Boys Basketball: St. Thomas Aquinas rallies to top Gill St. Bernard's

ROSELLE - The St. Thomas Aquinas boys basketball team found itself in a very unfamiliar situation on Saturday night.

The Trojans struggled early against Gill St. Bernard's in the Hearts 2 Hands Showcase at Roselle Catholic as the Knights led 21-8 after the first quarter.

But St. Thomas Aquinas (21-1) managed to settle down and climb back into the game in the second quarter, and then rallied again in the fourth quarter en route to a 65-61 victory.

"I think defense was definitely the main thing that won us that game, down the stretch," St. Thomas Aquinas' Jalen Pichardo said. "They were killing us in the first half and then in the second half we buckled down and did what we had to do."

BOYS BASKETBALL: Home News Tribune Top 10 through Feb. 11

BOYS BASKETBALL: Late rally leads Watchung Hills over South Plainfield

BOYS BASKETBALL: Courier News Top 10 through Feb. 11

The game turned into a back and forth affair after that first quarter, and St. Thomas Aquinas, the No. 1 team in the Home News Tribune Top 10, led 51-50 after three quarters.

Nick Losada and Geancarlo Pejuero opened the fourth quarter by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, which gave Gill St. Bernard's, the No. 1 team in the Courier News Top 10, a 56-51 advantage with 7:15 to play.

Adam Silas cut the lead to 56-54 with 7:02 remaining, but another 5-0 run by the Knights put them ahead 61-54 with six minutes left.

Those five points were the last points Gill St. Bernard's would score, as Samar Abdullah hit a 3 to cut the lead to 61-57 with 5:11 left, and from there the Trojans went to the line five times in the final 4:33 and sank eight of 10 free throws for the 65-61 final.

Pichardo's three free throws in back-to-back trips to the line gave the Trojans the lead for good with 2:01 to play.

"It's funny because at the beginning of the year I was struggling from the line, and my coach we would go after practice and just focus on the line," he said. "So I knew that I needed to hit this for my team so I just settled down and shot."

That fourth quarter never would have happened if it hadn't been for St. Thomas Aquinas rallying in the second quarter. Down 23-8 with 6:37 left after Mackenzie Mgbako hit two free throws in two trips to the line, the Silas reeled off nine-straight points, including two 3-pointers, in almost a two-minute span that pulled the Trojans to within 23-17 with 4:35 to go.

"Definitely playing together, trusting our teammates, getting open shots, hitting shots," St. Thomas Aquinas' Kamal Lee said of what changed for the Trojans after the first quarter. "Just coming together, playing as a team, locking in on defense."

A 3 from Mgbako gave Gill St. Bernard's (13-5) a little breathing room with 4:09 to play, but another 8-0 run that including back-to-back 3s from Jaden Kelly tied the game 25-25 with 2:18 to play.

Mgbako then went to the line and hit two free throws to swing the game back in the Knights' favor, but the Trojans closed out the half on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 31-27.

"We knew it was going to be a game of runs because in big games like this that's what happens," Pichardo said. "They'll go on their run and then we went on ours in the second quarter, so we just stayed composed."

Gill St. Bernard's opened the third quarter on a 12-3 run that put the Knights back in front 39-34 and forced St. Thomas Aquinas to rally once again. In the final 3:55 there were seven lead changes and two ties as the Trojans held a slim 51-50 lead after three.

"We knew they were a good team, but we were prepared," Pichardo said. "Executing our plays, coach put us in the right position, Adam made the plays down the stretch for us, Kamal (Lee) hit big threes, big rebounds, everything. We just came together in the second half."

Silas recorded a season-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers and eight free throws, two rebounds and two assists. Kelly finished with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals. Lee chipped in nine points, four assists and three rebounds. Abdullah contributed five points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Pichardo chipped in five points, all on free throws, one rebound, one assist and one block.

Pichardo was also responsible for guarding Mgbako, who finished with a double-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.

"It was definitely a challenge," Pichardo said. "I was looking forward to it the whole week, it was definitely exciting for me to go out there and guard a top player in the country like that."

The win was the second in a row for St. Thomas Aquinas, which went undefeated this season until a loss against George (Pa.) last Sunday. The Trojans went undefeated in the Greater Middlesex Conference and won the White Division title outright with a record of 14-0.

"It's everything for us," Pichardo said of Saturday's win. "Last game of the regular season, going into the playoffs with a big win, so we're definitely excited and we're going to build on this and keep going."

For Gill St. Bernard's, the loss snapped a two-game streak after back-to-back losses against Camden and La Lumiere (IN). All five of the Knights' losses have come from out-of-conference (and mostly out-of-state) opponents, as they won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division at 8-0.

Pejuero totaled 15 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block for Gill St. Bernard's, while Losada added 11 points, four rebounds and one assist. Peter Mauro recorded seven points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Email: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego

Lauren Knego covers scholastic sports for the Courier News and Home News Tribune. For unlimited access to local high school sports, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Boys Basketball: St. Thomas Aquinas rallies to top Gill St. Bernard's