over the last five seasons, head coach Charlie Mohr has accumulated an overall record of 70-47 including four double digit win seasons, and three with 15 victories or more. This group of seniors, which reached the final of the 2019 Perth Amboy Freshmen Tournament three years ago, compiled a mark of 44-22 over the past three seasons.
GMC HOOPS TRIVIA: Niko Barnes is not the only member of the family to score 1,000 points and become a member of the GMC Hoops Grand Club. Barnes actually joined his older brother Branden Barnes, a 2018 graduate of Piscataway Tech as a rare brother duo to score 1,000 points during the GMC Hoops era. The elder Barnes (1,037 career points), who also played football at Edison, and went on to play college football at Wagner, scored his 1,000th point in a state tune-up game versus Spotswood on February 21, 2018. Combined the two Barnes scored a total of 2,054 points.