For TCNJ seniors, NJAC playoffs a chance to go out on top
Not only is The College of New Jersey men’s basketball team ready to start the conference playoffs, it’s going to celebrate the three seniors who have helped put the program among the best in Division III.
When the No. 1 Lions (60) face No. 7 Kean (1-5) in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Packer Hall they will honor Travis Jocelyn, P.J. Ringel and Brandon Slaybaugh.
“This group of seniors is very special,” said TCNJ coach Matt Goldsmith. “They have had some of the best careers in recent TCNJ basketball history and have done it all while remaining humble and hungry for more.”
In an unusual season, the leadership of that trio has been a reason for success.
“No matter how this pandemic season ends, I will be so proud of this group,” added Goldsmith. “All three of them have left the jersey in a better place than when they found it, but, in particular, both Travis Jocelyn and PJ Ringel will be two guys our program never forgets. Great players, great captains, and even better young men. Travis, PJ, and Brandon all have very bright futures ahead and we look forward to following their journeys.”
The final TCNJ basketball journey starts with a rematch of the last regular season games they played back on Feb. 19-20. The Lions handled Kean that weekend by 10 points in the first game and completed the sweep with a 22-point rout.
TCNJ, which is the only undefeated team in the conference, is the defending NJAC champion.
“Another NJAC title would mean everything to me and the rest of the guys,” said Jocelyn. “When I committed to TCNJ, I wanted to turn the team into a national recognized program. Winning back to back NJAC titles means that we are heading towards that goal. I want to leave my mark on the NJAC, this program, and the younger guys who are going to lead this team to more NJAC titles once I’m gone.”
Jocelyn has Player of the Year credentials as he leads the conference in scoring (23.8 points), is third rebounds (7.2) and third in 3-point percentage.
“I think every year I have been able to make big strides in developing my game, but the biggest turning point for me was after my sophomore season,” said Jocelyn. “I knew I had to step into a bigger role my junior year so the summer and fall leading up to it I worked very hard every day.”
Ringel, meanwhile, has put himself in an elite category as a point guard. He averages 11.3 points, is second in the conference in rebounds with 7.3 and leads the NJAC in assists with 7.2.
They are two of the reasons the Lions earned the No. 1 seed and will look to go back-to-back. First, though, is senior day.
“I haven’t really thought about senior day too much this year,” admitted Jocelyn. “Usually there’s a couple months to prepare for it but this year we only had a couple of weeks. It is crazy that we are having it before a playoff game too, I don’t think that has ever happened before but everything has been different this year so why not. It will be nice to be able to celebrate the time my teammates and I have put into the program over these past four years.”
The Trenton Catholic Academy girls’ basketball team finished off its 2021 season in style Saturday by defeating Lenape High, 86-39, at the Sister Dorothy Payne Iron Palace.
With the win, the Mikes completed a 14-1 campaign which they are hoping will not be their last.
The Diocese of Trenton told the school prior to the start of this season that it would need to close at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
If that proves to be the case, it would mark the end of a spectacular run by a girls’ basketball program which has won seven state crowns and eight Mercer County Tournament titles during its time as St. Anthony’s High, McCorristin High and TCA.
Most recently that success has come under the direction of head coach Bob Fusik and top assistant Sherika Salmon, who have amassed a dynamic, 93-9 record in their four years at the school. The team’s continued success this season had it ranked No. 2 in the state for a second consecutive year with only two seniors on its roster. That’s the saddest news.
If the school (or some variation of it) will not be open again next fall, tremendously talented players like 6-foot-6 sophomore center Aalyah Del Rosario, 5-9 sophomore guard/forward Zoe Brooks and 5-5 sophomore guard Angelica Velez will have to find somewhere new to play.
This is not as simple a solution as moving across Mercer County to play at the other Catholic high school (Notre Dame). In those particular instances, Del Rosario hails from New York City, Brooks is from Plainfield and Velez had just transferred in this season from Manchester Township. They will be courted by many different schools and have to decide what will be the best fit for them right around the time they will start hearing from colleges, whose own search is sure to be just as demanding.
“Personally, I don’t think the school’s going to close,” Brooks said after leading all scorers with 26
points versus Lenape. “I have faith! If it does close, I’ll be really upset.”
“I hope it doesn’t happen, but, just in case, I’ve been looking to see which school could be the next TCA,” said Del Rosario, who backed Brooks with 23 points.
Velez rounded out the Big Three with 20 points of her own to put the Indians in a 27-4 hole after one quarter, which grew to 50-17 by halftime.
These girls love their school, their coaches and their teammates.
“There are great people here, great coaches; it’s a great school. And it’s not just the basketball part,” Brooks said. “I feel like I’m blessed every day I go to school here.”
The preseason announcement by the diocese could have done in these hard-working players. Instead, one year after going 28-1 and being robbed of a chance to play for another state title when the coronavirus pandemic ended the 2019-20 season early, the Mikes came back with another one-loss campaign, this time only falling, 62-55, on the road at top-ranked St. John Vianney Feb. 26 after senior guard Jasmin Boyd got hurt in the fourth quarter, which TCA entered leading, 46-45.
After that, Boyd sat out the rest of the season with an ankle injury, but her younger teammates kept on winning by an average margin of 32.8 points per game.
“In the beginning of the season, I put all the talk (of the school’s possible closing) aside and focused on going undefeated,” Brooks said. “I just blocked it out. I was locked in.”
The same was true for Del Rosario, Velez and the rest of their teammates.
“All we were thinking about was playing for our school, our team and our coaches,” Del Rosario said.
That theme continued through yesterday when Brooks and Del Rosario capped their first two years at Trenton Catholic Academy with a 42-2 record that they hope will not have to end just yet.
LENAPE (39)
Johnstone 1-0-3, Wess 1-0-2, King 7-2-18, Rosado 0-0-0, Wright 1-0-2, Dougherty 1-2-5, Grabowski 3-0-7, Keyes 0-0-0, Quinn 1-0-2. Totals — 15-4-39. TCA (86)
Tabor 0-0-0, Louis 0-0-0, Labissiere 0-0-0, Del Rosario 10-2-23, Brooks 11-2-26, Velez 8-1-20, BlandFitzpatrick 1-0-2, Almon-Sanchez 2-0-4, Andrews 4-0-9, CThompson 1-0-2. Totals — 37-5-86. Lenape (6-7) 4 13 14 8 — 39
TCA (14-1) 27 23 20 16 — 86
3-point goals: Johnstone, King 2, Dougherty, Grabowski (L), Del Rosario, Brooks 2, Velez 3, Andrews (TCA).
ALLENTOWN 44, TRENTON 28 TRENTON >>
Kayla McCrea led three Redbirds in double figures with 14 points as A’town finished its season with its 11th victory.
Caitlin Landgraf and Brianna Schweitzer chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Destiny Stocking’s 10 points and nine from Treona Andino paced the Tornadoes.
ALLENTOWN (44)
Schweitzer 5-0-11, Pellegrino 1-2-5, KMcCrea 6-2-14, Landgraf 5-2-12, Eckhardt 0-0-0, Belardino 0-0-0, AConti 0-0-0, CConti 0-0-0, ACruz 0-0-0, Sebar 0-0-0, Shellenberger 0-0-0, Townsend 1-0-2, Ricciardi 0-0-0, Mihalik 0-0-0. Totals — 18-6-44. TRENTON (28)
Stocking 5-0-10, TcAndino 2-0-6, ToAndino 4-0-9, Minor 0-0-0, Gerald 0-0-0, JRobinson 0-0-0, Beauchamp 0-0-0, Stockton 1-0-3. Totals — 12-0-28. Allentown(11-2) 11 12 11 10 — 44
Trenton (0-15) 12 5 6 5 — 28
3-point goals: Schweitzer, Pellegrino (A), TcAndino 2, ToAndino, Stockton (T).
PRINCETON 39, NEW EGYPT 29 PRINCETON >>
Casey Serxner’s nine points and Sofia Aguayo’s eight points helped the Tigers defeat the Warriors.
New Egypt’s Payton Arnold led all scorers in the game with 12 points on four 3-point field goals.
HAMILTON >> When the news came down shortly before the start of the high school basketball season that Trenton Catholic Academy was planning to shutter its doors at the end of the year, it brought about a wave of emotions for the players on the boys basketball team.
This would be their last season at the famed Iron Palace.
“There’s no other place I’d rather spend the last four years,” senior Brian Bernard said. “This is a great experience. It’s a great coaching staff. They want to see you win here. They want you to play hard and do your best on and off the court.”
Before the curtain dropped on the old building known for becoming a cauldron of noise that housed some of the best scholastic hoopers in the state, TCA entertained powerhouse and longtime nemesis Patrick School on the final night of the most unusual regular season.
Hamilton Township native Zion Cruz scored 26 points and the visitors spoiled TCA’s Iron Palace finale with a 72-60 victory on Saturday night.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the realization that this place may never host a game again began to set in.
“It’s crazy to me,” said senior guard Freddie Young Jr., who had a team-high 18 points. “It’s hard to wrap my mind around. I tried to
play with Trenton Catholic on my chest for that last game.”
There have been rumblings that work is being done behind the scenes to keep the school open next year, but as of now, this stands as the final game.
“I’d love to come back here over the break and watch these guys play again,” Bernard said. “See them wear this jersey one more time.”
TCA (7-7) would have loved to send the old barn out with a famous victory, but Patrick School (13-1) had too much firepower. Each time the Mikes got within arms’ reach, Cruz hit a shot.
TCA cut a 16-point halftime deficit to nine in the third quarter, but Cruz scored five quick points to restore the advantage. Young had 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Mikes got within 10 at the midpoint before
Cruz answered again.
“I got to play against way better talent (here),” said Young, who transferred in from Princeton Day before his junior season. “It made me push myself every day, made me want to be better than the player I’m playing against that day.”
While the sneaker may no longer squeak inside the Iron Palace, one thing will always be certain.
“It feels like home,” Bernard said.
PATRICK SCHOOL (72)
Cruz 11-2-26, D. Johnson 0-0-0, Sow 2-2-6, Pang 0-0-0, Loftin 0-0-0, Ewell 3-5-12, Ngoyi 0-0-0, Middleton 1-0-3, S. Johnson 7-1-17, Navarro 3-0-8, Torres 0-0-0. Totals: 23-10-72.
TRENTON CATHOLIC (60)
Jameel Morris 5-1-13, Young 6-5-18, M. Jones 0-0-0, Bernard 0-0-0, Jamal Morris 2-3-7, Muldrow 0-2-2, B. Jones 3-4-12, Hendryx 3-2-8, Sorber 0-0-0, Maxey 0-0-0, Naylor 0-0-0, Pintella 0-0-0. Totals: 19-17-60
Patrick School (13-1) 24 15 10 23 — 72
TCA (7-7) 13 10 9 28 — 60
3pt goals: Cruz 2, Middleton, S. Johnson 2, Navarro 2 (TPS). Jameel Morris 2, Young, B. Jones 2 (TCA).