DIGGING DEEP: Princeton Day School boys’ basketball player David “Diggy” Coit dribbles up the court in recent action. Sophomore guard Coit enjoyed a superb campaign, averaging a team-high 21.7 points a game as PDS went 18-9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In the last few weeks of the season, the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team suffered some disappointing playoff defeats.

PDS fell 76-73 on a buzzer-beater in the state Prep B semis to Morristown-Beard on February 12 and then dropped a tough 53-47 loss five days later to crosstown rival Princeton High in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament.

But the Panthers were able to end the season on a high note as they defeated Robbinsville 55-38 in a Mercer County Tournament consolation game on February 20 to wrap up the winter.

“There are not many teams that get to win their last game of the season,” said PDS head coach Tim Williams.

“It really helped to lessen the disappointment from the setback to PHS. Since it was a home game, we were fortunate enough to win and sub out the seniors at the end of the game so they could get their ovations. Ultimately, it wasn’t exactly the way we pictured it but having a win on your home court in your last game of the season was really nice.”

The victory culminated another nice season for the Panthers as they finished 18-9 coming off a 2015-16 campaign which saw PDS win the state Prep B crown.

“It was great, it was a success,” said William in assessing the season.

“We had some really lofty goals. We came away with the Solebury Tip-off championship and started off well and did what we wanted to do there. One of our goals was to return to the Prep state championship game and win there. Although we didn’t, losing to Mo-Beard, the eventual state champions, by a last second buzzer beater shoot with a hand right in his face, there is nothing to be ashamed or sad about. As a coaching staff, we felt we did a lot of really good things in that game and we were happy with it.”

Williams was very happy with what senior and co-captain Chase Lewis has given the program, starring from day one as a freshman.

“Chase has been in the mix for four years, a three-year captain, he has been one of our top scorers for all four years, either our leading scorer or definitely one of the top guys,” said Williams of Lewis, who averaged 13.3 points a game this year and passed the 1,000-point mark in his Panther career.

“I can’t say enough about him, not only his contributions but his leadership. To be able to be a captain for three years, is just amazing. I don’t know if anyone here has ever done that.”

Senior forward John McArthur, who transferred to PDS from Robbinsville in 2015, made a huge contribution in his two seasons with the program. McArthur hit the 1,000-point in his high school career in February and averaged 21.5 points a contest this season.

“John obviously made an immediate impact; he did what we asked him to do, he is a very selfless player,” said Williams.

“When we needed him to play inside, he anchored us inside. We played him a little more outside this year on the wing because he worked really hard improving his wing skills. He did a nice job there.”

Another senior, co-captain Paul Franzoni, did everything asked of him as well.

“Paul has been a starter for three years and he has been a captain for two years,” said Williams.

“Although the things he did for our team didn’t show up on the stat line, you might see him with one or two points and four or five rebounds. It may not seem like he contributed all that much but he is doing all the little things. He is moving the ball when we need it moved, he is playing defense, he is communicating, and he is organizing. The things he helped do preseason, in practice, and in postseason, just creating a wonderful team environment were invaluable to our team.”

Seniors Hassan Ladiwala and Zach Dudeck also added to the team environment.

“Hassan started a number of games for us this year and always led by example with his energy, his effort, and his positive attitude, and we could not have asked for a better senior,” said Williams.

“Zach Dudeck just joined this year, he has been mainly a standout soccer and baseball player for us. Although he didn’t get a ton of playing time, he was one of these guys who did everything you asked him to do. It was a great lift, pushing all of the guys to work harder every day.”

The play of sophomore star guard David “Diggy” Coit gave the Panthers a lift all winter.

“Diggy did great, he had a fabulous year by all accounts,” said Williams of Coit, the team’s leading scorer with an average of 21.7 points a game.

“He worked tremendously hard; he knew he was going to have a good year because of the work he put in this summer and the fall. He really wanted to assert himself a little more offensively. He improved his defense and he improved his conditioning overall, he just stepped up across the board.”

It was a tough year for promising sophomore guard Craig Wrenn as he was sidelined for most of the winter due to an injury.

“Because of his injuries he only got to play four games,” said Williams.

“He broke his wrist before the season began and then he came in and played a couple of games in early January and hurt his knee. He was one of the ones we really expected to make a big contribution this year. He expected the same because he worked very hard in the offseason. He was looking to be in the starting lineup and be in the top six, seven guys, and it was taken away from him sadly. I hope he has better luck next year.”

Freshman star Jaylin Champion showed that he has the potential to become one of the top players to come through the PDS program in years, averaging 9.5 points a game and displaying flashes of brilliance.

“We knew that Jay was a great talent coming out of our middle school and he had some really great games,” said Williams.

“He gave us a lift offensively. It is always tough for freshmen coming in. He stepped right in and started playing from the start. Once he gets a better handle on the schemes that we are trying to throw in defensively, he is going to explode and go through the roof.”

In Williams’ view, the biggest positive to come out of the season was the mental toughness and character the players exhibited in dealing with adversity.

“I am just really so pleased overall with our guys and the way they stayed focused over the year,” said Williams, noting that Lewis, Wrenn, and Champion were all sidelined with injuries at some point during the season.

“They overcame so much. We even had a wave of the flu that went through us in January. All through that time, we were mixing lineups and guys just continued to step up and continued to do the right thing and achieve. The way they bonded together was incredible.”