Boys basketball: Colonia repeats as sectional champs for first time in program history

COLONIA – In Colonia’s sectional semifinal victory over South Plainfield, Noah Taylor did not attempt his lone shot until the third quarter of a scoreless performance.

Taylor didn’t look to score because he didn’t have to in a 19-point victory, so he focused his energy on rebounding and claiming the painted area of the court.

The senior forward knew he would have to be more aggressive attacking the basket in Monday’s NJSIAA North 2 championship game against an explosive Snyder squad, and he did so with gusto, early and often, lighting the spark that led Colonia to back-to-back sectional titles for the first time in school history with a 64-51 victory over the Jersey City school.

For the second year in a row Colonia will traipse out to Phillipsburg to take on Ramapo, looking to avenge last year’s loss.

Taylor finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks as Colonia once again displayed its offensive balance, led by Jaeden Jones’ 17 points and five assists, and 13 points and six boards by Anthony Gooden.

While Taylor helped spark the Colonia offense, the Patriots really won this game on the defensive end of the court.

Snyder’s Samir Jordan dropped seven of his game-high 22 points in the opening quarter and had 15 at halftime. But the Tigers struggled in the second half against Colonia’s 2-3 zone, sinking just 11 of 34 shots, 2 of 8 from distance, while limiting Jordan to seven.

Colonia coach Jose Rodriguez felt his team’s experience playing against elite Greater Middlesex Conference scorers like Josh Ingram of St. Joseph, Deuce Jones from St. Thomas Aquinas, and, more recently, Brandon Dean of South Plainfield, helped prepare them for Jordan’s relentless attack mode.

Fourth-seeded Colonia (22-8) trailed by 10 points after the opening quarter of its last two state tournaments contests but jumped out to a 4-0 lead and made it 6-3 after Taylor drove for his first bucket a minute and a half into the contest.

Snyder (17-12), the sixth seed, responded with five consecutive points, three by Jordan, to take the lead at 8-6 three minutes in. But the Tigers last lead would come just a minute and a half later after another Jordan free throw made it 9-8, as Colonia followed with five unanswered points, three by Gooden to take the lead for good.

Colonia led, 29-25, at halftime, then broke the game open with a 10-0 run that began with a 3 from Jones and ended with coast-to-romp following his blocked shot. That made it 39-27 and the margin never dipped below double digits after that.

What it means

Colonia captured its eighth sectional title, its first in back-to-back seasons.

Key play

Colonia was leading, 4-3, a minute and a half in the contest when Taylor drove across the lane from the left side to the right finished with a power layup, matching his shot total from Friday’s semifinal. Taylor hit all four of his first-half shots in scoring nine points as the Patriots build a four-point cushion.

By the numbers

The Patriots got strong efforts from its other starters, freshman Aiden Derkack (eight points, six rebounds, three blocks) and junior James Curet (six points, nine boards, two blocks). Sophomore Zach Smith, the hero in the semifinal win over South Plainfield when he came off the bench to sink 4-4 3FGs, only made one 3 Monday, but the extra attention Snyder was affording him create space and opportunities for his teammates.

Both teams were swatting each other’s shots throughout the evening. Snyder blocked six shots, Colonia rejected eight.

Game ball

Taylor, Colonia’s lone senior starter, asserted and exerted himself on both ends of the floor.

They said it

“I don’t know what to say right now, I’m so excited,” Taylor gushed. “Against such a tough and aggressive team, I had to set the tone and be aggressive. I can’t go scoreless two games in a row. I had to try to be aggressive. We have a very talented team.”

Rodriguez offered, “It certainly is a grind, there’s no doubt about it. Obviously, we’re very fortunate to have good players who just believe in what we teach them. They let us coach them really hard, they believe in each other and they believe in us and they believe in our games plans, which is extremely important. We knew going into it we wanted mix up some (defensive) looks because they’re pretty good in transition and (Jordan) is obviously a very explosive offensive player.”

On Taylor: “I think the other night it was a combination of the way the game just went. He’s such an unselfish winner that it didn’t faze him whatsoever. Going into this we talked more about, especially with their style of play, that he was going to get some opportunities to drive to the rim and get some opportunities up close. He had the willpower to get himself into some offensive situations.”

Up next

Colonia and Ramapo return to the mutually inconvenient site of Phillipsburg for Wednesday’s Group 3 state semifinal.

For those looking ahead to next year, note that Colonia starts one senior, three juniors and a freshman, and its first two players off the bench usually are sophomores. And Colonia’s junior varsity just won the GMCT, so there’s more help on the way. It’s a good time to be in C-Town.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ boys basketball: Colonia repeats as sectional champs