St. Augustine Prep Big Runs Stop Pirates' Title Hopes

There were a few times in the second half of Saturday's Non-Public A state title game when it appeared Seton Hall Prep was about to recapture the momentum from St. Augustine Prep and find a way to win its 15th Non-Public A state title.

Unfortunately, for the Pirates, it seemed that the Hermits had an answer every time.

The Hermits (28-2) won the state title with a 71-60 victory at Poland Springs Arena on the campus of Toms River North High before 1,745. St. Augustine Prep now advances to the Tournament of Champions, while Seton Hall Prep finished its season 26-4.

Seton Hall Prep's biggest lead was 24-15 with 6:22 left in the second quarter on junior forward Stephon Mosley's three-point basket. But St. Augustine got back into the game for good by running off nine unanswered points. Seton Hall's did regain the lead at 26-24 with 3:15 left in the half on senior Sterling Gibbs' two free throws and 29-26 on sophomore forward Spencer Weisz' 3-point goal.  The Pirates led 29-28 at halftime.

That would be their last lead. Hermit junior center Austin Johnson's two free throws early in the second half gave the Hermits a 30-29 edge. The Hermits went on a 14-1 to open the half to build a 42-30 lead on senior guard Isaiah Morton's fast-break basket.

Morton, who'll play at Marist next year, was certainly a thorn in the Pirates' side. He was named the game's outstanding player, scoring a game-high 30 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gibbs, who is headed to the University of Maryland and leaves as the Pirates' all-time leading scorer with 1,984 points, finished with 28 points.

"We gave them a pretty good quick punch, but they settled down," said Seton Hall Prep coach Bob Farrell, who completed his 34th season at Seton Hall Prep. "We couldn't contain their offense, we had some streaks of their own, but they answered every one. Paul (St. Augustine coach Paul Rodio) does a great job and they played a great game."

Farrell said the difference of the game was the third-quarter Hermit run.

"We have had a tendency all year to ..our first quarter defense was excellent, our rotations were excellent, but once we get the lead we tend not to take good shots, we don't execute our offense quite as well and we forgot how we got the lead," said Farrell, who has led the Pirates to 12 state titles since becoming coach for the 1977-78 season. The late Frank "Finn" Tracey was the coach of the other two in 1961 and '64.

Farrell said the team felt confident with its one-point halftime lead, but the team simply didn't execute in the third quarter when the game got away.

Seton Hall did rally after falling behind by 12 in the quarter. A Weisz three, was followed by a steal and layup by junior guard Zahki Davis, a steal by Weisz and Gibbs' basket to cut it to 42-37. Gibbs then scored off his own miss and it was suddenly a three-point lead with 1:31 left in the third.

Lots of time for the Pirates.

But the Hermits answered with a 9-0 run — capped by a Morton 3-pointer — 18 seconds into the fourth quarter that boosted the St. Augustine lead back to 12 at 51-39.  

Sophomore forward Tom Lacey's basket brought the Pirates to within 59-53 with 3:07 left and forcing Rodio to call a time out. But yet another three-point Morton basket was followed by Johnson free throw and St. Augustine led by 10 with 2:20 left.

Weisz was the only other Pirate in double figures, scoring 11 points.