Pennington Knocks Off Trenton Catholic

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It was the game that everyone had wanted for many years. The game that would decide who was truly the best in Mercer County, New Jersey. The defending Mercer County Champions, Pennington, took on a state powerhouse, Trenton Catholic. TCA & Pennington were full of some of the best athletes in the state of New Jersey and it showed as both teams were off to great starts. However, this game would not have the result you would think. Everyone in the state was shocked to learn the results.

It was clear what Pennington’s game plan was from the opening tip. This was to slow the game down, force TCA into a half-court game, and make the Iron Mikes shoot plenty of 3-point attempts. Boy did it work, as Pennington pulled off the thrilling upset at a sold-out Sparks Memorial Gymnasium, 40-37 over Trenton Catholic.

With Pennington leading most of the game it came as no surprise that TCA would come back. The Red Raiders, down 37-36 with about a minute remaining in the fourth quarter and the Iron Mikes holding possession, wanted the ball back. Dontae Johnson dove for a loose ball along the baseline like the defensive back he is. Johnson, a 2010 North Carolina State Football commit, called a timeout to give Pennington the ball and a chance to take the lead.

After the timeout, Harold Spears ran a pick-and-roll with Johnson, drove past Iron Mike’s big man Markese Tucker along the baseline, and made a reverse layup with under 45 seconds left to give the Red Raiders the lead.

After two missed opportunities by Khalid Lewis El; Anthony Gaffney snagged a rebound and passed it up to Chandler Fraser-Pauls who made it a 3-point game. Dondre Whitmore attempted a 3-pointer to tie the game. The ball went in and out! 

This was not the last chance for TCA, however. Fraser-Pauls missed the a one-and-one at the free throw line to give the Iron Mikes one last chance to escape with 11 seconds remaining. Frantz Massenat chucked two final 3-point shots up, but the second one missed everything. The buzzer sounded with the Red Raiders pulling off the inprobable.

The best news was the money collected from tickets went to Haiti. The event raised over $2,800!!! In that case, everyone is a winner.

Team         1       2       H       3       4       F    
TPS            12     8       20     14      6      40
TCA            8      9       17      12      8     37

The Pennington School

Harold Spears- 13pts, 2/5 3P, 1/2 FT
Chandler Fraser-Pauls- 10pts, 1/2 3P, 3/5 FT
Anthony Gaffney- 7pts, 1/2 FT
Dontae Johnson- 6pts, 2/4 FT
James Anderson- 4pts, 1/2 3P, 1/2 FT

Trenton Catholic

Dondre Whitmore- 9pts, 3/6 3P
Frantz Massenat- 7pts, 1/3 FT
Ron Paden- 6pts, 2/2 3P
Brandon Taylor- 6pts
Khalid Lewis El- 5pts, 1/3 FT
Markese Tucker- 4pts

Thanks to Blog.NorthstarBball.com for the stats.