Piscataway, NJ- On Tuesday, March 3rd, the Piscataway Chiefs stumbled against the No. 6 Plainfield Cardinals 73-57 in the N2G4 Semifinals. This was one of if not THE biggest games in Piscataway basketball history. The Anthony Gym reached max capacity just as the game started. The crowds from both teams were getting loud every single time their team made a shot.
The attendance to the game was so large that Piscataway had to start turning away a long line of people at the door.
How it happened-
Piscataway opened up strong in the first quarter with their home court advantage. They were able to get to a 17-8 lead before Plainfield came back in the final few minutes of the first quarter and tied it up at 17.
Things got worse for Piscataway as Plainfield guard Micah Gordon dunked the ball and followed it up with an and-1 play. This pushed Plainfield to a 5 point lead within 2 minutes of the second quarter.
Piscataway was able to keep it close with the help of Senior forward, Isaiah Fowler, and Senior guard, Na’jay Best who had back to back 3 point shots to make it 28-23 Plainfield.
Things got bad for Piscataway as they started turning the ball over many times, taking bad shots, and missing easy shots. This led to Plainfield blowing open the game and taking a 41-25 lead at halftime. Piscataway Head Coach, Bob Turco, talked about what happened during this time after the game:
”They made us play faster. We took some bad shots,” Turco said. “What they did is what we usually do to teams.”
Piscataway came out strong opening the second half and brought the score to 47-36 Plainfield with the help of a three point shot from Junior guard, Landon Pernell. Plainfield was able to respond and brought the score to 61-44 by the end of the third quarter.
The Chiefs continued to show flashes of offense throughout the fourth quarter but unfortunately were never able to stop Plainfield, leaving a final score of 73-57. Coach Turco commented on these flashes:
”We cut it back to nine again in the third quarter, fourth quarter, whatever it was,” Turco said. “[Plainfield] just went on another run and it’s just, sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t.”
Player performances-
Piscataway was led by Fowler with 22 points. Piscataway guards, Pernell and Senior forward, Josh Lima, put up 13 and 12 points.
Coach Turco was very happy with how the team played tonight.
“Seniors, their last go, I expected them to play hard for 32 minutes and they did,” Turco said. “It was one bad quarter. You take that bad quarter away –which you can’t– and you can say, ‘hey we’re in a game with them.’ but we should have been in the game and I think we did. I think we earned some respect here tonight.”
Coach Turco also left a comment for the seniors in his post-game interview:
“But the seniors, they are the reason we are where we are. The seniors are the reason we didn’t quit. The seniors are the reason [that we] showed the world that we could play hard,” Turco said. “They built a foundation here. I told the young kids that they built this and you need to continue to build, put the walls up and a roof up because these guys paved the way for you. They made it so Piscataway basketball is out there.”
Piscataway Superintendent, Erskine R. Glover also left a comment for this team tonight:
“What I have to say to these young players here, first of all, you represent our district, you represent the town well. We all have wins and losses but they competed well all year long. They should be proud of themselves. They accomplished many things,” Glover said. “They played the defending champs, played a great game, a competitive game, in a great atmosphere, nothing to ever hang your head about. It’s a great life lesson, so I’m proud of them. I’m very proud of them.”
Conclusion
The Chiefs finish 23-8 on what has been a very fun, competitive, and successful season. After finishing 18-6 in the regular season they made their second consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference Finals appearance and a Semifinals appearance in the N2G4 state tournament. Senior forward, Donald Nwaigwe was able to surpass 1000 career points in his final few games of his high school career.
Despite the fact that most of the Varsity team is Seniors, Piscataway has very exciting younger players who are Juniors and Sophomores on the rise. Coach Turco commented on them last night:
“Everybody knows the JV team won the county tournament. Freshman team was second place, they lost in the county finals. So, we have a bunch of pieces, so it’s up to them,” Turco said. “I told them to do what the seniors did, go to the weight room tomorrow and start lifting so you don’t let the seniors down.”
