Pennington boys, Hopewell girls win Molinelli titles
HOPEWELL TWP. >> Stay in the fight.
That’s the motto first-year Pennington School boys basketball head coach Chandler Fraser-Pauls keeps preaching to his team.
With almost an entirely new group of players, it’s been a work in progress so far. It’s still a work in progress, but the Red Raiders took two big steps this weekend.
Ethan Pires and Taurn Kumar both scored 16 points and Pennington held on for a 63-59 victory over Ocean Township in a chippy championship game of the 16th Molinelli Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon at Hopewell Valley High.
“They showed character,” Fraser-Pauls said. “We stress every single day to be mentally tough. We’ve been very up and down. I like to say stay in the fight. We did that today. We kept our heads for the most part. We weren’t perfect, and we’re not going to be perfect, and I know that, but as long as they give effort and have the right attitude, we’re going to be alright.”
Fraser-Pauls has a grand vision for what he wants the Pennington program to be, and this was a solid step, especially in the fourth quarter when his side used an 11-2 run to go up by nine (62-53) with 52.9 seconds left.
Jay Jackson scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, including eight during the decisive run. Jackson, a junior transfer from Princeton High, battled foul trouble after picking up two in the game’s first minute.
“I was proud of Jay sticking with it,” Fraser-Pauls said. “Staying in the fight as I say. He was down for three quarters, and didn’t have his best start, but he came back and finished strong.”
Noah Salcedo added 14 points for the Red Raiders (4-5). Kumar hit four 3-pointers and gave Pennington 16 points off the bench. Pires was named the tournament MVP.
“All season we’ve had issues playing together and not being as one, but today it showed that it just took a little bit,” said Pires, a lefthanded sophomore who was 5-for-9 from the field. “We’re going to bounce back, everybody is play with big moments. Everybody was playing their role right and we came out on top. That’s what matters.”
Jack Miller scored 25 points for the Spartans (21). The sharpshooting senior had 16 of those points in the first half before the Red Raiders forced him into tougher shots in the second half. Miller shot 6-for-16 from beyond the arc.
“We’ve grown up immensely,” Fraser-Pauls said. “We’ve added a lot of new pieces this year, so that takes time. Do I think we have a far way to go? Absolutely. But I think we’re on schedule. It’s going to take years where we want to be, and we’re on schedule with this team.”
PENNINGTON (63)
Pires 5-3-16, Bowen 1-0-2, Jackson 2-5-10, Ratner 1-0-2, Salcedo 5-1-14, Kumar 6-0-16, Mickens 1-0-3, Gutierrez 0-0-0. Totals: 21-9-63.
OCEAN TWP. (59)
J. Miller 8-2-25, Meeks 4-1-9, C. Miller 4-0-9, Savare 1-0-2, Kelly 3-2-8, Peters 2-0-6, Woodard 0-0-0, D’Auria 0-0-0. Totals: 22-5-59.
Pennington (4-5) 14 17 11 21 — 63 Ocean Twp. (2-1) 13 13 16 17 — 59
3pt goals: Pires 3, Jackson, Salcedo 2, Kumar 4, Mickens (TPS); J. Miller 6, C. Miller, Peters 2 (OT).