TRENTON – Notre Dame boys basketball coach Rich Roche told his team this was going to be the hardest Colonial Valley Conference game played between a pair of 2-4 teams.
Roche wasn’t wrong.
Nick Feretic scored 24 points, Quentin Autry added 13 and the Irish held off Trenton, 65-55, at the new Tornado Alley on Tuesday night.
Both Notre Dame (3-4) and Trenton (2-5) have played difficult schedules while missing key players. The Irish are still waiting on standout guard Leon Jones to be cleared following an injury during football, while the Tornadoes have a couple transfers sitting out the 30-day period.
“We played people and they played people,” Roche said. “Playing a Trenton is not foreign when you’ve already played Wildwood Catholic and St. John Vianney. The kids came in and weren’t intimidated. They were ready to play.”
ND took control of the game late in the third quarter when it went on a 10-0 run that extended into the final period. That gave the visitors a 55-40 lead with 6:33 remaining.
“We just kept the tempo up and kept the pressure on them,” Feretic said. “We kept scoring points.”
The fourth quarter was mainly about free throw shooting. The Irish scored 11 of their 15 points from the line, although it was a shaky performance overall (19-for-39).
Still, Roche was encouraged that his team came into Trenton and walked out a winner.
“We were using P’s with them,” Roche said. “It was possession, poise, patience. When we move the ball through the air, it worked well. When we started to dribble, they do such a good job trapping and that’s where our turnovers came from.”
Preston Carter hit four of his six 3-pointers to score 12 points off the bench for Trenton. Brandon Moore also had 12 points.
NOTRE DAME (65)
Feretic 7-9-24, Weber 2-3-8, Anderson 2-3-9, Graver 4-1-9, Autry 6-1-13, Jean 0-2-2, Hobdy 0-0-0. Totals: 21-19-65
TRENTON (55)
Bridgett 1-1-3, Moore 4-2-12, Huston 1-8-10, Balkcom 2-0-4, Taylor 1-2-4, Pratt 0-0-0, Ross 2-0-6, Harris 1-1-4, Carter 4-0-12. Totals: 16-14-55
Notre Dame (3-4) 14 16 20 15 – 65
Trenton (2-5) 9 20 11 15 – 55
3pt goals: Feretic, Anderson 2, Weber (ND); Moore 2, Carter 4 (TCHS).
***
Ewing 49, Hopewell Valley 47
Ewing >> Jaylen Britton and Mekhi Gibson had 15 points each and the Blue Devils (3-3) evened up their record by edging the Bulldogs (1-5). Kevin O’Reilly and Jackson Whitlock netted 12 each for HoVal.
Nottingham 64, Steinert 55
Hamilton >> Javon Jenkins paced three players in double figures with 13 points and the Northstars (5-3) bested the rival Spartans (3-4). Trevor Giordano led Steinert with 14 points.
Hightstown 57, WW-PN 46
Plainsboro >> Ben Simon scored 14 points, Spencer Kenny added 12 and the Rams (6-2) defeated the winless Knights (0-6). Alex Kline had a game-high 17 for WW-PN.
Robbinsville 70, Allentown 61
Robbinsville >> Ryan Smith dropped 19 points, Brian Tierney had 13 and the surprising Ravens (6-1) clipped the Redbirds (4-3). R.J. Weise scored 19 for Allentown.
Ran. Valley 65, No. Burlington 63
Mt. Holly >> Javontae Jones scored 24 points and the Red Devils (3-4) edged the Greyhounds (3-3). Lorenzo Repack paced NBC with 19 points.
Burlington City 60, STEM Civics 40
Ewing >> Deonte Woodbury put in 18 points to lead the undefeated Blue Devils (7-0) past STEM Civics (2-6), which got 19 points from Mathew Moko.
Bordentown 79, Burlington Twp. 51
Burlington >> Jordan Martin scored a game-high 37 points and the Scotties (4-2) cruised to a victory over the Falcons (2-5).
