The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Senior Cameron Snowden led all scorers with 31 points in the Franklin High School boys’ basketball team’s 76-60 win over Newark Tech on February 9.
Snowden also pulled in six rebounds and had a block and two steals.
Franklin sprinted to an early lead, ending the first quarter up 18-14.
Newark Tech came back in the second quarter, playing to a 13-13 tie, but still behind 31-27 at the half.
Franklin broke loose in the third quarter, outscoring Newark 26-18 and increasing their lead to 57-45.
The final frame was Franklin’s as well, 19-15.
Warrior coach Tony Mento said the first half was typical Warrior play.
“I think that’s what we do a lot of times, we play basketball that allows teams to run with us for a little while, wear them down,” he said.
Still, Mento said, the first half wasn’t perfect.
“First half I think we did a poor job controlling the tempo,” he said. “We played too fast. The second half the kids started to slow down.”
“I think we executed our sets really well in the second half, we were a little more patient,” he said.
Junior Cam Brown scored 18 points and had four rebounds and two assists.
Senior Jake Novielli scored 12 points and pulled down three rebounds. He also had an assist and a block.
Senior Darnell Marche scored seven points and recorded five rebounds, eight assists and a steal.
Senior Daniel Okafor scored four points, including a booming jam in the game’s final minutes. He also pulled down four rebounds and had an assist and three blocks.
Senior Jahlil Williams and Junior Elisha Brown each scored two points. Williams also had four rebounds and a block, and Brown had 10 rebounds, 12 assists and three blocks.
The Warriors are seeded 5th in the Somerset County Tournament. They play 13th seed Bernards at home on February 11. The winner of that game faces 4th seed Hillsborough on February 14.
With the win, Franklin improves to 14-9 overall and 7-4 in the Skyland Conference.
Here are some scenes from the game:
