PLAN B: Princeton Day School boys’ basketball player Anthony Stewart heads to the hoop in a game earlier this season. Last Thursday, senior forward Stewart had 10 points and four rebounds in a losing cause as sixth-seeded PDS fell 69-59 to top-seeded Doane Academy in the state Prep B title game. The Panthers, now 5-12, start play in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B tourney where they are seeded 13th and playing at fourth-seeded Holy Spirit on March 2 in a first-round contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team struggling as it headed into the state Prep B tournament, Eugene Burroughs presented his players with a to-do list.

“I gave them a list of about 20 things that will impact winning and they had nothing to do with scoring,” said PDS head coach Burroughs, whose team brought a 1-9 record into the Prep B tourney where it was seeded sixth of six teams.

“I think our team bought into that — rebounding, blocking out, competing, playing hard, being unselfish, making extra effort plays — all of those little things add up and lead to just better basketball and we started sharing the ball more.”

Showing that effort, the Panthers went on a stirring run in the tournament, rallying to edge third-seeded Newark Academy 65-61 in the first round and then topping second-seeded Wardlaw-Hartridge 61-54 to earn a spot in the title game at top-seeded Doane Academy last Thursday.

With PDS having lost 53-47 to Doane on January 21, Burroughs was excited for the tournament rematch.

“I watched the film, we are a lot better basketball team now than we were then,” said Burroughs. “We went in, just wanting to be confident and believing in our ability.”

In the first half, though, Doane was the better basketball team as it jumped out to a 35-20 lead by intermission.

“My message to them before the game was in championship games the way you can really lose the game is that you get caught up in the moment and you don’t do the things that got you there,” said Burroughs. “I think we lost ourselves in that second quarter. I said to our guys, we actually got great shots. I think a few times we didn’t move the ball enough, we just needed to share the ball a little more. If we could just play within ourselves, we can work our way back into this game.”

Trailing by 23 points in the third quarter, PDS ratcheted up the intensity, working themselves to within seven in the waning moments of the contest before falling 69-59.

“I was proud of our effort to come back there in the second half  and make that run,” said Burroughs, whose team moved to 5-12 with the loss. “For our guys, being in a championship game is a different experience. There were a few players that were part of the team two years ago (that defeated Doane in the Prep B final) but they didn’t really have a big role in it. So now you have to do it. As the game went on, we realized that we have got to adjust to how the game is being played and how the game was being called. In the second half, we realized we have got to turn it up a notch and we have got to be more physical. We did that in the second half and by doing that, it changed the complexion of the game.”

PDS junior guard Jaden Hall turned up his game in the final, scoring a team-high 16 points with two assists and four steals.

“That was probably one of his better games of the year,” said Burroughs of Hall. “He made some aggressive plays, he got to the line. I felt that he competed in that game on the defensive end which is a great step forward. He played at a different level in that game. Your focus as a player can’t always be offensively. If you work hard at the defensive end, it leads to offense. For him, I think that was breakthrough game.”

Another Panther who showed focus at both ends of the court was senior Connor Topping, who contributed 14 points, two assists, four rebounds, and four steals.

“He did his Connor things, the jack of all trades,” said Burroughs. “He competed, he played hard, he made plays, he got rebounds. I put him on one of their bigger guys defensively. That is what makes him great, you can put him anywhere you want. He is so versatile.”

Battling hard in the paint, senior forward Anthony Stewart proved to be an unsung hero in the contest, chipping in 10 points, four rebounds, three blocked shots, and two steals.

“That was his best game of the year; that game he had was the one I felt he could have,” said Burroughs. “That is what I expected from him. He made defensive plays, he made offensive plays. He just did everything. As a senior, I was proud to see him get that moment to take it to another level. He had a huge impact on that game.”

In reflecting on the unlikely title run by the Panthers, Burroughs pointed to the win over Newark Academy in the Prep B opener as a turning point.

“That was the game where it all turned for us,” said Burroughs. “We were down 11 in the fourth quarter in that game. In the past, we wouldn’t have enough scoring or energy and we would put our heads down. We just didn’t have enough fight to overcome that adversity but we overcame that in that game.”

The squad’s late surge has been heartening to Burroughs.

“Our kids have really locked in and they have really come together, that is the thing I am most proud of as a coach,” said Burroughs. “To look at game one and see the progression and where we are now as a team with our confidence and our ability to compete and play hard, it is great to see how this team has progressed.”

As PDS heads into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B tourney where it is seeded 13th and playing at fourth-seeded Holy Spirit on March 2 in a first-round contest, Burroughs is hoping the lessons learned from the Doane loss can spark another title run.

“For our young players, one of the things that I wanted to stress was to them was that game against Doane was a final level championship game and that is the intensity that you have to play with,” said Burroughs.

“We were a tale of two teams. In that first half, I didn’t know who that team was. In the second half, that is our team. I look forward to seeing our guys in this tournament and competing on that level on the road.”