Playing at third-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy in the state Prep B quarterfinals last Sunday, the sixth-seeded Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team enjoyed a solid offensive performance.
Featuring three players in doubles figures with Chase Lewis at 18 points, Paul Franzoni chipping in 14, and Mark Washington adding 11, PDS exceeded its usual output this winter as it tallied 52 points.
But that wasn’t nearly enough as MKA pulled away to a 77-52 win.
PDS head coach Paris McLean acknowledged that his team fell short on the defensive end.
“We mustered up more points than we normally do but we couldn’t stop them,” said McLean, whose team dropped to 5-15 with the setback. “If you look at our wins, we kept those games in the 40s.”
Tipping his hat to an underrated MKA squad, McLean said the Cougars posed some match-up problems for his team. “We battled but we struggled at times to match their intensity, they were 8-8 coming in but that is not indicative of how good a team they were,” said McLean. “They had a good big man in Josh Chery and they had some good outside shooters.”
McLean liked the intense efforts he got against the Cougars from sophomores Franzoni, Lewis, and Washington.
“Paul really battled, he really scrapped,” said McLean. “We needed others to match his intensity. You know what you are going to get from Chase, 15-20 points and a good floor game. Mark has had two solid games in a row, he also had 11 against Hightstown in our last game. The good thing is that all three of them are coming back.”
While the early tourney exit stung, McLean is looking for his players to keep battling over the last few weeks of the season.
“We had an honest conversation with them in the locker room; when you lose this early in the Prep tournament, you can feel like the season is over,” said McLean.
“We told them that there is a lot to play for. We have New Egypt on February 11, that is our senior night, and then we have the Mercer County Tournament. We will be playing a really good team in the first round of the counties but we could possibly play a spoiler role. We will have a consolation game no matter what happens so we are guaranteed at least four more games. If we can win four more, that would give us nine wins and one more than last year.”
Despite taking plenty of lumps this winter, PDS hasn’t lost its upbeat approach.
“They have kept their heads up,” asserted McLean, whose team is seeded 13th in the MCT and will play at No. 4 Trenton Catholic in the first round.
“For many of them it is the first full season of varsity basketball and they are realizing what a grind it is and how hard it is to keep up a high level of play. The practices have been good, they are giving a good effort in the games and if you look at our bench during games, they are all cheering for each other.”