By Tommy Mitch, Staff Writer

Colonia basketball has always had a target on their back. Game in and game out, the Patriots know that they are going to get everyone’s best performance. But yet they still continue their dominant ways, as the boys sit at 22-4 on the season. They reached the GMC Championship and faced St. Thomas Aquinas, who they met twice earlier in the regular season, and the Trojans were able to complete the trifecta, winning all three of their games against the Patriots this season. Unfortunately, we witnessed one of the best performances of the year as St. Thomas Aquinas’ guard Adam Silas erupted for a 37 point double double in route to a 69-53 victory. After losing to Aquinas by 14 on February 3rd, Colonia rattled off eight consecutive wins and have been led by seniors Saivon Pressley and Billy Hamilton all season. Saivon lit up the scoreboard in the county semifinals against St. Joe’s, as he’s done many times this year, scoring 35 points and knocking down six three’s. Pressley leads the team in scoring, averaging 20 a game this season, but as it’s always been, Colonia is more than just an individual effort. Collectively, they have one of the best defenses in the county. They’re always the first ones on the floor for a loose ball, sacrificing their body for a charge, or boxing out hard for a rebound. Sophomore Jaeden Jones stepped up in a big way for the Pats this year on both sides of the ball. He’s averaged about 7 PPG, 4 APG, and 3 RPG, but does many of the little things that make Coach Rodriguez trust him to start as only a sophomore. Junior forward Noah Taylor has had himself a very nice season as well as the leading rebounder on the team, averaging almost 7 a game to go along with 8 points a game. He’s tenacious on the offensive boards and one of those guys that you absolutely hate to play against. The Patriots just played their first round matchup of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 NJSIAA Tournament on March 1st, dominating Nutley 74-40. Pressley had another terrific game, adding another 30 point game to his season, and surpassing 500 points on the year. The boys were up 11 by the end of the first quarter and were relentless the rest of the game. Their next opponent is Cranford, who will have their hands full with this very dangerous Colonia squad. Coach Rodriguez and his team have their eyes set on one thing and one thing only: a ring. BB cont. on right…
BB Cont.

Also making plenty of noise this season was the girls basketball team. If there was any doubt about this team after coming up short in the season opener against a tough Albertus Magnus team, boy were you wrong. Following that loss, the girls went on to win 9 straight games, led by Taylor Derkack and Mattison Chiera, daughter of coach Sandi Chiera. This duo has been putting up surreal numbers all year, each averaging over 17 points per game. Derkack averages a double double with just over 10 boards a game, and gives opposing offenses something to think about next time they want to come in the paint. Both Chiera and Derkack were named to the GMC All First Team, but weren’t the only reason these girls have been successful all year long. They have seen many other players step up in big moments, such as Mya Patino, Isabel Gidado, Kennedy Goncalves, and Amelia Carrion. Similar to the boys, the girls opening round of
State play was March 1st, and they also dominated their opponent Steinert, with a final score of 60-23. Chiera had a game high 26 points and the hounding defense of the Patriots didn’t allow Steinert to score double digits in any quarter. They will now shift their focus to a tougher opponent in Neptune, which will be the quarterfinals of the Central Jersey Group 3 NJSIAA tournament. We wish our very best to both of our Colonia teams throughout these state playoffs, and hope to be adding some more hardware to the