Boys’ basketball: Ribet Academy wins Div. 6AA title

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Ribet Academy took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter and made its free throws down the stretch to hold off Tarbut V’ Torah and win the Southern Section Division 6AA championship 71-59 at Colony High.

The Fighting Frogs (20-11) had cruised through the first three rounds of the playoffs, winning by scores of 77-34, 66-44 and 71-41. Tarbut V’ Torah, however, proved to be a much tougher nut to crack.

Ribet Academy trailed 47-41 after three quarters and didn’t take control until a dunk and free throw by Jason Teng with 5:18 left.

Senior Jon Conley showed why he is Ribet Academy’s all-time leading scorer, finishing with a game-high 33 points, 26 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in 32 minutes. He made 11 of 14 free throw attempts, including 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter when Ribet Academy outscored Tarbut V’ Torah 30-12.

Gregory Sequele added 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks and Larry Carter III contributed 12 points and 3 assists for Ribet Academy, which shot 39.7% from the field.

Brad Neutel led the #2-seeded Lions (23-4) with 20 points and 7 rebounds, Eric Avdee had 11 points and 7 rebounds, Zach Bruss had 8 points, 10 assists and 4 steals and David Bruss and Aryeh Kashdan each added 8 points for Tarbut V’ Torah, which outscored Ribet Academy 21-12 in the third quarter.

Ribet Academy trailed by as many as 8 points early but led 14-12 by the end of the first quarter and took a 29-26 lead into halftime.

-- Steve Galluzzo