Piscataway – Oh, what a scene it was on Sunday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena. It was a packed house as the Cardinals of Plainfield High School took on the Cougars of Montgomery High School.
The Cardinal fans showed up in bunches, and from the start, they made sure their presence was felt. As the crowd was doing its part to motivate their team, the Cardinals made sure to give them something to cheer for.
In the first half, it was sophomore Micah Gordon’s show, his 16-point output gave his team the push it needed for them to hold a 32-23 halftime lead. On the other side of the ball, Montgomery was looking to keep the game from getting out of hand. Junior Ethan Lin did what he could to help the Cougars stay in the game shooting 60 percent from three for a total of nine points in the first half.
In the second half, the game took a turn on its head as Plainfield found their sweet spot in the fourth quarter to close out the contest. Senior big man NaJai Hines scored eight points in the fourth quarter and he finished the game with 14 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks. His teammate Micah Gordon finished with 24 points and the pair enjoyed the highlight of the night with a lob dunk from Gordon to Hines to make the crowd go wild.
Montgomery put up a good fight but just couldn’t find ways to stop the Plainfield offense. The night ended with Ethan Lin being the leading scorer with 18 points but that wasn’t enough as the Cougars fell to the Cardinals by a score of 65-48.
As the buzzer sounded, the Plainfield boys celebrated their first state championship since 2012 and the fifth in school history. Head Coach Michael Gordon was in tears at midcourt as he realized his team’s achievement on the night surrounded by his boys.
