By, Nolan Buser
January 31, 2023
TRENTON, NJ. – The long-awaited clash between Trenton Central and Ewing was finally here, and it was Trenton that outlasted their storied rival. Trenton 62 Ewing 54.As both teams entered Tuesday night’s contest with just one loss, the outcome would hold major CVC and state tournament ramifications.
The weight of this much-anticipated game created a lively environment within the Ewing gymnasium, and both teams rose to the occasion.
“I’ve been waiting for this type of environment to see how they would respond,” said Trenton head coach Darryl Young. “I feel we responded well, I think we played a solid game.”
A highly contested first two quarters left the score 36-30 in favor of Trenton heading into half number two.
Trenton would go on to hold their lead the rest of the game, thanks to scoring contributions from all members of their starting five. Including 14-point games from both Antwan Bridgett and Davontay Hutson.
As Trenton sat comfortably with an 11-point lead, Ewing began to find momentum, and kept the game close down to the final minute.
Ewing’s Darnelle Forrest finished with 17-points as he and his teammate Kenny Rankin (15-points) led the fourth quarter surge.
“I never expect Ewing to quit, it’s Trenton vs. Ewing they’re not going to stop playing,” said Young. “I was telling them to stay solid, don’t turn the ball over and to be patient. We knew we could go to the foul line and ice the game from there.”
And that is just what Trenton did, remained calm, cool and collected down to the final buzzer.
“We are the best team in the county and we showed it against a good Ewing team,” said Trenton guard Brazil Fields. “We kept our composure and we stuck to our game-plan.”
This comes as just the second loss of the season for Shelly Dearden and the Ewing Blue Devils, as their record falls to 17-2. They will travel to face West Windsor-Plainsboro North on February 3rd, looking to get their impressive season back on track.
As for the now 19-1 Trenton Central Tornadoes, they will be looking for their 6th straight win when they visit Trenton Catholic on February 2nd.
The win over Ewing leaves them with the best record remaining in the CVC.
“This game is not me or coach Shelley’s long-term goal, for her it’s a group 3 title and for us it’s a group 4 title,” said coach Young. “But this is for the kids and the old-timers in the city. This game is about bragging rights, Trenton and Ewing is about bragging rights, and we have the bragging rights this year.”