Furious Falcon rally takes No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas to overtime, but Trojans hang on

St. Joseph didn’t play a single game over the holiday break, and it showed, at least early on.

No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas got a pair of threes from Dan Jennings – who transferred to STA in the off-season – and great guard play and defense from Aiden Ur in the first as they built a 23-6 first quarter lead, en route to a 68-60 overtime win in Metuchen.

The Falcons looked a step or two behind for the first eight minutes, committing early, costly turnovers that turned into buckets. Jennings had three first half treys, while Ur got to the foul line early and often, going 3-for-5 on the way to a 38-21 lead at halftime.

It would have been bigger, but the Falcons started to find their footing late in the half thanks to Brayden Danchak. The 6’2″ senior had 12 first half points, ten in the second quarter, including a 2-for-2 trip to the foul line, and a pair of triples.

Then, in the third quarter, Joe’s found its footing, and got it back to single digits. In the first four-and-a-half minutes after halftime, the Falcons went on a 15-5 run to get the deficit down to nine before acting STA head coach Victor Verdecia called a time out to try and stem the tide, after a Tyler DeGraci steal led to a thunderous Brayden Danchak dunk.

It continued after the time out, though, and got so close that Ryan Hilongos’ three with 40-seconds to play in the quarter would have tied it. It missed, but Joe’s kept the pressure on.

St. Joseph came up with some big stops, got buckets, gave a few up to keep St. Thomas in it, then got a gutsy three after an inbound under the basket by Danchak with 1.4 seconds to go in regulation that tied it at 58, the first tie since the 0-0.

Aquinas would inbound in the backcourt, with a chance to win it, but Zymere Weaver’s poss from the baseline tipped off Albion Ahmetaj’s fingertips in front of the scorer’s table. The Falcons again had a chance to tie, but a long three by Hilongos missed at the horn, and they went to overtime.

From there on, it was almost all Aquinas. The Trojans took the air out of the ball after winning the tip, missed a shot, got the rebound, and got a basket from Aiden Ur to cap what was a nearly 90-second possession. Charlie Joyce hit a pair of free throws, and Kedar Scott hit a layup with 1:30 to play that put STA up six.

Ur then put up four points in a row, going 2-for-2 at the line, then grabbing a steal and jamming it home to make it 66-60. He got called for a technical for taunting, and St. Joe’s made two free throws, but could get no closer.

Ur finished with a team-high 18, while Charlie Joyce added 16 for St. Thomas. The Falcons were led by Danchak, who finished with 26, including four treys. Hilongos ended the night with 16, including a pair of triples.

The win moves the Trojans to 4-1 on the season, 2-0 in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division. The Falcons drop to 1-3, 1-1 in the Red. It was their first game in 12 days, since falling 61-47 to Montgomery in the Friends of South Amboy Tournament.