Howell upset shakes up CJ IV boys basketball
On the first night of the tournament, March 1, coach Brian Quick’s Howell High School Rebels produced one of the biggest wins in school history when the Rebels shocked No. 2 seed Trenton Central, 48-47, in Trenton.
In the past, teams have been required to have a .500 or better record on the state tournament qualifying cutoff date. The NJSIAA changed that requirement this year in order to do away with first-round byes. The goal of the NJSIAA was to have 16 teams in each sectional bracket.
Howell qualified for the state tournament with a record that was a few games below .500.
Proving the age-old adage of “on any given night,” the Rebels gave it new meaning as a team seeded No. 15 with virtually no state tournament history toppled a recognized power that was seeded No. 2 in the bracket.
One advantage Howell had, according to Quick, was preparation time. The Rebels had 13 days to prepare for the Tornadoes, and they made every minute count.
“We spent 200 minutes preparing for their press, 70 minutes watching film of them, and 45 minutes discussing and reviewing their players’ strengths and weaknesses,” the coach said.
Quick thought his team had a psychological advantage.
“Being the No. 15 seed was a huge advantage because naturally the higher seed is going to think a No. 15 seed has no chance,” he said.
Something else was on Howell’s side as well.
“We knew we could play with them and we were confident,” said Quick. “Our last two games [before the state tournament opener] were against Long Branch and Academy Charter, two teams with a similar style to Trenton. We were battle-tested as our regular season schedule is filled with tough opponents.”
Quick also said he has a group of players who like competing in big games and thrive on the underdog role.
Guards Ryan Keegan, Rob Handy and Kendall Simmons were the difference makers for Howell in Trenton. If the Rebels were going to pull off the upset, they would have to be able to handle Trenton’s press. They were so good at it, Quick said, that Trenton’s coach eventually called off the press.
“That [the press] is a key to their game,” Quick explained. “They need to create turnovers to score easy baskets.”
Easy baskets were not to be found, and Trenton found itself in an unexpected dogfight with Howell.
The Rebels were only down by two points (25-23) at halftime and by four (40- 36) going into the fourth quarter. They were hanging around, and that is always dangerous for the favorite.
Keegan (14 points) and Paulius Mauricas (11 points) fueled the Rebels’ fourth-quarter comeback that had them leading 46-42 with 1:40 left after Mauricas hit a threepoint field goal.
Trenton, the Colonial Valley Conference champion, cut its
deficit to two points on a basket by Leshawn Bivens.
The Tornadoes caught a break with under :40 left when instead of running the clock and forcing Trenton to foul, Simmons took and missed a shot. Trenton rebounded the ball, and Craig Mitchell delivered a dagger to Howell’s heart by hitting a three-pointer with :28 left to give his team the lead.
But Howell refused to let the game slip away.
Simmons got his chance at redemption with :08 left and Howell inbounding the ball under the Trenton basket. Simmons got the ball and hit the game-winning basket at the buzzer to send Howell to its biggest playoff win ever.
“In the end, Simmons desperately wanted a second chance to redeem himself after a costly error moments earlier,” Quick said. “He was going to make that shot at the end no matter what.”
With the win in Trenton, Howell improved its record to 12-12 and advanced to the Central Jersey Group IV quarterfinals at Marlboro, the No. 10 seed, which had upset No. 7 seed Sayreville War Memorial High School, 56-50.
Trenton finished the season at 19-5 and lost in the first round of the state tournament for the first time in 11 years.
Howell’s magic did not carry over to the sectional quarterfinals. With Marlboro playing its best defensive game of the season, the Rebels scored only seven points in the first half and trailed the Mustangs 22-7. Howell never closed the gap in the second half and lost 45-23.
Still, the Rebels had shaken things up with their historic victory in Trenton. When all the dust cleared, the March 8 Central Jersey Group IV championship game featured No. 4 seed Montgomery hosting No. 11 seed North Brunswick.
