Boys basketball: Franklin pulls off upset in North 2 Group 4 quarterfinals
WARREN – The Franklin High School boys basketball team looked as impressive early in its North 2 Group 4 quarterfinal Monday night as it did the previous round in a domination of Westfield last week.
Unlike that game, seventh-seeded Franklin had to settle a serious second-half threat from second-seeded Watchung Hills’ before putting it away in the fourth quarter for the 57-47 win.
“I thought we put together a pretty tough schedule and I think it pays dividends right now in these kinds of games,” Franklin coach Kashif Foster said.
Franklin (16-11) lost to Linden in last year’s quarterfinals, so the Warriors have extended their season at least one round. They also beat Watchung Hills for the first time this season after losing regular-season and Somerset County Tournament quarterfinal games, both at Watchung Hills.
“We talked about that with the players, and they took it to heart,” said Foster. “They came in here with the passion, pride with dedication and got the job done.”
More: Franklin boys basketball beats Westfield in playoff opener
More: ‘I’ll remember this forever’: Buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifts South Brunswick to upset win
Franklin moves on to play at No. 3 Elizabeth on Wednesday night in the sectional semifinals. No. 8 seed Plainfield – which ousted top seed Phillipsburg on Monday night – will play host to No. 12 Linden in the other semifinal. Franklin beat Plainfield 54-50 at home Dec. 16 and Linden 60-54 on Jan. 23 in Linden.
Franklin built leads of 19-6 after the first quarter and had a 26-11 lead in the second quarter before Watchung Hills got back into it. Franklin led 28-21 at the half, but Watchung Hills wasn’t finished.
The home team pulled to with 37-35 with 1:39 left in the third quarter on senior guard Aidan Hockmeyer’s 3-pointer. But five straight points by Franklin junior guard Shalen Patel on a floater and 3-pointer made it 42-35.
“He’s a sleeper, everybody thinks because he's small … but he makes shots with the best of them,” said Foster. “He’s going to be one of the best shooters in any gym we walk into.”
That little spurt seemed to relax Franklin. Watchung Hills wouldn’t get as close again. Senior Cam Brown had 15 of Franklin’s 19 first quarter points. He finished with 26. Senior Landen Miller had 11 and Elisha Brown 10.
Senior John Kelly led Watchung Hills with 17 points. The Warriors finished their season 18-8.
Franklin has won three straight and eight of 10. Their last loss was a 50-47 loss to Watchung Hills in the county tournament.
“From the jump we came in with a chip on our shoulder and we handled business tonight,” said Miller. “We allowed them to play their style to slow it down. But we had to speed it up, that’s our game and that’s what we feel comfortable with.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball: Franklin pulls state quarters upset over rival
