'Comfortable in chaos': Rutgers Prep wins SCT boys basketball title on late foul
MONTGOMERY – The Montgomery High School boys' basketball team was 10 seconds away from a Somerset County Tournament title Saturday afternoon. The Cougars, making their first-ever county final appearance, had a 61-60 lead over top seed and defending champ Rutgers Prep and seemed to have the ball.
Prep junior Myles Parker had driven to the bucket and made a shot, but it was waved off on a charge call, and it was Montgomery ball.
Until.
A Cougar was hit with a technical foul after briefly standing over Parker. The officials saw it as a taunt and called a technical. Prep freshman Jacob Canton went to the line and hit two free throws for a 62-61 lead. Senior John Kelly followed by hitting two more after being fouled, and Prep led 64-61.
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No. 2 seed Montgomery (21-3) never really got a look to tie the game, and the Argonauts (19-6) had successfully defended their title with a 64-61 triumph.
“The lesson is to be comfortable in chaos,” said Prep coach Matt Bloom, whose team also won the Skyland Delaware Division this year. “My first reaction was the technical might be on me, so I was a little worried.”
Said Montgomery coach Kris Grundy. “It’s tough to stomach. There really isn’t anything else to say. Our kids did everything we asked of them.”
Prep won the county title last year over Gill St. Bernard’s trailing most of the game until the final seconds when it pulled out a 69-67 win.
“I think we led that game for all of two seconds,” said Bloom.
Saturday, Montgomery led 61-57 with about three minutes left. Senior guard Steve Donohue and junior forward Boghdan Bieketov were the main forces. But Braden Ginsberg and senior Jack Fromelt also made big second-half shots. Donohue scored 21 points and Bieketov 14.
Kelly has been a significant boost for Prep since returning after foot surgery in October. He had nine points. Freshman Andrew Kretkowski scored 19 points – 13 in the second quarter – and collected eight rebounds. Sophomore Logan Frank had 13 points and Canton 11.
“Our kids are so poised; they are young and are learning on the run. The environment was absolutely electric here,” Bloom said.
Rutgers Prep will be off until opening play a week from Monday in the South Non-Public A Tournament. Montgomery is the top seed in Central Group 4 and will play host to West Windsor Plainsboro South Wednesday.
“Its gonna be up to our coaching staff and our seniors to refocus the kids,” said Grundy, whose team won the Skyland Valley title this season. “Feel sorry for yourselves today and get back to it Monday.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys Basketball: Rutgers Prep tops Montgomery for SCT title
