The Nottingham Boys Basketball Team Celebrate with their 2018 Central Jersey Group III Championship Trophy after defeating Moorestown in overtime. Photo by Michael A. Sabo
By Ken Weingartner
For Fish4Scores.com
MOORESTOWN — Nottingham High’s boys basketball team is well regarded for its scoring ability, boasting three 1,000-point scorers, but when it came time to find a way to win the program’s first state sectional championship it was the defense that led the way.
After giving up 33 points in the first half, the second-seeded Northstars limited No. 1-seeded Moorestown to 23 points in the second half and overtime, a span of 20 minutes, to capture the Central Jersey Group III championship, 59-56, in front of a sellout crowd that included Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.
It is the first-ever state sectional title for Nottingham, which lost to Ewing in last year’s state sectional final.
The Northstars trailed Moorestown by as many as nine points, 17-8 at the end of the first quarter, before Darell Johnson’s layup at the buzzer in regulation tied the score at 51 and forced overtime.
In the extra period, Cliff Joseph’s free throw with 43 seconds remaining put Nottingham ahead for good, 57-56. Kostro Montina preserved the lead when he blocked a Moorestown 3-point attempt in the final moments and Joseph grabbed the loose ball and was fouled with one second to go. Joseph connected on two free throws and Johnson intercepted the Quakers’ ensuing inbounds pass to seal the win.
Nottingham (27-2) will play South Jersey Group III champion Delsea at 7 p.m. Thursday at Brick Memorial in the state semifinals.
The first half (Moorestown) gave us a lot of problems,” Nottingham coach Chris “The Baron” Raba said. “They run good stuff; they screen, they pass, they screen, they pass. They get any shot they want on the court. We just had to be disciplined on defense.
“Once we settled down we played well, more on the defensive end in the second half. It’s always defense. Defense is going to win these games, it isn’t offense. I knew we were going to have to defend for 30 to 50 seconds every possession. That’s what worried me. We had to stay disciplined and locked in for every position, which is very hard in a game like this.”
Nottingham scored the game’s first points on a layup by Joseph, but Moorestown (24-6) used its patient offense to give the Northstars trouble from there. Nottingham would not lead again until Joseph’s 3-pointer with 6:40 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Northstars a 43-42 edge.
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There would be three lead changes and two ties before Johnson’s basket forced overtime.
Johnson led Nottingham with 20 points while Joseph, who was sidelined with foul trouble in the first half, finished with 17 points. Richie Jones added 15 points, including three 3-pointers that helped keep the Northstars close during the first three quarters. That trio makes up Nottingham’s 1,000-point scorers.
Moorestown’s Connor Dickerson led all scorers with 21 points. Nottingham limited the Quakers sharp-shooting Jagger Zrada to nine points, with none in the fourth quarter or overtime.
“We’ve been down before,” Johnson said. “We just kept our heads up and fought back. Defense always carries through to offense. That’s what our coaches teach us. Defense comes first and then the offense will come.”
Nottingham, which earlier this year won its first Mercer County Tournament championship, extended its school record for wins with the victory over Moorestown.
“This feels amazing,” Joseph said. “I don’t even have words for it. This is what we’ve been working for all year and we won it.”
Raba, who in 2006 won a state sectional title as the coach at Hamilton, had nothing but praise for his players following the victory.
“This is the best senior class in the history of basketball at Nottingham,” Raba said. “The best. Everybody talks about the Big 3, and they are big, but these other guys had to step up tonight. We got in foul trouble and these other guys gave us a hell of a job out there. I’m just excited for them.”
As for what’s next, Johnson had a simple response.
“We want to be state champions.”
