The Montclair High School boys basketball held their breath in the final seconds to pull off an upset on Saturday and move on in the Essex County Tournament.
The 10th-seeded Mounties led by double digits as late as five minutes remaining at seventh-seeded Newark Collegiate in the second round of the ECT on Feb. 1.
But Montclair’s offense stalled and Collegiate kept inching back.
Montclair’s Defense Clinches Win
The Mounties would defend a three-point shot from Panthers’ Mohamada Swarry that did not go in before the buzzer ending the game.
Montclair (10-9) would survive with a 68-65 victory and move on to the ECT quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 8 at second-seeded Arts. Last season, the Mounties won a pair of games in the county tournament before losing to the eventual 2024 champion, St. Benedicts, 62-35. For this year’s tournament, Montclair defeated West Side, 64-50, in the preliminary round before defeating Collegiate.
Against the Panthers, junior Mason Determann led the Mounties scoring with 16 points, 11 of which came in the first quarter. Montclair seniors Martin Quiros and Myles Nicholson added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Determann, who dropped in four three-point shots, said that he knew he would hit well from the outside to start the game. “I feel like when I hit one, it gives me a lot of confidence,” said Determann, who also hit a buzzer-beater three at the end of the first quarter for the Mounties. “When I am really confident, the teammates are confident in me.”
Mounties’ Second Game in a Week at Venue
Coming into the game against Collegiate, Montclair had played on the same floor the previous Saturday, Jan. 25, in the Clash of the Counties meet. The Mounties lost to a 16-4 Piscataway team, 65-55, but Davis thought the team picked up some confidence from the defeat. “We played a team [Piscataway] like this last Saturday right here and we showed that we can compete,” said Davis.
While Montclair had an up to-double-digit lead for part of the second half, Collegiate crept back. The Panthers had a chance to tie the game with six seconds left when they called a time-out. “It was just to come out blitz them and make them take a tough shot,” said Davis about stopping Swarry from hitting the game-tying three-point bucket.
One of the reasons that Montclair won was Davis. The senior did not return until last week after missing more than a few weeks with an injury. Davis finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Seven of his nine points came in the fourth quarter.
Montclair’s Davis More Than a Defender
Davis is one of the defensive stalwarts on the team, and he showed it by taking two crucial offensive charges in the game. Davis feels he is more than just defense as a big man in the middle. “I think I was showing things that I can do and do more than people thought,” said Davis.
With a seven-point lead (64-57) with a little more than two minutes left, Montclair was trying to take time off the clock against Newark Collegiate.
But on one trip down the floor, Determann decided to drive to the basket and put in a layup with 15 seconds remaining in the contest for the 68-65 Mounties lead.
Mounties’ Quiros Helps the Cause
Along with Determann and Davis, Quiros had some crucial moments, including registering four of his dozen points in the final eight seconds in the third quarter. Quiros hit one of two free throws and then stole the ball in the Newark Collegiate end. He immediately scored on a layup just before the third-quarter buzzer. The Mounties led 53-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
In going up against Arts on Saturday, Montclair might have another key player back in senior Jahi Whitney, who has been out with an injury since Jan. 4 against Teaneck. Whitney was the Mounties top player coming into the season and was averaging 17 points per game to start the 2024-25 season. Davis said that he could be back this upcoming week.
Arts defeated 15th-seeded Milburn, 77-58, last Saturday in the second-round game. Arts is led by senior Shelton Colwell, the team’s leading scorer who had 19 points against Milburn. Colwell is also the leading rebounder for the Jaguars.
Montclair High School Boys Basketball Schedule
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
- Feb. 4 at Bloomfield
- Feb. 6 Caldwell, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 8 at Arts, Essex County Tournament, TBD
- Feb. 15 Essex County Tournament Semifinals, TBD
- Feb. 18 Irvington
- Feb. 22 Essex County Tournament Finals, TBD
- Feb 26 State Tournament first round, TBD
