Isaiah Fowler leaves the rest behind as he soars for a layup in the first half for top seeded Piscataway against 9th seeded St. Thomas Aquinas. Fowler scored a game high 18 points to lead the unbeaten Freshmen Chiefs to a 63-34 victory over the defending freshmen tourney champs on Friday in Piscataway.
Third Quarter Blitz Lifts Freshmen Chiefs Past Defending Champs, 63-34
PISCATAWAY, NJ – There will be a new GMC freshmen boys basketball champion in 2023. Undefeated and top seeded Piscataway overcame a tough challenge in the first half from defending champion, St. Thomas Aquinas with a 17-0 blitz to open the third quarter to win going away, 63-34 in the 2023 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament Quarterfinals at Piscataway High School on Friday afternoon.
The 9th seeded Freshmen Trojans, which came off a hard fought 60-59 victory at 8th seeded East Brunswick on Tuesday, gave the Freshmen Chiefs all they could handle over the first two periods. Led by the play of Devin Thomas (15 points) and Javier Reveron Jr. (11 points), Aquinas only trailed 13-12 after the first period, and 25-22 at the intermission. However, the Freshmen Chiefs, which defeated the Freshmen Trojans, 98-57 in Piscataway on January 7th, blew the game open by scoring the first 17 points of the second half for a 42-22 lead.
From there, P-Way coasted to the 29 point victory. Isaiah Fowler led four different Freshmen Chiefs in double figures with a game high 18 points on 7 total field goals including three treys while making one of two from the foul line. Na Jay Best added 11 points on five total field goals including a three while Josh Lima and Mickye Simmons each chipped in with 10. Tyler West (5 points), Elijah Foster (4 points), Stevie Matthews (3 points), and Matt Freeman rounded out the scoring for the winners.
Thomas and Reveron Jr., accounted for 76.5 percent of Aquinas’ scoring in the game as only two other players scored: Eli Simmons (6 points) and Hunter (2 points). Piscataway connected on 25 total field goals including 8 from beyond the arc while making 5 of 11 from the foul line. Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas was limited to 15 total field goals including two threes while making 4 of 9 from the foul line. P-Way outscored Aquinas 34-24 from inside the arc, 24-6 from long distance, and 5-4 from the charity stripe.
Piscataway collected 12 team fouls versus only 11 for Aquinas. The Freshmen Trojans didn’t allow the Freshmen Chiefs to get off to the same kind of explosive start that they had in the last meeting between the two teams. St. Thomas Aquinas made five two point field goals and two foul shots while limiting P-Way to just four total field goals including a three. The Freshmen Chiefs had to earn the rest at the foul line, and went 3 off 5 from the charity stripe to take a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The trio of Fowler (6 points), Best (4 points), and Lima (3 points) account for all of the Freshmen Chiefs points in the opening frame while Eli Simmons scored all 6 of his points in the game, and Thomas, Reveron, and Hunter each chipped in with a field goal for Aquinas. In the second period, P-Way outscored the Freshmen Trojans by only a margin of 12-10 as five different players scored including Mickye Simmons and Tyler West with 3 points each and Best, Lima, and Fowler each adding a bucket for a 25-22 halftime lead. Thomas and Reveron accounted for all of St. Thomas Aquinas’ points with 5 each.
Then came the decisive third quarter where Piscataway demonstrated the dominance that has epitomized its season to this point. The Freshmen Chiefs took complete control of the game by outscoring the Freshmen Trojans by a margin of 17-2 in the period. Piscataway scored all of its points over the first 6:24 of the frame in a 17-0 blitz that dramatically increased the lead to 42-22. Aquinas got only one field goal in the frame, and trailed by 18 heading into the fourth.
Five different players scored in the third quarter for the Freshmen Chiefs. Fowler led the way with 7 points including the team’s only three of the period. Foster scored all 4 of his points in the frame while West, Lima, and Mickye Simmons each chipped in with a bucket. Reveron accounted for the only scoring for the Freshmen Trojans with a field goal. Piscataway then finished off the 29 point victory with a 21-9 showing in the fourth.
The Freshmen Chiefs, which made 8 total field goals including a three in the third, connected on 8 total field goals again in the fourth including five three pointers. Six different P-Way players scored in the final period including Best and Simmons with 5 each followed by Lima, Fowler, and Matthews with 3, and Freeman with 2. Meanwhile, Thomas (8 points) and Reveron Jr. (2 points) accounted for all of the Aquinas scoring in the fourth. The Freshmen Trojans connected on four total field goals including a three while making 1 of 2 from the line.
With the victory, Piscataway’s Freshmen improved to 21-0 overall and 15-0 against GMC opponents. The Freshmen Chiefs now advance to the semifinals against 4th seeded Woodbridge on Monday, February 13th at Piscataway High School starting at 4:00 PM. The Barrons advanced by defeating 5th seeded South Plainfield (56-42) in their Quarterfinal contest at Woodbridge High School on Friday afternoon. Woodbridge defeated 13th seeded Sayreville (75-32) in the opening round on February 7th.
Woodbridge is currently 17-4 on the season, and is looking to advance to the Perth Amboy/GMC Championship for the first time since 2019 when it defeated Edison for the title (48-37). Meanwhile, Piscataway is looking to make its 6th finals appearance all time and first since 2017 when it defeated St. Joseph’s for the crown (47-46).