Sports roundup: Sparta tops Pope John in H/W/S finals

The Spartans are back on top.

Abby Connors made a steal and a layup; Molly Chapman netted two free throws; and Brooke Shust added one-of-two from the charity stripe in a frenetic final minute of the fourth quarter of the 15th annual Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament championship game Friday night, Feb. 21.

The third-seeded Sparta High School girls basketball team won, 40-38, over top-seeded Pope John in the finals at Centenary University in Hackettstown.

The title is the fourth in the past five tournaments for Sparta (19-6). The team also won in 2020, 2022 and 2023; no tournament was held in 2021.

Pope John (17-5) was seeking its second straight tournament title.

“It’s a great feeling,” said first-year head coach Patrick McCarney. “We played them earlier in the season, and they got the better of us (46-30 on Jan. 25). We had a bunch of games that we weren’t able to close out, but they did a great job in going out and executing this time.”

With the game knotted, 35-35, Connors (five points) pounced on an errant Pope John pass in the frontcourt and slashed to the basket for a layup to give Sparta a 37-35 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

Pope John freshman guard Natalija Novkovic (seven points) then buried a three-pointer from the left wing with 28 seconds left to provide the Lions with a 38-37 lead.

In the back-and-forth contest, Chapman then calmly made two free throws after being fouled to vault Sparta to a 39-38 lead with 16 seconds left.

After a Sparta foul, Pope John’s inbound pass with seven seconds remaining went out of bounds. Shust (12 points, eight rebounds) was fouled and sent to the line and made one of two free throws to push the lead to 40-38.

The Lions then went the length of the court, but a reverse layup that would have sent the game into overtime just missed the mark, giving Sparta the championship trophy.

Sparta did a great job of defensing against Pope John star Mia Washington, last year’s MVP. She was held to 12 points and was hampered by four fouls.

“Moira did an excellent job in guarding Washington and the overall defense was great all game,” McCarney said. “It’s always a rivalry with Pope John, so this probably means a little more in being able to beat them for the championship.”

Chapman (six points), who averaged 14.5 points in four H/W/S games, was named the tournament’s MVP.

Sparta, which has won a season-high nine games, is seeded sixth for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 tournament. It is scheduled to play host to 11th-seeded Northern Highlands in a first-round game at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Pope John, 9-2 in its past 11 games, is seeded second for the North Jersey, Non-Public A tournament and received a bye into the quarterfinal round, when it will play seventh-seeded Oak Knoll or 10th-seeded Newark Academy on Monday, March 3.

Here’s how other Pope John and Sparta teams have fared recently:

Pope John wrestling

Led by nine finalists and seven individual champions, Pope John, ranked 10th in the state, won the NJSIAA District 12 championship Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22 in Morristown.

The Lions are sending 10 wrestlers to the Region 3 tournament Feb. 28-March 1 in West Orange.

Winning titles for Pope John were Jake Holly (113 pounds), Dalton Weber (132), Carson Walsh (138), Donny Almeyda (144), Lukas Katsigiannis (150), Brayden Lombreglia (157) and Cole Dunham (165).

David Thomson (175 pounds) and Shawn Baumann (215) each placed second in their respective weight classes.

The top four place-winners in each weight class in each of the region tournaments will advance to the NJSIAA state tournament March 6-8 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Sparta wrestling

Ryan Hrenenko (132 pounds), Sean Brown (144) and Luke Brown (190) each won individual championships to pace Sparta to a second-place team finish at the NJSIAA District 3 tournament Feb. 22 at Kittatinny.

Other place-winners for Sparta included Logan Hrenenko (second at 138 pounds), Liam Hassloch (second at 215), Patrick Bruseo (third at 120), Francesco Digioia (fourth at 106), Garrett VanHouten (fourth at 157) and Trevor Ekeland (fourth at 165).

Bergen Catholic won the nine-team event with 266.5 points. Sparta totaled 153.5 points to finish second.

All top three place-winners advance to the NJSIAA Region 1 tournament Feb. 28-March 1 in West Milford.

Pope John boys basketball

The 13th-seeded Lions will play at fourth-seeded Seton Hall Prep in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public A Tournament at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.

Pope John (4-19) has been led this season by Justin Lilley (11.5 points per game) and Anthony Schnabel (10.2 ppg).