Tartans Fall to Two-Time Defending Champ Kingsway

The quarterfinal matchup of the South Jersey Group III boys' basketball tournament between top-seeded Kingsway and No. 9 Highland was the rubber match of what were two very different games during the regular season.

Unfortunately for the Tartans, this one resembled the 76-38 loss in December more than their 39-37 upset win of less than two weeks ago.

The Tartans, despite their best efforts, fell 48-23 Thursday night in front of a raucous crowd at Kingsway Regional High School, dropping the game to a Dragons team that showed why it has won back-to-back South Jersey Group III titles.

Kingsway was led by Rondell Gilmore-Lane, who led all scorers with 13 points to help the Dragons reach Saturday’s South Jersey semifinal against Ocean City Saturday at 4 p.m. Ocean City beat Central Regional in overtime, 59-57, Thursday.

“We knew that this was going to  be a tough one,” Highland head coach Andy Thies said after the game. “They were at home, they have a ton of experience, and they’ve been very successful in these types of situations."

The Tartans struggled offensively throughout the game as they were forced to settle for contested jump shots and rarely had second-chance opportunities. Their leading scorer and most explosive player, junior Tyree Brown, was held in check with only 10 points.

“It was clear they wanted to take Tyree out of the game. They were amped up and did a good job of denying him the basketball,” Thies said. “There were a couple of times we thought we had some open looks, but they are so quick and long that those holes closed up quickly."

The game was tied at 6-6 late in the opening quarter as both teams appeared tentative early, but the Dragons got a boost from forward Jordan Fagan who nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a lead it would not relinquish.

After building an 18-10 lead late in the second quarter, Kingsway took over for good when Gilmore-Lane nailed a three, then Kyler Grigsby was fouled on a made lay-up and converted the ensuing free throw to give the Dragons a commanding 24-10 lead at the half.

“Those six points at the end of the first half were a killer for us,” Thies said. “Instead of going into the locker room in a close, three-possession game, they were really able to open things up there.”

The second half was more of the same as Kingsway opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run, which was highlight by a breakaway two-handed slam dunk by Fagan. From there, Kingsway was able to slow down the game and cruise to a comfortable win.

After the game, Thies looked ahead to next season, and noted the team’s need to add more scoring threats to its lineup, which is expected to return everyone except seniors Donte McNeil and Brandi Bell.

“We’ve got to get somebody who can help us score and take pressure off of Tyree Brown,” he said. “It’s tough to win playoff games when you only score 23 points. It’s almost impossible.”