Sparta High School boys, girls in H/W/S basketball finals today

The Sparta High School boys and girls basketball teams each will play for a Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament championship.

Both teams won their semifinal contests on Saturday, Feb. 11 to advance to the finals.

Led by a spirited effort in the second half, the fifth-seeded boys team overcame a six-point halftime deficit to earn a 57-46 victory over ninth-seeded North Hunterdon at Warren Hills High in Washington Township.

Sparta (14-8) will take on second-seeded Hackettstown for the championship at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at Centenary University at Hackettstown.

The Spartans are seeking their first tri-county crown since the team defeated Phillipsburg in the 2019 final.

Against North Hunterdon, Sparta was led by Nick Ryan (15 points), Matthew Maresca (11 points), Finn Mell (10 points), Brayden DiBlasio (10 points), Dan Lyden (six points) and John Cristillo (five points).

Sparta started the third quarter strong and went on a 15-11 run to tie the game, 35-35, heading to the final period.

In the fourth, the Spartans closed with a 22-11 effort to solidify the win.

“I think the turning point was the start of the second half when we began with a 7-0 run,” said head coach Brian Brennan. “We entered the fourth tied and got some nice defensive stops and hit our free throws down the stretch.”

Mell and Ryan each made four free throws, with Maresca making three from the charity stripe.

Despite his team being the fifth seed for the tournament, Brennan is not surprised by its run to the final.

“We know the conference we’re in,” said the coach, now in his 19th season at the helm. “Phillipsburg was the top seed and we only lost to them by one point (42-41 on Jan. 21), so we knew we could play with anyone.”

Sparta’s record 10-3 this season away from home, a fact Brennan has definitely taken note of.

“This year, we’re playing better out of our gym,” he said. “So it’s just another game in another building. We’re looking to just competing and not leaving anything to chance.”

Girls basketball

Mason Munier totaled a game-high 21 points along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals and Molly Chapman added 12 points, six rebounds and two assists to lift the second-seeded Spartans to a 52-45 victory over sixth-seeded Voorhees in the semifinal at Warren Hills High School.

Sparta, which has won the past two H/W/S tournament titles in 2020 and last year (no tournament was held in 2021 because of the pandemic), will meet top-seeded Pope John (19-6) for the championship at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at Centenary University.

The Spartans held a slight 33-32 lead at the end of the third quarter but closed with a 20-13 fourth quarter to cement the victory.

In addition to Mason Munier and Molly Chapman, Sparta received solid efforts from Malaya Dobbs (10 points, five rebounds, two assists, four steals), Bailey Chapman (seven points, eight rebounds, four assists), Haley Maher (two points) and Rylee Munier (two rebounds, three steals).

Sparta has split two meetings this season with Pope John, dropping a 70-45 decision on Jan. 10 at Pope John, then earning a 48-47 win on Feb. 9 at home.

Bailey Chapman had a game-high 21 points along with eight rebounds to key the decision.

“It’s awesome that both teams are in the finals on the same night,” said Brennan, the boys basketball head coach. “Hopefully, the crowd stays for both games. We’re going to watch them and cheer them on and hopefully they’ll stay and cheer us on.”