SHP Edges East Side In Thrilling Opener To Get SEC-American Season Off & Running

By Steve Tober
for sidelinechatter.com

NEWARK- Just another season opener you say…No way, not when two Top 10 teams tip-off 2010-2011 before a packed house, Down Neck, on a Friday afternoon in the hectic Brick City, where Essex County hoops fans willing to brave the holiday traffic in and around Penn Station and a snarled McCarter Highway found it all worthwhile once they sat crammed together while taking in a little primetime Jersey high school basketball.

Seton Hall Prep and Newark East Side treated the fans packed in the Red Raiders’ gym to a memorable debut to the regular season for both Super Essex Conference-American Division teams, each a favorite in their respective state sections this winter, Non-Public A for the Pirates and Group 3 for East Side, and if the first of possibly three meetings this season is any indication of what’s to come than brace yourself.

With junior center Stephon Mosley scoring eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, Maryland-bound senior guard Sterling Gibbs pouring in a game-high 30 points, and junior guard Dallas Anglin putting together a solid 20-point, 5-steal performance in his Pirate debut, SHP hung on to edge the Red Raiders, 69-67.

With the two teams scheduled to meet again Thursday, Jan. 20 (7 p.m.) at SHP, and, perhaps, in an Essex County Tournament final the end of February, there could be plenty more fireworks from two teams that appear destined to cause all sorts of headaches for the opposition throughout this season.

“A great high school basketball game between two teams that really played hard,” said SHP veteran coach Bob Farrell, happy to escape Ironbound with a season-opening win. “They are a real excellent team with great penetrators.

“I told our kids that playing on the road we will have to overcome adversity and our kids, for the most part, did that.”

When Anglin connected on a free throw to give his team a 69-66 lead with 5.1 seconds left, the cagey, experienced coach made a critical decision, one which would ultimately pay off: foul the dribbler and force East Side to try and score off an offensive rebound to tie or win the game.

SHP fouled East Side’s superb junior point guard Kasim Chandler (18 points, 4 steals) with 2.5 seconds showing and the Red Raider made the first free throw and purposely missed the second.

However, a tap by sophomore forward Will Joyce was well off the mark and junior center Aaron Bodie’s off balance put-back also was off target.

It was a very long 2.5 seconds since the clock operator failed to start the scoreboard clock right away, but the Pirates survived the extended extra couple of ticks and came away with the win.

“Last year, when we played here, we were up three at the same juncture and they had the ball,” recalled Farrell. “I told our guys to stay on the shooters and don’t get sucked in, but we got sucked in, they missed a wide open ‘3’ and I said I wasn’t going to take that chance again.

“I wanted them to win on an offensive rebound…The timekeeper said to me he was watching play and was sorry….It was some exciting basketball game, that’s for sure!”

East Side’s splendid 6-2 junior guard Tariq Carey (18 points) scored six points in the final 1:20 and his two free throws with 53.1 seconds left brought the Red Raiders to within 66-64.

After a Mosley layup off a nice feed from Anglin with 43 seconds showing, Carey hit a runner, to make it 68-66, with 29 seconds still left.

A key block by SHP junior guard Zahki Davis led to the ball going out of bounds and the Pirates regaining possession with nine seconds remaining.

Anglin missed the front end of a two shot opportunity at the charity stripe, but made the second, setting the stage for the coach’s decision to foul and not allow the tri-fecta to tie.

“He’s been doing this for 34 years and Coach Farrell knows everything about basketball,” said SHP sophomore swingman Spencer Weisz, who didn’t score, but had a fine floor game (12 rebounds, five assists). “We have total faith in our coach and if he wants us foul we’re going to foul.

“Heck, it all worked out in the end and we earned a hard-fought victory against a very good East Side team!”

Anglin, watching his backcourt mate Gibbs put on yet another superb show, his classmate Mosley come up big with key buckets and rebounds in the fourth quarter, and the rest of his teammates hold off a splendid Red Raider squad in a classic season opener, couldn’t help but soak in the afterglow of a fine debut for all, including himself.

“This is a great way to start the season, against a very tough team, but we knew it would be hell coming in here,” said Anglin, who played his freshman season at St. Peter’s Prep before transferring early in his sophomore year (Jan. 11, 2010) to SHP and sitting out the rest of last season. “Sterling is simply clutch and Stephon is a great prospect whose in my grade and I love playing with him.

“This is a great group of guys and coach Farrell has us ready for every situation. It definitely was a tough game, but we’re thrilled to begin the season with a big victory, that’s for sure!”

Seton Hall Prep (1-0) 14 24 17 14 -69

East Side (0-1) 15 16 19 17 -67

SHP: Sterling Gibbs 7-2-10-30, Dallas Anglin 5-1-7-20, Stephon Mosley 4-0-4-12, Spencer Weisz 0-0-0-0, Elijah Brown 1-0-0-2, Kelly Willoughby 0-0-0-0, Zahki Davis 2-0-1-5. Totals: 19-3-22-69.

East Side: Kasim Chandler 1-3-7-18, Tariq Carey 6-0-6-18, Aaron Bodie 6-0-2-14, Jamal Reid 4-1-2-13, Will Joyce 2-0-0-4, Omar Martinez 0-0-0-0, Shaquan Johnson 0-0-0-0, Victor Oliyani 0-0-0-0, Abdul Lewis 0-0-0-0. Totals: 19-4-17-67.