The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Franklin High School’s basketball teams had mixed results in their February 21 NJSIAA Tournament opening games.
The boys’ moved on to the quarterfinal round of the Sectional championships with a 74-65 win over Irvington, but the girls’ season ended with a 52-46 loss to Watchung Hills.
In the boys’ game, the Warriors jumped out to a commanding lead after the first quarter, outscoring Irvington 29-13.
Irvington bested the Warriors in the second quarter, 26-17, but that wasn’t enough to gain the lead as the teams went into the locker rooms at halftime with Franklin leading 46-39.
Irvington chipped away at Franklin’s lead in the third quarter, winning the frame 18-13, and cutting Franklin’s lead to 59-57 at the buzzer.
But the Warriors shut down Irvington in the final frame, taking it 15-8 for the win.
Junior Cam Brown led all scorers with 28 points,also pulling down two rebounds.
Senior Jake Novielli scored 17 points, scoring nine of them from outside the arc, along with three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Senior Cameron Snowden recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling in 10 rebounds He also had a block.
Senior Darnell Marche scored seven points, along with three rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.
Seniors Jahlil Williams and Daniel Okafor and Junior Elisha Brown each scored two points. Williams and Oakafor also each had three rebounds and a block, and Brown also had three rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and three steals.
With the win, the 7th-seeded Warriors face off against Linden, the number 2 seed, on February 23, at Linden.
The first half of the Lady Warriors’ game against Watchung Hills was all Franklin. The Lady Warriors outscored Watchung 13-12 in the first quarter and 12-8 in the second, taking a 25-20 lead off the court at halftime.
Franklin lost the led in the third quarter, when Watchung Hills outscored them 18-10. The final frame was no better, with Franklin being outscored 14-11.
Junior Iyanna Cotten led the Lady Warriors with 19 points.
Sophomore Precious Wheeler scored 10 points, and Freshman Alissa Myers had nine points.
Junior Tiffany Pecorella scored five points, while her Senior sister, Alyssa, scored three points.
The Lady Warriors ended the season 12-13 overall and 7-5 in the Skyland Conference.
