TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY – The
Trenton Catholic Academy Iron Mikes (N.J.) needed triple-overtime to upset the St. Anthony Friars (Jersey City, N.J.) 57-56 in the NJSIAA Non-Public B final on Saturday at the Ritacco Center.
Lewis earned MVP.
Photo by Steve Goldberg
“We were gigantic underdogs in this game, and St. Anthony is one of the best programs in the nation,” Trenton Catholic Academy Head Coach Fred Falchi said. “Just to get one win against them is incredible. This is the first time in Iron Mike history we ever beat them.”
Trenton Catholic Academy fell one game short of the Tournament of Champions each of the past two seasons with losses to St. Anthony in 2008 and St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) in 2009. The Iron Mikes finally captured their first state title since 1990 with a thrilling victory over St. Anthony, ranked No. 20 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25.
“We have waited three years for this, and we finally got it done,” junior guard
Kaleed Lewis said. “Before the game, we were talking about how St. Anthony beat us by 30 my freshman year. That wasn’t the same team, but it still was St. Anthony.”
Lewis scored seven of his 15 points in the three overtime periods and was named Trenton Catholic Academy’s MVP.
“Winning the state championship means a lot more to me than being the MVP,” Lewis said. “I’m a team player. I love my team, I love my coach, and I wanted to get it done for them.”
The Iron Mikes were trailing 28-16 late in the second quarter when Dondre Whitmore connected on a three-pointer as time expired in the half. Trenton Catholic Academy began the third quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the St. Anthony lead to 28-26.
“I think that three at the end of the first half was huge because it got the lead under double-digits,” St. Anthony Head Coach Bob Hurley said. “We also had a really big turnover in the third overtime when Jordan Quick threw the ball up to the middle of the court and they stole it and laid it in.”
The turnover Hurley was referring to put Trenton Catholic Academy in the lead for good. The steal and layup by Ronnie Paden, his only basket of the game, gave the Iron Mikes a 56-55 lead with under two minutes to go in the final overtime.
TCA's first state title since 1990.
Photo by Steve Goldberg
St. Anthony had the chance to send the game into a fourth overtime when Elijah Carter was fouled by Frantz Massenat with 4.7 seconds remaining. Carter made the first free throw but missed the second. The Friars tried to tip the ball into the hoop to win the game, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Lewis grabbed the rebound for the Iron Mikes and ran out the clock for the victory. The elated Trenton Catholic Academy fans stormed onto the court to celebrate the upset with the team.
“I was trying to get away so they didn’t foul me,” Lewis said. “All I had to do was run with the ball for a few seconds to let the clock run down. Then I threw the ball up in the air and enjoyed myself. That was a great feeling and I loved it.”
St. Anthony was unable to capture their 26th state title, but Hurley believes that the season was still a success. The Friars dominated heavily-favored, undefeated No. 4 Paterson Catholic (N.J.) in the NJSIAA Non-Public North B final Thursday night to advance to the state final.
“We were very excited that we were coming to play today because this is not, by any stretch, one of St. Anthony’s best teams,” Hurley said. “It’s disappointing that we did get this far and didn’t win it, but I’m sure the frustration will wear off quickly when we look back at the kids we have and what they were able to accomplish.”
The victory is Trenton Catholic Academy’s first this season against an Xcellent 25. The Iron Mikes gave Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) a scare in the PrimeTime Shootout in February, but they fell just short 63-58. Now Trenton Catholic Academy has an upset to remember for a long time to come.
“Winning the state championship this year feels even better because we had to go against St. Anthony,” Massenat said. “When we played them two years ago, they had seven Division-I players and they blew us out of the gym. Revenge was definitely in our minds, and to be able to do this makes it something we will remember for the rest of our lives.”
Trenton Catholic Academy will have a bye in the Tournament of Champions quarterfinals. The Iron Mikes will play their next game in the semifinals Friday night at Rutgers University.
“All we want to do now is win the whole thing,” Massenat said. “We accomplished something great today, winning the state title, but now we want to win the whole thing.”
