Roselle Catholic considered Linden’s size advantage along the interior and basically shrugged it off.
The offensive output of its leading scorer, senior Trevon Lewis, was considerably down due to foul trouble, but the Lions also waved that off as a non-concern. They could simply find available shots elsewhere.
And when Linden clawed back from a double-digit deficit to pull to within four points early in the fourth quarter, Roselle Catholic broke through the ensuing pressure as if choreographed, and quickly made comfortable separation again.
Obstacles? Not on this night.
The second-seeded and fifth-ranked Lions drew a combined 38 points from senior guards Kahlik Thomas and Tyrease Hunter, limited third-seeded and eighth-ranked Linden to four offensive rebounds, and they committed just five turnovers en route to a 69-57 victory in the semifinals of the Union County Tournament Thursday night at Kean University in Union.
“We beat him two times (in the regular season), so coach told us not to take them lightly, because if we would have laid back, they would have came out and punched us in the mouth,” Thomas said. “I feel like we just executed on defense and that’s what led to offense.”
The 6-5 Thomas closed with a team-high 20 points and had nine rebounds and four steals, the 6-3 Hunter collected 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and 6-6 senior Caleb Jones scored 12 points and took down six rebounds to send Roselle Catholic (19-6) to its 11th straight championship game.
The Lions will battle top-seeded and sixth-ranked Plainfield at 3 p.m. Saturday at Kean in a rematch of last year’s final won by Plainfield, 66-53. Roselle Catholic seeks its first title since 2023.
(Check back soon for more details)
