#3 Plainfield Advance to UCT Final

Round Three...Of possibly four...Between #3 Plainfield and #12 Elizabeth brought a large crowd to Kean University for the Union County Tournament Semifinals on Tuesday evening...and in true Watchung Conference fashion, did not disappoint.

Plainfield jumped on the Minutemen early behind 6'10" senior NaJai Hines, who had 6 points within the first four minutes of the game to give Plainfield an 11-6 lead midway through the first. The storyline of the quarter wasn't Plainfield leading 19-11 or Micah Gordon having 9 points...It was Hines going to the bench with two fouls.

Elizabeth could have seen the second quarter as a massive opportunity with the Plainfield big man on the bench in foul trouble, but poor shot selection, rushed possessions and missed free throws plagued the Minutemen for much of the quarter and Plainfield held serve, taking a 35-25 lead into the half, inspite of Hines not seeing the floor.

Hines and Gordon just kept right on chugging along, maintaining homeostasis through the third, leading 51-41, with Gordon crossing the 20 point mark. In the fourth, Elizabeth found some confidence and better shot selection. Coupled with a full court press, Elizabeth made their move, cutting to 65-61 after a Cam McRae triple with 1:08 to go, but fell short as Plainfield survived Hines missing long stretches(he finished with 4 fouls and missed about half the fourth quarter as well...but still finished with 16&10) to secure their place in the Union County Final, winning 69-61.

Gordon led all scorers with 23, while Elizabeth's own sensational sophomore guard, Jayden Johnson, finished with 20.