PLAYING WITH HART: Princeton High boys’ basketball player Matt Hart puts up a shot in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, senior forward Hart scored 20 points in his final home game to help PHS edge Hamilton 65-64 and improve to 8-16. The Little Tigers will start play in the state tournament where they are seeded 16th in the Central Group 4 sectional and will play at top-seeded Hunterdon Central in an opening round contest on March 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Matt Hart is determined to end his stellar Princeton High boys’ basketball career with a bang.

“I am going to try to make the most out of it,” said senior forward Hart. “I only have a few more games. I want to play as well as I can and win as many as possible. I am trying to make the most out of my time.”

Last week in a Mercer County Tournament consolation contest at Hopewell Valley, Hart played very well, tallying 29 points as PHS pulled out a 79-73 win.

“We work a lot in practice on pushing the ball and getting out on offense and that helped a lot,” said Hart, in reflecting on the win in the February 23 contest.

“They were hitting a lot of their shots in the beginning of the game but we slowed them down. We hit our foul shots at the end and we hit a few important baskets and that put us over.”

Last Friday, 6’3 Hart celebrated the program’s annual Senior Night by pouring in 20 points as PHS rallied to edge Hamilton 65-64.

“I want to have my last home game at Princeton High be a good one so I just have to play hard and hope for the best,” said Hart, who got his wish as the Little Tigers outscored the Hornets 16-12 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win and improve to 8-16.

While Hart wished PHS had some more wins this year, he is proud of how the team has gone about its business.

“We have had a few rough points this season but we just keep trying to get over the hump,” said Hart, who was looking forward to taking part in the state tournament as PHS is seeded 16th in the Central Group 4 sectional and is slated to play at top-seeded Hunterdon Central in an opening round contest on March 1.

“It has been a rocky road but we try to make the best of everything; we try to put the positive on the negative. We just have to keep working hard, it will pay off. We have had some hard practices and that has helped us out.”

One of the high points of the season for Hart came on February 13 when he scored his 1,000th career point in an 80-64 loss to Hightstown.

“That was great, it just showed a lot of my hard work paying off,” said Hart, who now has 1,095 points through the Hamilton game.

“That was a pretty sweet accomplishment to do with my team. I couldn’t have done it without them and my coaches.”

Over the last two seasons, Hart has developed a special bond on the court with junior Zahrion Blue as they have formed a potent one-two punch for the Little Tigers.

“We have been marked the whole year but we always look out for each other,” said Hart, who is averaging 22.0 points a game this season with Blue chipping in 18.6 a game.

“When I am guarded close I will look out for him and he will get more points or buckets. We have a good connection; we just see each other.”

Looking back on his PHS hoops experience, Hart is leaving with a slew of great memories.

“I have loved every minute of it,” said Hart, who is planning to play in college and is looking at Division I and III programs.

“It has been awesome. I wouldn’t like to play anywhere else or have different coaches or different teammates. It has just been surreal.”