By Drew Peltzman
February 25th, 2023
Trenton Central earned their spot to redeem last year’s Group 4 Sectional Championship loss with a convincing 68-52 victory against Middletown South in the semi-final round. Their 28 wins broke Trenton basketball’s program record, as they are just three wins away from representing Central Jersey in the state tournament.
“These guys get out there and they get after it,” Trenton head coach Darryl Young said. “They’d run through a brick wall for me, and I am just so proud of them. I’m so happy that they’re the team to be 28-1 and have the best record in Trenton High history – It has to be celebrated and it has to be known.”
Junior guard Kabrien Goss continued his hot shooting stretch on Saturday, leading all scorers with 20 points on the back of four three pointers. All five starters for the Tornadoes finished with double figures.
Trenton put on a shooting display enroute to a wire-to-wire win. Seniors Antwan Bridgett and Devontay Hutson complimented Goss’ firepower, tallying 14 points and 13 points respectively.
“We passed the ball very well, we were very unselfish,” Young said. “And when the ball gets moving, we get good looks. Antwan on one side and Kabe on the other, that’s a recipe for something really good to happen.”
Middletown South finishes their season 18-7 in the gaudy Shore conference. Trenton’s defensive rotations and ball pressure left the Eagles with little answers. No one on Middletown South finished with more than nine points.
Hutson and fellow frontcourt senior Chris Wilson consistently sent back anything close to the rim, forming a defensive duo to be feared.
“We’re coming back for revenge from last year,” Hutson said postgame. “It made us hungry, we want to win everything this year.”
Having already taken home hardware from the Mercer County Tournament, Trenton looks to continue to stock the trophy case on Tuesday as they host South Brunswick (6 seed, 20-6). South Brunswick played spoiler against reigning sectional champions Marlboro on Saturday, defeating them 72-61.
“I’m a game-by-game guy and don’t usually look at the bigger picture,” Young said. “But its been a journey and I want to make sure we celebrate every goal we achieve during this journey.”