Boys Varsity Basketball vs New Jersey Prep Open Tournament vs. The Hun School on 02/19/2025
It was a rematch of the MAPL Tournament Play-In game on Feb. 13, in which the fifth-seeded Falcons defeated The Hun School of Princeton, 72-69, after a go-ahead 3-pointer from Gabe Hornberger with 3.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Gabe Hornberger scored a game-high 18 points. London Carson and Ethan Nelson each added 16 points. Nelson went 9-for-10 from the free throw line, with all chances in the fourth quarter and both overtime periods. Will Warren tallied 10 points.
Hun knotted the score at 62 with 7.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
With 19.2 seconds left in the first overtime, Ethan Nelson stole the ball on defense and passed to London Carson, who was fouled. Carson made the first of two free throws to knot the score at 64.
The Falcons opened the second overtime period with an assist from Jayden Moton to Ethan Nelson for a 66-64 lead. Moton would then get fouled and make the basket, for a chance at a 3-point play. He missed the free throw, but put Peddie up 68-64 with 3:03 remaining.
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight, so we had to work even harder than last game,” Guard Ethan Nelson ’28 said on the rematch. “We didn’t want it to come down to the wire like last game, because you never know. We just had to be dogs and do our thing.”
“Down the stretch we dug a little deeper from a standpoint of being a little bit tougher, man-for-man and then five guys at a time,” Head Coach Joe Rulewich said. “That was exciting to see. When you win a game like that, it’s not going to be totally pretty, but basketball plays are to be had in a game like that, even if it’s not pretty and I thought we made some of those down the stretch.”
The Falcons next host top-seeded The Patrick School in the NJ Prep Open Tournament semifinals on Friday, Feb. 21 at 4:30 p.m. at Erik B. Hanson ’83 Field House, Court 1.