By Andy Loigu

In a “barnburner,” as the old-timers like to say, Hunterdon Central edged Hackettstown 55-48 in overtime before a standing-room-only crowd at Centenary University on Friday evening, to win the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex boys basketball championship.

The Tigers were the first seed in the tournament and Central was seeded third, but a knee injury in Hackettstown’s previous game slowed down the Tigers’ top scorer, Tyler Gorczyca. Despite being “about 60 percent” by his own admission, Gorczyca played an outstanding game, pulling down nine rebounds. However, his seven points were only half his season’s per-game average.

Stepping up to fill the scoring void was junior guard Shawn Morgan, who got hot from beyond the three-point arc to register a game-high 17 points, while grabbing five rebounds. He and Gorczyca both were honored with berths on the All-Tournament Team, which was announced upon the conclusion of the game.

Hackettstown went cold in the third period and trailed by nine, but heated up and tied the game at 38-38 with 3:49 remaining in regulation time. The Tigers’ pressure defense held the Red Devils to five points in the final 5:40 of the fourth period. Down 42-41 with six ticks left on the clock, the ball went to their senior leader, Gorczyca. He made the right decision by driving to the basket, rather than trying to force a jump shot. He got a step on the defender and drew a two-shot foul. He made the first to tie the score, but the second one did not fall in, forcing the game into overtime.

The Tigers grabbed a 48-47 lead with 1:42 to go, but that was the end of Hackettstown’s scoring.

“The defense triggered our comeback,” said 10th-year Hackettstown coach Mike McDonagh. “We’ve been down several times this season and been able to weather the storm. We knew we could do it again if we kept after it. All our guys are great gamers and I’m proud of every one of them.

“Central was a lower seed because they struggled early with an inexperienced group of players. They are playing great basketball now and they really have gotten it together and were worthy of reaching this final. Both teams played with a lot of heart tonight.”

McCatharn, Malia AC-Bound

Tyler McCatharn took the Region 3 wrestling championship at 285 pounds on Saturday at West Orange and now he and Warren Hills teammate Stephen Malia (the third place finisher at 152 pounds) will seek state championships at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall this weekend.

The top seed in the weight class, McCatharn won the championship final by decision, 3-1, over third seed Justin Evans of Irvington. While the top four finishers in each division qualify for the big show in AC, finishing first is important because it provides a less stressful route to the state final, with a first-round bye and more favorable matchups. Also, you get the designation as a champion on your athletic resume, which you have for keeps, and nobody can ever take it away from you.

Malia overcame being the sixth seed to capture third place in the 152-pound field.

Top seeded Hunter Lensi from Belvidere was upset in the championship final at 106 pounds by second seed Tyler Vazquez of Delbarton, via an 8-0 decision. He may get a rematch and a shot at redemption in AC.

Delbarton boasts eight of the 14 champions in Region 3. Talk about a “Green Wave.”

...Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.