Highland Park sophomore, Markos Hantsoulis follows through on a three pointer in the first quarter of the Owls state playoff game against David Brearley of Kenilworth. Highland Park was eliminated in the opening round of the 2023 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 1 State Tournament by the Bears, 67-56.
Brearley’s First Half Surge Dooms Owls in CJ Group 1, 67-56
HIGHLAND PARK, NJ — On Monday night, the 5th seeded Highland Park Owls were looking to do something they had not done since 2006. Win a state playoff game. The Owls last won in the state tournament in the opening round of the 2006 CJ Group 1 Tournament when it defeated Academy Charter (95-83) as 6 different players recorded double-doubles. Senior forward Daniel Starcevic was only about a year old at the time.
Riding the momentum of an historic season where it won a share of a division title in boys basketball in almost a quarter of a century, and having the most wins in a season in 21 years, Highland Park was looking to add another chapter to its amazing story. However, 12th seeded David Brearley of Kenilworth had other ideas. Playing a schedule that included the likes of Roselle, New Providence, Johnson Regional, and Roselle Park, the Bears were a bit more battle tested coming in.
Early on though, Highland Park appeared to be on its way to another historic milestone. After falling behind 4-3, the Owls went on an 11-0 run that was capped by a three pointer from junior Jowan Keyes for a 14-4 lead with 2:24 remaining in the first period. Highland Park got the ball inside to Starcevic, and got some threes to fall, which forced Brearley to call for time.
Following the timeout though, the game turned dramatically as the Brearley Bears embarked on a 31-7 surge over the final 10:24 of the first half to take a 35-21 halftime lead. The Owls never recovered as they couldn’t get closer than 7 points the rest of the way while Brearley went up by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter en route to a 67-56 victory.
Senior Jake Zawacki led the charger for Brearley with a game high 22 points along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Zawacki connected on 9 total field goals including two threes, and sank two more from the line. Joe Pinto chipped in with 19 points on 7 total field goals and five from the line while also collecting 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Also scoring in double figures for the Bears was sophomore Mark Davis, who added 15 points on 6 field goals including a three and a dunk while making both his free throw attempts. Davis also picked up 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. Leading the way in defeat for Highland Park was Starcevic, who finished with 18 points on 7 field goals and another 4 from the line in his final high school basketball game.
Starcevic, who played only 7 games as a junior before getting injured last year, ended his career with 416 points. The senior forward was also a force on the boards with a number of blocked shots during the contest. Sophomore Jayden Guadalupe chipped in with 13 points on five total field goals including two threes and a foul shot.
Keyes was the third Highland Park player to score in double figures with 11 points on five total field goals including his first quarter three for the Owls biggest lead of the game. Markos Hantsoulis struck for a three in the first quarter, and a jumper at the 6:03 mark of the 2nd to halt a 12-3 Brearley tear, but didn’t score again until the waning moments of the fourth on a putback to round out the final score as he finished with 7.
Football standout, Phillip Wilson (2 points) and freshman Cooper Ballentine (2 points) rounded out the scoring for the Owls while Diego Bendezu (4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Tom Pugliese (4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals), and Ryan Obiedzinski (3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) rounded out the scoring for the Bears.
While both teams were even in points scored from long distance (12-12), Brearley enjoyed a 9-8 edge in free throws made, and a 46-36 advantage in points scored inside the arc. As a team, the Bears collected 31 rebounds, 15 assists, 11 steals, and 5 blocked shots. Both teams had three different players score in double figures while Highland Park had seven different players score versus Brearley’s six.
The big difference in the game was the second quarter when Brearley outscored Highland Park by a 23-5 margin including 19 of the last 21 points of the half over the last 6:03 of the period. Highland Park actually won the first and third periods by 16-12 and 16-11 margins respectively, and only got outscored by the Bears 21-20 in the fourth. Most of that came on a 10-1 spurt to finish the contest though.
Brearley’s zone defense did cause the Owls problems although they were able to lob the ball inside to Starcevic on the low blocks for scores. However, Highland Park struggled from the perimeter. In addition, the Owls were unable to capitalize on mistakes or missed shots by the Bears, especially in the second half.
After scoring a several early baskets to open the third including a bucket from the right low block by Starcevic, Highland Park couldn’t get any closer as Brearley found a way to get a much needed basket to keep the Owls at arm’s length between a 7 and 9 point deficit. In the fourth, Highland Park got within 8 on a couple of occasions at 50-42 and 52-44, but Brearley then put the game away with a 14-2 spurt for the largest lead of the contest at 66-46.
With the victory, Brearley improves to 9-10 overall on the season, and advances to face 4th seeded Keyport, which reached the sectional final a year ago before losing to Burlington City (74-73). Meanwhile, Highland Park’s memorable season comes to a close at 17-8. While the Owls will lose big man Starcevic and the likes of Wilson and Evangelos Kambitsis to graduation, they have a lot of good young players coming back.
Keyes, Hantsoulis, and Guadalupe all will be back along with a hopefully healthy Ethan Chen, sophomore big man Thomas Carman, and a solid group of freshman including Ballentine, Evan Brzozowski, Evangelos E Kambitsis, Kyaire Carreker, Kostatinos Hantsoulis, and Jared Matos. The future looks very bright for a Highland Park boys basketball program that spent many years in the wilderness.