(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) HOLLIDAY TRIP: Princeton High boys’ basketball star Davon Holliday-Black looks for an opening last week as PHS battled Hopewell Valley in the opening round of the state tournament. Holliday-Black scored 11 points to help the ninth-seeded Little Tigers edge No. 8 HoVal 51-47. Last Thursday, Holliday-Black scored a team-high 10 points but it wasn’t enough as PHS fell at top-seeded Colts Neck 67-41 in the Central Jersey Group III sectional quarterfinals to end the season at 12-13.

With Holliday-Black Providing Aggressive Play, PHS Boys’ Hoops Earns a States Win Before Exit

Bill Alden

For the Princeton High boys’ basketball team, its loss at Hopewell Valley in early January left some deep wounds.

The Little Tigers squandered an 11-point fourth quarter lead in that contest and ended up falling 49-44 in overtime.

So when ninth-seeded PHS headed to No. 8 HoVal last week in the first round of the Central Jersey Group III sectional, the Little Tigers were thrilled to have a rematch.

“That was the worst feeling ever,” said PHS junior guard Davon Holliday-Black, reflecting on the regular season meeting. “It was a heartbreaker; losing to rivals from the next town over. For us to come back and have another chance meant a lot.”

In round two against the Bulldogs, PHS came out with a vengeance, jumping out to a 14-9 lead.

“We knew we needed to get off to a fast start to beat them,” said Holliday-Black. “We had to just go; we were not favored so we worked really hard.”

After working to get a 26-23 halftime lead, the Little Tigers experienced an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu as HoVal outscored them 14-7 in the third quarter to take a 36-33 lead into the final eight minutes of regulation.

“We had a team huddle with the players that were in the game at the end of the third quarter; we said we don’t want this to happen again,” recalled Holliday-Black. “We settled down and everyone started clicking again.”

Playing one of its best quarters of the season, PHS got good play from everyone on the floor as it outscored the Bulldogs on the way to a sweet 51-47 triumph.

Holliday-Black scored 11 points in the win with Eric Shorter leading the way with 13 and Scott Bechler chipping in 12.

Two days later, Holliday-Black scored a team-high 10 points but it wasn’t enough as PHS fell at top-seeded Colts Neck 67-41 in the sectional quarterfinals.

While the loss was a tough way to end the season, Holliday-Black has been happy with the progress he has made down the stretch.

“I have been aggressive the last couple of games,” said Holliday-Black. “Coach Carter [PHS head coach Jason Carter] has been saying don’t go away from that; he believed in me when I had a rough beginning to the year. When I was having bad games, the coaches were all telling me you have done it before; they weren’t giving up on me. It means a lot.”

PHS head coach Carter was proud of the way his team didn’t give up when it lost the lead in the third quarter.

“This is a really young team; we lack experience but we don’t lack fight,” said Carter, whose team finished the season with a 12-13 record.

“We don’t lack heart, we don’t lack hustle. They come to practice and work hard every day. I really, really like coaching this team. I think you can see that they have a lot of potential.”

Noting that PHS fell to Ocean in the opening round of last year’s state tournament, Carter saw the team’s performance in the fourth quarter against HoVal as an example of its potential.

“It looked like we learned from last year,” said Carter, noting that his squad hit 5-of-6 shots from the field in the quarter and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line. “We closed the deal; we made some clutch plays. That is wanting to win.”

Carter has seen more clutch play lately from Holliday-Black. “Davon is more than capable, he plays all year round,” added Carter.

“I think there are times when he tries to facilitate too much. I think he needs to be a little more aggressive and just take over.”

Carter liked the aggressive play he got from sophomore point guard Bechler, who hit a trio of big three-pointers in the contest.

“He is one of the first guys in the gym everyday and he is one of the last to leave,” said Carter.

“I have had to say to Scotty, I have kids, I need to go home. He just loves it; he is a gym rat. We have a lot of guys like that; they are just young.”

In Carter’s view, the win over HoVal was important for the growth of his young squad.

“This is definitely a step forward; I am extremely proud of this group,” said Carter.

“They are all good friends; they eat lunch together. We had a meeting with them and we said ‘hey guys let’s go out there and win.’ We don’t want to stop playing together.”

Holliday-Black, for his part, was happy to get the chance to play beyond the HoVal game. “It means the world,” said Holliday-Black, referring to the win over the Bulldogs.

“This could have been our last game with Eamon Cuddy. I have been playing with Eamon since we were little and I don’t want to stop playing with him so that gave me some determination to get it going today.”

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