By Drew Peltzman
February 23rd, 2023
TRENTON, NJ. – Trenton continued their dominant season on Thursday with a 60-47 triumph over West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the second round of the NJSIAA Group 4 tournament.
Trenton (1 seed, 27-1) entered the quarterfinal round on the heels of a monstrous 71 point margin of victory in the first round, but failed to carry over the intensity into the beginning of their matchup against West Windsor-Plainsboro South (8-seed, 14-13). The top ranked Tornadoes found themselves trailing 23-22 with just a few minutes remaining in the first half.
“I can’t get ‘laxed with my guys, that’s something I learned tonight,” Trenton head coach Darryl Young said. “We had a relaxed practice the other day, they didn’t respond well to it, I think they thought it was a day off… that’s not us.”
Fortunately for Trenton, their defensive performance in the second half reminded everyone in Tornado Valley why they only have one loss this winter. Seniors Antwan Bridgett (5), Calvin Moore (2), Chris Wilson (2) and junior Kabrien Goss (5) picked the pockets of the Pirates on 14 occasions, as each steal led to a haste transition bucket. Their defensive stature made every Plainsboro South score a monumental effort.
“We go as our defense goes,” Young said. “We did enough to get this game, but we have to get back to us, and today we wasn’t us.”
Senior Devontay Hutson led all scorers with 17 points, 12 of them coming in the second half. He joined Kabrien Goss (14) and Calvin Moore (12) to cross double digit scoring.
Trenton will take on Middletown South (5 seed, 18-6) in the semifinal round of the district tournament on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. Middletown South defeated Jackson Memorial 63-58 on Thursday.
“I got to get back to who I am,” Young said. “Get us back to who we need to be to make this run because Saturday is going to be a tough one.”