STORY BY KEVIN MINNICK OF NJ.COM
The first half was miserable for both teams, shots just didn’t want to fall from anywhere on the floor.
The second half proved much better, especially for Elizabeth.
The North Jersey champion closed out the third quarter on a 15-2 run and scored nine of the first 12 points of the fourth to seize command en route to a 57-41 victory over Lenape in the NJSIAA Group 4 state final at Rutgers University on Saturday.
Elizabeth (23-5), No. 19 in the NJ.com Top 20, closed out its season with wins in its last six games. The title is its seventh, with the last coming just two seasons ago.
“No one thought we’d be here at the beginning of the year. I had a bunch of guards that are underclassmen,” Elizabeth coach Phil Colicchio said. “From last summer to the fall, I’ve never had kids like each other as much as these kids do.”
The Minutemen essentially secured the win over the final 2:56 of the third. After taking Lenape’s best punch, Elizabeth responded with one of its own.
After No. 18 Lenape (28-4) clawed its way back and used an 18-5 run to take a 29-26 lead, Elizabeth closed out the quarter with its own response – capping its run with a 3-ball to beat the buzzer by Cameron McCrae for a 41-31 advantage.
Lenape never recovered.
“I’m stubborn. When teams do that to us, and I think we’re the better team, I don’t call timeouts. I let our kids try to fight their way out of it, and we did,” Colicchio said.
“We made some shots and did a great job all game on defense. We’ve done that all year. We try to wear teams down and we wore them down a little bit.”
Elizabeth continued to ride its momentum in the fourth, taking a 50-36 lead with four minutes to play.
“We just knew how important it was to win this. That’s what brought the spark out of us,” said senior guard London Carson, who finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. “In the locker room at halftime, we talked about how we executed on defense in the first half and had to do it again.
“It’s championship basketball. We came and played our hearts out. We did whatever we needed to win.”
McRae led Elizabeth with a game-high 15 points. The junior guard also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior forward Chris Clark added 11 points, five boards and two steals.
“You just have to stay humble and composed. Our coach always teaches us to fight,” McRae said. “I’m a competitor and have been since Day 1. I’m going to compete to the end, until I hear the buzzer sound.
“We worked hard every day in practice and knew we’d get here and be the team to end up No. 1. Our coach tells us every day that we’re the best defensive team in the state. Whether others don’t think that, we do. We make statements.”
Lenape saw its 20-game winning streak snapped. The Indians were looking for their third championship in as many appearances, having won in 2004 and 2009.