Trenton, TCA set to clash in rivalry final
Get your popcorn ready. It’s Trenton Central vs. Trenton Catholic for the county championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in front of what should be a raucous crowd at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton.
“Our kids are going to be jacked up. They’re going to be jacked up,” TCHS coach Darryl Young said. “They play their hardest against us, and we play some of our hardest basketball against you. It’s a rival. We know it’s a David and Goliath thing. We’re David, they’re Goliath, but we’re coming to win.”
The irony is that Trenton (21-4) is the top seed and TCA (13-9) is the second seed. And so far, the higher seed has won all 14 games in the Mercer County Tournament.
But the Tornadoes are underdogs because the Iron Mikes feature at least two Division I players. 6-foot-4 senior Khalif Battle is committed to Butler and 6-foot-7 junior Jamir Watkins received an offer from Temple in December.
Those two combined for 51 points in TCA’s 8557 semifinal win against Notre Dame, throwing down dunks and knocking down shots from all parts of the floor.
The Iron Mikes, who
beat WW-P South and WW-P North in the first two rounds, made a whopping 14 3-pointers against the Irish on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Trenton struggled to hold off fourthseeded Hopewell Valley in the semifinals. The Tornadoes trailed for much of the first half and led by only four with three minutes remaining.
Nassir Hodge buried three of the team’s five 3-pointers, and Michael Davis and Bryce Turner came up with key offensive rebounds as Trenton escaped with a 58-50 win. Trenton beat Hamilton and Allentown in the first two rounds.
Senior forward Jordan Williams (16.4 points per game, 13.8 rebounds per game) and the Tornadoes are capable of playing
scrappy man-to-man defense, and they’ll need their finest effort of the season to have a chance against TCA.
“To compete with that athleticism and that length, man, you’re going to have to knock down some shots and you’re just going to have to play your hearts out,” Young said. “We’re coming. We’re going to play as well as we can. Our kids are ready to go. They want this game.”
Trenton is looking to capture its first title since beating TCA in 2008, and TCA is gunning for its fifth championship in the last eight years.
The winner will also set a record for most tournament wins by one program. Trenton and TCA (formerly McCorristin) have each won the MCT six times. The event has taken place 30 times since 1982.