FINAL FLIGHT: Princeton High boys’ basketball player Zahrion Blue flies to the hoop in a game last winter. Senior star Blue enjoyed a stellar final season, averaging 22.3 points per game and eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in his career along the way. PHS finished the winter with a record of 12-14 under first-year head Coach Pat Noone. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Although the Princeton High boys’ basketball team ended the winter by falling 63-41 to Marlboro in the first round of the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional, the squad produced a couple of memorable wins over the last 10 days of the season.

PHS defeated crosstown rival Princeton Day School 53-47 in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament on February 17 and pulled out a rousing 68-63 win over Hillsborough in its home finale six days later.

For first-year head coach Pat Noone, those triumphs meant a lot to the program.

“We won a playoff game in Mercer County and I think that is the first time they have won one in a pretty long time here,” said Noone.

“When you play PDS in the playoffs, it is such a rivalry game. That game with Hillsborough was Senior Night, that was a great team win.”

In Noone’s view, PHS made great strides as it ended up with a final record of 12-14.

“I thought getting double digit wins and getting up to 12 was pretty positive,” added Noone.

“I think they had seven or eight wins last year so that was a pretty good jump. To get that first playoff win was a good job.”

The stellar play of senior superstar Zahrion Blue was the biggest positive of the Little Tigers this winter.

“He was definitely legit; it was lucky for me that the best player was the most coachable,” said Noone of Blue who averaged 22.3 points per game this season and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career along the way.

“We formed a good relationship early on and had a good trust; that was the most important thing. I think there is so much more untapped for him.”

Noone was lucky to have eight other seniors joining Blue on the roster.

“It is huge to have nine guys go through the program,” said Noone, whose Class of 2017 included Andrew Goldsmith, Teddy Martilla, Spencer Zullo, Bo List, Cristo Silva, Alex Filion, Justin Marciano, and Sam Serxner.

“I think the best thing, talking to them all, I think they leave proud to be playing. They are real proud of this year and have respect for the basketball program. They are excited about things. You don’t want someone to leave and say whatever.”

One of the best things about the season for Noone was the improvement he saw across the board.

“I think they just enjoyed being together and playing,” said Noone.“We made leaps and bounds; they all became better basketball players. I wish I had more time with this group. I think we would have made even more improvement. Fillion wasn’t playing much in his junior year and he came out here and had a pretty good year. Spencer Zullo was doing a lot of things that didn’t show up in the box score. You got some contributions from everybody.”

In Noone’s view, the squad has a good foundation in place that should ensure continued improvement.

“I like the group coming back, we have got a good group of guys with Jaylen Johnson, Isaac Webb, Tommy Doran, Mike Frost, and Sam Tarter,” said Noone.

“We slowly brought up a sophomore in Brendan Rougas and a freshman, Riley McMahon. I think the first time they got in was against Steinert and since that time we have been able to get them minutes. The fear is gone, they have seen it. That will be good because when we bring up more guys to the team next year, they will have a feeling of how the program is run and they can lean on them to get into things.”

Having come to PHS after serving as the head coach at Lincoln High in Jersey City, Noone enjoyed his first year at the helm with the Little Tigers.

“There was a lot of support; it was a really good experience,” said Noone.

“Being here felt more like a true high school basketball setting. The town comes out, the families are there. It is the kids they all grow up with; the games are competitive. You get a lot of community. That is really the way high school athletics is supposed to be. That was a blast for me. It was very hard for me to leave my other job but they welcomed me in with open arms.”