SENIOR MOMENT: Princeton High boys’ basketball player Travis Petrone looks to pass the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, Petrone tallied four points and had four assists on his Senior Day as PHS fell 69-46 to Sayreville. The Tigers, who moved to 2-16 with the loss, are starting play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament this week where they were seeded 12th and slated to play at fifth-seeded Ewing in a first round contest in February 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As Travis Petrone was honored last Saturday afternoon during the Senior Day ceremony for the Princeton High boys’ basketball team, his thoughts turned to elementary school.

“Senior Day was awesome, it is one of the last times I will ever get to go on the basketball court with my childhood friends Jonny Feldman and Griffin Ettenberg,” said senior guard Petrone. “I have been friends with them and playing basketball with them since the first grade. It is awesome to start a varsity game with them.”

Petrone and his teammates knew they faced an awesome challenge taking on Sayreville who brought a 15-2 record into the contest.

“That was a very good team, I could tell they were well coached,” said Petrone. “I heard they have a 1,000 point scorer.”

After falling behind the Bombers 20-10 in the first quarter, PHS produced a very good effort in the second quarter, battling Sayreville to a 16-16 standstill, sparked by 13 points from junior star Michael Bess Jr.

“We came out battling in the second quarter,” said Petrone. “Michael just gets things done. We came out as a team, there was a lot of energy from the bench.”

That energy proved to not be enough for the Tigers as they fell 69-46 to Sayreville, dropping to 2-16.

Petrone, who ended up with four points and a team-high four assists in the loss, was looking to do whatever he could to keep the Tigers in the game.

“Last year was my first year on varsity, I was more of a role player off the bench,” said Petrone. “I used to be a point guard and then I started playing a bigger position, getting rebounds, doing what coach said. This year I transitioned back into more of a point guard, passing the ball around. I just play the role that coach needs me to play.”

For Petrone, who also stars for the PHS football and basketball teams, serving as a captain along with Bess is a role he enjoys.

“Being captain is awesome, I try to lead by example; I feel like I have been doing a pretty good job,” said Petrone. “I feel like the guys look up to me a lot. As a three-sport athlete I just try to keep a bond with all of the guys, even with the tough season, but we are all having fun.”

Over his Tiger career, Petrone has had a lot of fun juggling three sports.

“It has been very tough, but I love every second of it,” said Petrone. “I never stop loving all three sports. I am very excited for baseball.”

PHS head coach Pat Noone was excited to see his seniors honored last Saturday.

“These six guys have come in and battled, some aren’t getting the minutes that they want but they come every day,” said Noone, whose senior group also includes Owen Kelly, Graham Harrison, and William Ponder in addition to Petrone, Ettenberg, and Feldman.

“You could see how much they mean to the program, to the team, and how good guys they are by how big the crowd was today. In that fourth quarter, that was a lot of excitement. The crowd was going wild. It is a good sign of where our program is. They pull for the guys that are playing and the guys pull hard for them. That shows what kind of character and good guys they are.”

Noone credited Petrone with bringing the guys together. “Travis has been unbelievable, I have known him since sixth grade when I coached middle school baseball,” said Noone. “He is a great leader and great all-around player. He is such a high character kid. It is so good having him around — he keeps everyone together. We will be missing him, but he made such an impact on the program that is going to go on for a long time.”

While the record this winter has been disappointing, Noone is seeing progress down the stretch.

“I think we have really started playing good in the last two weeks,” said Noone. “We are a younger team so I think more reps has really helped. They are starting to click a little bit. We played Ewing good the other day. We have been playing this way, we can’t get over the hump. It just seems like there are humps. You have to make some winning plays, we just fall a little short.”

Junior standout Bess, who scored 29 points against Sayreville, has played very well all season.

“Michael is unbelievable, I am pushing hard because I think he is first team All CVC (Colonial Valley Conference),” said Noone. “Unfortunately with our record, it is going to be a little bit of a fight. I am going to fight like crazy to get him in because he deserves it. He does it against everybody, he doesn’t back down. He does everything. As you can see the kids also love him too. That is a good sign, he is really high character guy. The future is bright for him.”

With the Tigers starting play in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament this week where they are seeded 12th and slated to play at fifth-seeded Ewing in a first-round contest in February 4, Noone believes his squad will put up a good fight in the postseason.

“It is like every other day that we have been here, it is the process — go into practice and we just work our tails off,” said Noone.“We don’t change much around here, we are going to go through the three offensive keys and the three defensive keys. We are going to practice like crazy, we are going to work hard where the chips fall, they fall. We are going to be prepared and we are going to play hard. Even though the score didn’t show it, we played hard tonight. That is a big thing.”

Petrone, for his part, is confident that the Tigers will play hard to the end.

“The mindset is to come in and work hard every day,” said Petrone. “I know our coaches aren’t quitting on us and we aren’t quitting on them. We are going to give 100 percent effort, no matter what our record is. We are ready to upset anybody, we are ready to come to play.”