The Final Summation - Cherokee vs. Plainfield Group 4 State Championship

In a game where both teams were shooting poorly, it was just a matter of who would knock down the big shots. A family member of Cherokee’s senior Wes Tisdale explained that this game would come down to the play of Tisdale and Nate Grant-Dewitt. The Cardinal Fanatic said the game would come down to who won the rebound battle. As all season, Plainfield only defeats came when they lost the battle of the boards. Nate and Wes actually shot nearly identically from the floor but Wes grabbed a game high 12 rebounds to help give the Cherokee Chiefs the edge on the boards. This proved to be critical where the Chiefs were able to get more second shots and the majority of the case get to the foul line.

The Cardinal Fanatic picked the Chiefs to win it all back in December with either the Cardinals or Paterson Kennedy getting second fiddle. Unfortunately this proved to be true. Tyrone Johnson scored a team high 13 points to earn MVP honors for the Cardinals and Mike Price defensive efforts held the Cherokee team high scorer, Willis Nicholson, to only 1 field goal made for the entire game but it was not enough.

The Plainfield Fanatic Efficient 5 for the game
1) Cherokee – Senior Wes Tisdale – 6’4” {ER – 14}
Tisdale scored all his points when it mattered the most. Wes shot 0 – 6 in the first half but during the 2nd half crunch time shot 50 % from the floor including 2 critical 3 pointers that shifted the momentum one final time in favor of the Chiefs. Tisdale also hit 2 shots down low with nifty reverse moves to avoid the “Rejection Renegades” of sophomores Justin Sears and Diijon Allen-Jordan. But his game high 12 rebounds, which earned him a double double, proved to be what earned him the efficiency player of the game. Wes finished off the day earning the MVP of the Group 4 championship.

2) Cherokee – Senior Phil Henry – 6’8” {ER – 14}
Although, Henry was not in the starting line up, his insertion into the game after Justin Sears and Mike Williams displayed that they were going to control the paint proved to be a critical move. Phil shot perfect from the floor and foul line, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 2 steals, and 1 rejection to fortify a Chiefs victory.

3) Plainfield – Sophomore Justin Sears – 6’7” {ER – 13}
Sears had to deal with 13’5” of big men down low. The big men of Cherokee, 6’9” senior Ryan McKeaney and 6’8” senior Phil Henry gave sophomore Justin Sears a tough time down low. Justin was not able to score a field goal but that did not deter him from contributing in other ways to keep the Cards in the game. Justin grabbed a team high 7 rebounds (12 according to the Star Ledger & Courier News), snatched 3 steals, and rejected 3 shots.

4) Cherokee – Senior Willis Nicholson – 5’11” {ER – 12}
The muscular quick guard had his hands full with the best on the ball defender in Mike Price holding him to 1 – 11 shooting from the field. But Nicholson found other ways to defeat the top public school in the state. Nicholson scored a game high 14 points (along with Cherokee’s Christian Jordan 14 points) by knocking down 11 out of 14 free throws (79%), had a game high 4 assists, 3 steals and 4 rebounds.

5) Cherokee – Senior Ryan McKeaney – 6’9” {ER – 12}
The 6’9” center proved to be a pivotal piece of the puzzle to secure Cherokee’s first ever-state championship. Ryan secured the zone defense down low and altered multiple lay-up attempts by the Cardinals. Ryan had a game high 4 rejections, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.


The efficiency rating is base on points scored, shooting accuracy, foul shooting accuracy, rebounds, assists, steals, defensive intensity, and assist – turnover ratio.

Stay tune for the final statistics of the Cardinals season.