Pioneers' Basketball Season Ends With Loss To Bloomfield Tech

All season long, the icy sting of winter has made a mess of things, from the roads and sidewalks to the New Providence boys’ varsity basketball team’s schedule.

Last night, the deep freeze hit again, this time inside the Pioneers’ own gym, and when all was said and done, New Providence’s season was abruptly over.

No. 10 Bloomfield Tech upset the No. 2 Pioneers, 55-40, in the quarterfinals of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 playoffs after the Pioneers had one fourth-quarter field goal and shot a frigid 6-for-25 overall in the second half.

“Just went cold really,” New Providence coach Art Cattano said.  “You have those days.  We’ve been shooting the ball well all year.  I know [forward] Justin [Singer] didn’t have a real good game shooting, and I just kept telling him, ‘you just gotta keep shooting.’  We got looks, we just couldn’t convert on them.”

The loss ends a season in which the Pioneers won 19 games and finished with a tie for first in the conference with two other schools.

“Definitely the best season [of my high school career],” senior center said.  “I think we had a good group of guys and our chemistry was really clicking, so I think that was the best part of my high school career. I was able to play with all my friends for the last time and go out with a good season.”

Cattano got choked up when reflecting on the achievements of his 1,000-point scoring center, who will now play at Division II Stonehill College in Massachusetts in the fall. 

“I don’t usually get like this,” Cattano said before collecting himself.  “It’s not so much [Cole’s] career, it’s the person he is.  Just can’t say enough about him really.  Tremendous, tremendous person.”

In addition to the 6-foot-7 Cole, New Providence will lose three other starters to graduation: Singer and the starting backcourt of and .

Cole was the only Pioneers’ player to score in double figures last night, but only four of his 14 points came in the second half as Bloomfield Tech outscored New Providence 36-15 during that stretch.

New Providence led 25-19 at the intermission, but Bloomfield Tech used hot outside shooting in the third to put the pressure back on the Pioneers. 

After two Bloomfield Tech 3-pointers in less than a minute tied the game at 33 with 1:30 left in the third, Cole hit a low-post jumper off an inbounds pass from Meyers to make it 35-33; it would be the last New Providence field goal for 7:03.

With the Pioneers floundering on offense, Bloomfield Tech put the game out of reach by controlling the offensive glass.  A put back made it 38-35 early in the fourth, and Bloomfield Tech extended the lead to 44-36 after four offensive rebounds on one possession finally resulted in a score. 

Singer, Fuschetto and Cole couldn’t connect on any of their 3-pointers late in the fourth, and Cole and Meyers also combined to go 0-for-6 from the line in the final 2:07.

Inside of a minute, Cattano pulled out his seniors so that the New Providence crowd could laud them one last time for their accomplishments on the hardwood.

“I’m definitely going to miss it,” Cole said of his high school career. “I’ve been playing with these guys for years, five or six years, so it’s real sad that it’s ending now. But, it’s been a great run.  I’m glad I got the opportunity to play with them all.”