Plainfield too much for Montgomery, as Cougar boys fall 65-48 in Group 4 State Final

The Montgomery boys’ basketball team knew what it was getting into when they learned they would play the state’s No. 1 team in Plainfield in Sunday’s Group 4 state final.

The Cardinals are adept at defense, and it fuels their offense.

And their game was just too much for the Cougars, who fell 65-48 to Plainfield Sunday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Early on, Monty hung in there, trailing by just six after one quarter, at 16-10. And despite the best three-point shooting efforts of Ethan Lin and Christian Hill, they trailed by nine at the break, still a manageable game.

But even with a couple of mini runs in the third, they couldn’t get over the hump. The lead jumped to 14 for Plainfield. Then back down to single digits, then back to doubles again. Every move the Cougars made, Plainfield had an answer int he second half.

And that included NaJai Hines – “Baby Shaq” as he’s called – who looked the part as he took feeds down low and jammed them home with two hands, with at least five dunks in the third and fourth quarters.

Montgomery finishes its season 25-6, but not empty-handed. They’ve won two straight sectional titles in Central Jersey Group 4, and though they lose several key parts like Bohdan Biekietov, Christian Hill and Kyryl Streltsob, they should contend again next year.

For Plainfield, it was their fifth state championship, and first since 2012.

Click below for postgame reaction from Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: