The Colonia Patriots soar through the GMC tournament with an impressive win against their cross-town rival, Woodbridge on February 15 with a score of 51-46.
The Colonia Patriots worked incredibly hard. They faced many tough teams, and proved that they belong in the Greater Middlesex Conference. On a successful finish to the regular season, Colonia’s freshman team has a record of 14-5, the JV team has a record of 19-2, and the Varsity team has a record of 18-3.
During the game, the court at Colonia High School was completely filled with many students, teachers, coaches, and an insurmountable amount of fans. The amount of support behind the Patriots during the game was tremendously immense. The crowd was filled with “Colonia Crazies” – a term used around Colonia High School to describe their fanbase. The atmosphere during the game was electrifying, and was visible through many chants and cheers.
The score after the first quarter was 12-5, with Colonia leading by 7 points. Woodbridge did have a comeback in the second quarter, by outscoring Colonia 12 to 7. The score at halftime was 19-17, and the Patriots led by 2 points. In the third quarter, the Patriots were on fire, and outscored their opponents 17-9. With a score of 36-26, Woodbridge Barrons knew that they needed a big comeback in the fourth, which they did attempt. Woodbridge scored 20 in the fourth, while Colonia scored 15. The final score was 51-46, with Colonia defeating their cross town rivals at home.
During the game, Chad Baker electrified the crowd with a stellar performance, scoring 22 points, 6 free throws, and 5 rebounds.
Another great performance was by Luke Valeriano, who was able to use his great leadership skills to score 8 points, and keep the team motivated.
A notable underclassmen player was Jordan Derkack, who scored 2 points and played amazing defense. Jimmy Frage and Lorenzo Jackson were two other underclassmen who played for many minutes and helped the team out.
Woodbridge High School’s Kyree Henry had 20 points, while Jahi Blaine scored 10. But, Henry and Blaine’s scores were not enough to lead the Barrons to a victory. One of the biggest reason Colonia won was because they outscored Woodbridge 17-9 in the third quarter, turning their two point lead into a 10 point lead going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, Woodbridge scored a flurry of shots, and even outscored Colonia 20-15. But, it wasn’t enough to stop the Patriots from winning in their home court.
As the Colonia Patriots enter the GMC’s, they are putting a lot of work in during practices. Coach Rodriguez would like to see the team play good defense, handle the ball well, and play as a team. He believes that the team has great potential, and can play well under any circumstance.
The Colonia Patriots won a tough game against Woodbridge by five points, to advance to the GMC tournament. As they advance, Coach Rodriguez wants to see the team play the great game like they have been doing, unselfishly and as a team. Colonia plays against Monroe on Sunday. Winning that game will guarantee them a ticket to play in the Semi-Finals.
