East Mountain Rallies Past Host Moriarty, 60-49, to Reach Bruce King Championship

MORIARTY – In a game defined by momentum swings and a gritty second-half response, the East Mountain Timberwolves defeated the host Moriarty Pintos 60-49 in the semifinals of the Bruce King Basketball Tournament.

The win sets up a battle of unbeatens for the championship, as East Mountain (5-0) advances to face Melrose (5-0) in the title game at 7:30 p.m.

Friday’s semifinal was a tale of two halves. The teams battled to a 13-13 stalemate after the first quarter, but Moriarty managed to seize control before the break. The Pintos took a 25-23 lead into halftime, fueled by a well-prepared game plan that broke East Mountain’s press and capitalized on aggressive drives to the basket.

East Mountain Head Coach Brad Hofman credited the Pintos for their sharp start.

“First half was tough. We did not play great… although I don’t want to take anything away from Moriarty, they played awesome,” Hofman said. “Super well prepared. They were beating us to all the loose balls. They were making shots, making aggressive drives to the basket, making plays. They beat our press nicely.”

However, the Timberwolves regrouped in the locker room. East Mountain surged in the third quarter, turning the deficit into a 42-35 lead heading into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, Moriarty was forced to foul to stop the clock, but the Timberwolves remained composed at the charity stripe, sinking 9 of 11 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

“Super, super proud of our guys for the response, especially in the second half, not losing their cool, bouncing back after a tough game yesterday,” Hofman said. “Just all around, good effort, and kind of a good gut check.”

Vicente J. Ortiz led the charge for East Mountain with 20 points. Liam Pierce added 14 points, and Aiden Erickson contributed 10. Other scorers included Eli Conklin and Eric Hofmann with 6 points each, and Quinlan Gwyther with 3.

For Moriarty, Sam Pearce poured in a game-high 21 points. Abe Sloan joined him in double figures with 11, while Devin Ortiz had 8, Scott Batie had 7, and Mario Romero added 1.

Hofman noted the difficulty of playing the host team in their own gym, calling it a valuable experience for his squad.

“This is the first time we played in front of a bigger crowd and somebody else’s gym,” Hofman said. “Host team of the tournament… they want to defend their turf. I thought their team did an awesome job.”

Despite recent preseason polls placing East Mountain in the top 10 (ranked No. 8 or No. 9), Hofman dismissed the rankings, emphasizing that his team tries to “stay away from results and focus on getting better.”

“I really feel like, especially in high school sports, if you start looking at MaxPreps and ‘this team beat that team’… you’re just setting yourself up for trouble,” he said.

East Mountain now turns its attention to Melrose, a program Hofman described as “super impressive” and a state title contender from last year.

“We’ll have to really play great basketball tomorrow to give ourselves any kind of chance in that one,” Hofman said.

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Scoring Summary

East Mountain: Vicente J. Ortiz 20, Liam Pierce 14, Aiden Erickson 10, Eli Conklin 6, Eric Hofmann 6, Quinlan Gwyther 3.

Moriarty: Sam Pearce 21, Abe Sloan 11, Devin Ortiz 8, Scott Batie 7, Mario Romero 1.