Hudson's Hawks claim another Hudson hoop title

Tahaad Pettiford was in seventh grade the last time Hudson Catholic won the Hudson County Boys' Basketball Tournament title, back at a time when it was almost an annual occurrence that the Hawks were crowned as the county's best. The Hawks had set a new record for consecutive county championships when they won their seventh straight title in 2018. But the streak came to an end in 2019, when Union City defeated the Hawks and a year later, St. Peter's Prep won the championship. There was no county tourney in 2021 due to the pandemic. Pettiford was in grade school, but remember knowing full well that he wanted to attend Hudson Catholic. "It was all about Coach Nick (Mariniello)," Pettiford said. "He's the reason why I came to Hudson Catholic. I knew he would make me a better player." Saturday afternoon, Pettiford showed everyone how he's a great player right now as a sophomore. The sweet shooting southpaw tallied a team-high 25 points, leading Hudson Catholic to a 60-55 win over rival St. Peter's Prep to win the Hudson County Tournament title before a packed house at High Tech High School in Secaucus. The two rivals have met each other three times this season, with the Hawks taking two-of-three. And there's a chance that the two teams could meet again in the NJSIAA Parochial A North state tournament Friday night, a game that would be played at Hudson Catholic. ' The Hawks took control of the game in the first quarter, courtesy of a 15-2 run over the final 3:43 of the quarter, with Pettiford scoring five of those points. Junior Elijah Gertrude had seven of his 12 points during that span, as the Hawks held a commanding 22-9 lead after the first quarter. Holding the high-flying Marauders to just nine points the first quarter was a credit to the Hawks' defense. "I would have to say our defense set the tone," Mariniello said. "I knew that from that point, they would be chasing after us." And a team has to exude so much energy trying to come from behind, no matter who is playing for the other team. Mark Armstrong became the all-time leading scorer in the history of St. Peter's Prep basketball with his first five points of the game and the Villanova-bound Armstrong ended with 32 points. But that meant that the rest of the Marauders managed just 23 points.

Also, the Hawks had a field day at the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-22 from the stripe, including their first nine straight to start the game. "We did a great job with our free throws," Mariniello said. "We weren't that good all season." The Hawks held a 31-17 lead at the half and saw the lead dwindle to jusy four at 45-41 with 6:12 left. But while the Marauders were celebrating the comeback, Pettiford calmly came down the floor and drained an uncontested three-pointer that pushed the lead back to seven. Pettiford then drove the length of the floor and threw down a slam with his right hand to make the score 50-44 with 3:09 left. Those two big shots pretty much sealed the deal. Mariniello said that the Hawks received an emotional boost by having classmate Antonio Sellers in attendance. Sellers was a basketball star-in-the-making when he was stopped by a brain tumor that has required several surgeries over the last two years. "Having Antonio here really meant the world to our team," Mariniello said. "His spirit and passion was felt by everyone here." When the time came to collect the trophy, Sellers, who would have been a senior this year, was with his friends and classmates to secure the hardware. "This was a lot of fun, but we want to keep it going," Pettiford said. The teams may just get together again later this week.