#5 St Peter's Prep Dominates Union City

Hudson County basketball has become a two team race in the last few years with the closure of no less than half a dozen parochial high schools, with Hudson Catholic and St. Peter’s the survivors and most talented teams; along with a chasing pack of public schools. On Thursday, Union City took their shot at one of the big dogs of Hudson County Hoops.

The Eagles got the scoring going off the tip with a bucket, which Peyton Miller answered on the first Prep possession. Union City took a hit within two minutes when one of their most experienced players, junior Kaleb Johnson came off with an injury, making a tall task, even taller, as they also played the game without their highly regarded freshman prospect, Anthony Gonzalez. In his absence, Gonzalez classmate Allan Gomez stepped up and weaved his way to the bucket to give UC a 4-2 lead midway through the hard fought, defensive quarter. The tight defensive battle played out for the remainder of the quarter and after teams traded buckets, Saint Peter’s held a slender 8-6 lead.

The Marauders extended their lead to start the second after a layup +1 by senior Nico Pena, making the score 11-6 early in the quarter. A possession later, Miller added three free throws. After a turnover, Spencer got a layup under the basket, then a three pointer, putt St Peter’s in the drivers seat, up 19-6 midway through the second. Union City went on a 7-2 mini run to bring it to a more manageable deficit, 21-13, with 2:00 left in the half, prompting St Peter’s head coach Alex Mirabel to call timeout.

The timeout settled the Marauders as Miller and Rosa added buckets to send them to the lockers up 25-13 at the break. Miller led all scorers with 9 for SPP, while Omar Tillman, a 6’3” junior forward, led Union City with 5.

Mason Santiago got Prep moving out of halftime, with a three pointer and a pair of free throws, giving the Marauders a commanding 30-13 lead. Another short Union City run kept the deficit right around 10 as the third approached its midway point, with the host Eagles still looking for someone to step up and fill the scoring void from the losses of Gonzalez and Johnson. Saint Peter’s guard play, without the Eagles starting backcourt, was able to create plenty of opportunities for easy baskets and controlled the pace of the quarter as the Marauders pulled away, leading 41-22 after three.

The fourth quarter was merely academic as St Peter’s, in complete control of the backcourt game, cruised their way to a win, closing out a 59-27 final score.

Case Agency Player Of The Game

The Saint Peter’s Backcourt Rotation.

Miller had the best scoring output in the first half, but it was a team effort by everyone in the SPP guard rotation on both ends—balanced scoring, ball-hawking defense and intense pressure.

The depth that SPP has in its rotation is not matched by many teams in the state and is their greatest asset.

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