Senior Guard Turns in Memorable 37 Point Performance to Lift Trojans Past Colonia
MONROE, NJ—Adam Silas saved his best for last in the 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball Tournament. Entering Friday night’s GMCT Boys Championship versus third seeded Colonia, the top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas senior guard was averaging 18.1 points per game and 16.3 points per game in the tournament. He essentially more than doubled that to lead the Trojans past the Patriots for Aquinas 2nd title in 3 years.
Silas, who earned GMCT Boys MVP honors, tallied the fourth highest scoring effort ever in a Middlesex County Tournament final dating back to 1965 by scoring a game high 37 points. His scoring barrage included 18 points during a pivotal 23-6 first half surge that turned an 11-2 first quarter deficit into a 25-18 late second quarter lead as St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Colonia for the third time this year, 69-53 in the 2022 GMCT Boys Championship on Friday night at Monroe High School.
The senior guard, who had recently received a scholarship offer from Manhattan, actually recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds in addition to his memorable scoring performance. The scoring effort surpassed those of South Plainfield’s Darren Smith (31 points) in the 2005 GMCT, Perth Amboy’s Lou Pennyfeather (1972) and Colonia’s Mike Payne (1980) MCT Finals scoring mark of 33 points, and was just several points shy of Keith Hughes 40 point performance versus New Brunswick in the inaugural GMCT Boys Final in 1986.
Silas tallied his 37 points on 11 total field goals including three treys, which all occurred during Aquinas pivotal first half surge, and 12 from the foul line, which mostly came down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Joining Silas in double figures was junior forward Jalen Pichardo and sophomore Jaden Kelly, who were named to the All GMCT Boys Team.
Pichardo added 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal while Kelly chipped in with 10 points, 5 boards, an assist and a steal. Junior Kamal Lee contributed with 6 points along with 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Senior Samar Abdullah pitched in with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals to round out Aquinas’ scoring in the game. Sherief Guinyard (3 rebounds), Chris Santner (a huge 2nd qtr block and a steal), and Tyler Kadi also played for the Trojans.
Leading the way in a losing cause for Colonia was senior forward, Billy Anderson, who had a team high 19 points along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Teammate and classmate, Saivon Pressley, who averaged 28.7 points per game in the tourney entering Friday night, was limited to just 15 points including three treys. Pressley, who scored 12.5 points per game in the previous two meetings versus the Trojans, netted two of his threes in the fourth period. Anderson and Pressley were also All GMCT Team selections.
Senior Justin Gordon added 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal while junior Noah Taylor chipped in with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal. Sophomore guard Jaeden Jones rounded out the Patriots scoring with 5 points, 4 assists, a rebound, block, and a steal. Mike Howell (2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal), Matthew Scherb (a steal), Meet Desai, Dylan Conklin, Anthony Gooden, and Matthew McSorley also played for Colonia.
St. Thomas Aquinas had a 40-28 advantage in points scored within the arc, and a 17-13 edge from the line while both teams had four three pointers in the contest. The Trojans outrebounded Colonia by a margin of 35-24 on the boards while the Patriots had edges in assists (14-9), steals (8-5), and blocks (3-1). Aquinas outscored Colonia in the middle two periods by a combined margin of 39-20 to establish a 49-33 advantage.
Led by Anderson, who had several free throws and a steal for a two handed jam, and Pressley, who added two free throws and his first three since the first quarter, Colonia rallied to start the fourth with a 10-2 spurt over a span of 3:20 to pull within single digits again at 51-43. However, Aquinas would not let the Pats get any closer as Silas and Pichardo came up with three point plays at the 4:36 and 4:06 marks to push the lead back to 14.
Colonia opened the game by scoring 11 of the first 13 points as Gordon, Anderson, and Pressley all contributed to the run. Gordon opened the game with a bucket from the right low block. Then, after the Patriots scored 4 of the next 6 points for a 6-2 lead, Pressley took a kickout from the left low block by Anderson, and sank a triple from the left corner for a 9-2 lead. Anderson then capped the spurt with a score from the left lane at the 3:44 mark.
The Trojans, which only had a foul line jumper from Kelly during the Patriots run, rallied to score 8 of the last 10 points including 6 straight points on three field goals by Silas, who was starting to percolate as Aquinas narrowed the deficit to 13-10 heading to the second quarter. Then, came the avalanche as the Trojans began to roll offensively with 15 of the first 19 points of the second quarter to take control for good.
Silas, who scored 9 straight points, was in the middle of it all as he made a free throw after being fouled on a three, and then glided down the left lane for a layup to tie the game up at 13-13 with 6:29 left in the half. He didn’t stop there, and after a three from Abullah, sank three huge treys from the right wing including one following a huge rejection by Santner at the other end to electrify the crowd.
Colonia and Aquinas both ended the half by scoring 6 points as the Patriots got a huge and one and another score from Taylor to keep the Patriots within striking distance at 31-24 going into the intermission. The Trojans picked up where they left off in the second by opening the third with 10 of the first 15 points including four points from Silas and a steal and score by Lee for a 41-29 advantage at the 3:42 mark of the period.
The GMC White Division champs then finished off the third quarter by scoring 8 of the last 12 points including four more from Silas and a putback off a missed three by Kelly to take a 16 point lead heading into the fourth. Colonia opened the fourth by scoring 10 of the first 12 points as Aquinas was held without a field goal for the first 3:24 before Silas converted his and one.
After getting the back to back three point plays from Silas and Pichardo to go back up 57-43 with a little more than three minutes to play, Aquinas added four more points before Pressley sank a three from the right wing to pull Colonia within 15 again at 61-46 with 2:32 remaining. Colonia would not get any closer though as Silas helped the Trojans wrap up the 69-53 win with several pairs of free throws down the stretch.
With the victory, Aquinas, which won the 2020 GMCT for its first conference title since 1992, claimed its second GMCT Boys crown in the past three seasons. The Trojans also reached the final of the Karl Anthony Towns-Jay Williams Pod last season, but lost to Colonia (80-64) in the Championship. It was the Patriots only win in the last 6 meetings between the two schools dating back to the 2020 GMCT Elite Eight.
St. Thomas Aquinas improves to 26-1 overall on the season including a 19-0 mark in conference play. The Trojans return to play in the NJSIAA Non-Public A South Quarterfinals on March 4th after getting a first round bye. Meanwhile, Colonia dropped to 21-4 overall with the loss including a 16-3 mark in the GMC. The Patriots open state tourney play on Tuesday, March 1st at 4:30 with an NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 opening round game versus 16th seeded Nutley in CTown.