1973 Boys Basketball Team
In defeating the Collegiate School of New York City, 100-88, Peddie not only captured the championship of the Collegiate Invitational Tournament, but also established a new school record for the most victories in a season. The Falcons 24-1 record easily surpassed the previous record of the 19-2 established in 1924-25 season. In becoming the winningest Peddie basketball team ever, the Falcons won 22 games in a row, captured their third NJISSA Class A Championship in five years, and gave Peddie Sports Hall of Fame Coach Al Lozier his 100th victory at Peddie.
Peddie’s 1973 team had all the ingredients for a winning season. The team had height and depth as well as aggressive but well disciplined players. Although it had an abundance of good shooters, Peddie’s team had better-than-average team speed and a tenacious man-to-man defense that held opponents to 44.2 points per game. The team played with confidence and controlled the tempo of all its games.
Probably the key ingredient was the team’s cohesiveness; the five players on the court melded into a single entity. The bench was always alert and involved in the games, and Coach Lozier was never hesitant to call upon the reserves in crucial situations. The team exhibited great scoring balance with no less than seven different players leading the team in scoring in different games throughout the season.