Pressley and Anderson Lead Colonia into GMCT Boys Final

Patriots Duo Combine with Gordon to Score 54 Points to Defeat St. Joe’s in Semis, 70-58

MONROE, NJ—As often is the case, there is usually a fine line between the 2nd and 3rd seed in a tournament.  The 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball Tournament was no exception.  There was some debate on which team would be seeded second or third, St. Joseph’s or Colonia.  In the end the Falcons got the nod, but in the GMCT Boys Semifinals, Colonia had the final say.

Led by the senior duo of guard Saivon Pressley and forward Billy Anderson, the third seeded Patriots put their thoughts into action as they jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, and never really let second seeded St. Joseph’s get into a rhythm offensively.  When the Falcons climbed back into the contest in the frenzied final minutes of the fourth quarter, Colonia shut the door with a 9-1 run to end the game for a 70-58 victory.

Pressley had perhaps the best performance of the tourney to date.  He led all scorers with a game high 35 points including six three pointers, just one shy of the GMCT Semifinal mark set by Piscataway’s Delvon McMillan against South Brunswick at the RAC in 1996, as he was in a zone.  Pressley scored in other ways too as he finished with 13 total field goals from the floor along with three from the line.

Now third on Colonia’s all time scoring list with 1,356 career points, Pressley also picked up 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal while Anderson started out strong with several first quarter buckets including a two handed jam off a feed from classmate, Mike Howell, and ended up with 9 points while pulling down 10 boards, handing out 5 assists, swatting away three shots, and swiping a steal.

Perhaps the biggest block by Anderson in the game came with about 2:30 remaining and Colonia leading by four at 61-57 after St. Joseph’s had rallied back from a 54-35 deficit with a 22-7 surge over a span of around eight minutes.  The Falcons were getting in position to score again as they were coming downcourt on the break when Anderson blocked the shot from the right wing, grabbed the rebound, and passed ahead to Pressley for a layup and a pivotal four point turnaround that gave CTown a 63-54 advantage.

The play sparked Colonia to finish off the huge win as the Patriots got another score from another senior, Justin Gordon for a 65-54 lead, and went on to win by double digits after that.  Gordon also played a key role in the victory with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a blocked shot.  The block was a huge rejection in the first half on a dunk attempt from the right baseline by St. Joseph’s.

Both junior forward Noah Taylor (6 points and 5 rebounds) and sophomore guard Jaeden Jones (6 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and an assist) also contributed as the Patriots had three different players with 5 assists, and a fourth with three.  As a team, Colonia handed out 20 assists, which was a key factor in the team’s balanced attack where 7 different players scored including five with at least 6 points.

The Patriots also tallied 33 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 blocks as a team while outscoring Joes by a 42-28 margin from within the arc.  Each team connected on 6 occasions from long distance while the Falcons were able to climb back into the contest by getting into the bonus by the fourth quarter, and outscoring Colonia by a margin of 18-10 from the charity stripe.

Ethan Simmon led the Falcons in a losing cause with a team high 24 points.  Despite the defensive effort put forth by Colonia, which was more physical, and forced St. Joe’s to play in the half court, Simmon was not deterred as he connected on 7 shots from the field including two threes while also netting 8 from the foul line.  

Josh Ingram chipped in with 11 points including a three in the first half.  Anthony Williams, who battled amongst the trees, finished with 8 including two buckets during the Falcons furious rally.  Junior forward, Khalid Brown chipped in with 6 including four from the free throw line while Kwame Herod, who drained the three that got the Falcons within five at 61-56 with under three minutes to play, finished with 5 and Amari Campbell rounded out the Joes scoring with four.

Each team outscored the other in two of the four quarters, but perhaps the most decisive period was the third when Colonia outscored St. Joseph’s by a 20-9 margin to build a 54-35 lead before Simmon sank a three from the top of the key to spark the rally by drawing Joes within 16 with 1:58 remaining in the third period.  

After taking a 35-30 lead into the locker room following late second quarter free throws from Jones, Colonia scored 12 of the first 16 points of the second half in just the first 3:26 of the third as Pressley forced a steal that fell into the hands of Anderson, who then passed back to Pressley for a layup from the left side and a 47-34 lead with just over four and a half minutes remaining in the period.

Following a St. Joseph’s timeout, Colonia didn’t take its foot off the gas pedal as it scored 9 of the next 10 points including a score from the left lane by Howell off a feed from Jones to establish its largest lead of the game at 54-35 with about 2:35 to go in the third.  Simmon’s trey coupled with a Falcon free throw helped St. Joe’s trim the deficit to 55-39 heading into the fourth and final period.

The Falcons then began the fourth by scoring the first four points including an elegant pirouette move from the right low block into the paint for a layin by Ingram that helped close the gap to 55-43 with 6:30 remaining.  Colonia managed to keep St. Joe’s at bay as Pressley sank back to back threes that helped nudge the Patriot advantage back to a baker’s dozen at 61-48 with 5:38 to play.

Then came the drama as the Falcons rallied with 9 straight points over a span of almost exactly three minutes including Herod’s three from the right wing off a baseline kickoff from Owen Griffin to get St. Joe’s back to within two possessions.  Thankfully for Colonia fans, Anderson didn’t let the Falcons get any closer, and his teammates took it from there to reach the GMCT Final for the first time since losing to Joes in 2018.

With the victory, Colonia improved to 21-3 overall on the season including a 16-2 mark in conference play.  The Patriots advance to the 2022 GMCT Boys Championship on Friday night at 8:00 PM versus top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas, a team they have already lost twice to previously this season, at Monroe Township High School.  St. Joseph’s dropped to 19-6 overall including a 17-3 mark in the GMC.