Wilmot powers Patriots to CJ IV hoops final Top seed beats Trenton Central BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer It was Rodger Wilmot time.With Freehold Township's offense sluggish, the senior guard took charge. He provided the spark the Pats needed to get by Trenton Central Friday night in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV semifinals. With Freehold Township leading just 21-20 late in the second quarter, he fueled a 15-0 run that carried over to the third quarter that led to the Patriots' 61-50 victory and a trip to the state sectional final (played Monday in Woodbridge against South Brunswick). Wilmot started the third quarter with a three-pointer from the baseline, part of seven straight points from him. Forward T.J. LaFalce followed his lead, nailing a three, and before the visiting Tornadoes knew it, they were down 16, 36-20. "At different times different kids have stepped up for us," said Wilmot. Friday night it was Wilmot, who poured in 20 points, leading the way, until LaFalce (20) and Eddie Fischer (14) got it going. Fischer and his teammates know the value of their shooting guard. "He has been key for us," said the Pats' point guard of Wilmot. "He's the one who will take the big shots." With the victory, which extended the newly crowned Shore Conference Tournament champions' record to 25-1, the Patriots, the section's No. 1 seed, gained a measure of revenge. Last year, it was Freehold Township who hit the road for the semifinals and lost to these same Tornadoes (18-8), who were seeded No. 4 this year. "We've been looking for this game for a while," said Wilmot. "Payback is sweet. We knew they would play us physical inside." The Patriots responded to that physical challenge. Early on, Trenton Central was hurting Freehold Township on putbacks by Brandon Edwards and Kevin Aventi. But Marcus Roberson and LaFalce and Brian Brickowski off the bench responded to the challenge. Roberson had a rare off-game on the offensive end but was ferocious on the defensive boards. Wilmot kept the Patriots in the game while the others took time finding their range. Roberson, LaFalce (a three) and Fischer scored during a 7-2 spurt that put the Pats up 21-15. But, after the Tornadoes' head coach got a technical foul call, Trenton Central responded with Aventi scoring five straight points to pull the visitors to within one, 21-20. But a three by LaFalce and a basket by Wilmot brought the half to an end with the Patriots up 26-20. It was hard to say which team had the momentum, the Pats who scored the last five points or the Tornadoes, who were clearly playing their best ball in the final four minutes of the second quarter. Fischer said the Patriots chose to see it as a game that they were in control of. "We were missing a lot of layups," said Fischer. "I know they were thinking that they didn't play their best and were only down six. We knew we didn't play well and we were up six. We could have been up by 15." The first four minutes of the third quarter told the tale. Starting with Wilmot's three, the Pats scored the first 10 points of the game to go up 16. The lead reached 17 (39-22) before Trenton Central scored the last six points of the period to trail only 39-28. Trenton Central would keep coming at Freehold Township in the fourth quarter, but Lafalce and Fischer were now on fire. When the Tornadoes' Greg Ford knocked down a three with 5:30 remaining, the Tornadoes trailed by only four, 46-42. Fischer would answer with his own cold-blooded three. It started a 7-0 run that pushed the lead back to 11, 53-42, with 3:57 remaining. Trenton Central made one last run, pulling within four again, 54-50, with 1:30 remaining. Wilmot provided the punctuation mark this time, taking a feed from Fischer, driving to the basket, scoring and getting fouled. His three-point play sealed the victory before a standing-room-only crowd, and it was on to the sectional title and the Pats' bid for a fourth title this season (they've already won the Kuhnert Holiday Tournament, Shore Conference A North Division and SCT crowns). "This is big for us," Fischer said of the trip to the sectional final. "Last year we had high expectations and went down to Trenton Central and lost. "It's been a year with lots of firsts, and we are excited about it [playing in the final]," he added. Wilmot has had the privilege of playing on some pretty good teams in his career, including the Freehold Township Little League Senior League team that won the World Series, as well as divisional champions with the Pats in baseball and basketball. What makes this basketball team so outstanding? "We've got great chemistry," he said. As the top seed, Freehold Township received a first-round bye and began play on Feb. 28 against Hillsborough. LaFalce, with three threes and a basket, led a 20-2 run at the start of the game and the Pats never looked back, winning 79-59. LaFalce led four scorers in double-figures with his game-high 27. Wilmot netted 17, the same as Roberson, and Fischer chipped in with 11. Trenton Central ended Colts Neck's season in its quarter final, topping the visiting Cougars 59-55. Steve Spinella scored 25 for the Cougars, who ended the season at 17-6. Brian Baker added 11.