Boys Basketball: Bishop Ahr wins battle of Griffin vs. Griffin

PISCATAWAY - D.J. Griffin and his father, Darius Griffin, Sr., have a lot of things in common, including their love for the game of basketball. Both played college basketball, both were assistant coaches and this season, both are head coaches in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

D.J. Griffin took over at Bishop Ahr (11-7) this summer, while Darius Griffin, Sr., was appointed the new head coach at Piscataway (9-7). Those two programs collided on Monday night, as D.J. Griffin brought his Trojans in to face his father's Chiefs, and Bishop Ahr came away with a 72-64 victory.

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"There was a lot of emotion running through this game, it was very nostalgic," D.J. Griffin said. "I went here for a marking period, this is the gym that my dad first coached me in basketball in so being able to come back and face him on this level, it really brings a lot of emotion to the game and I'm just glad that my players were able to have that sense of enthusiasm and pull this game out."

D.J. Griffin, who played at Bishop Ahr from 2006-10, played in college at Howard University and The College of New Jersey. Griffin, Sr., played basketball and football at Rutgers University, and was a member of the Scarlet Knights' NIT winning team in 1979.

D.J. Griffin took an assistant coaching job at Bishop Ahr last October under former coach Dennis O'Keefe, and took over when he stepped down this past July. Griffin, Sr., was an assistant coach to Bob Turco when Turco took over at Notre Dame in 2010, and was an assistant under former Piscataway coach Antoine Allen.

This is the first head coaching jobs for both father and son.

"From picking up the basketball to now, coaching, he's been involved in it all," D.J. Griffin said of his father. "He started me with the basketball, he's the one that was pushing me when I was younger, he's the one that had me get into college for basketball and now he's the one still giving me game notes, obviously besides for this one, each game we're able to talk about it and he's able to help me through it, so he's the biggest influence."

On Monday night, it was D.J. Griffin's Trojans were victorious, picking up their eighth win in nine games and fifth in a row. Bishop Ahr took a 16-7 lead after the first quarter and led 37-19 at halftime. Trailing 50-34 to start the fourth, Piscataway started to chip away.

After a basket from Sean Kudelka put Bishop Ahr up 54-38 with 6:20 left, the Chiefs went on a 6-0 run to get within 10, 54-44, with 5:14 left. The two teams traded baskets and the Trojans led 58-46, but a three-point play from Keshawn Grant, a basket from Mattias Arrindell and a 3-pointer from Robert Terry pulled the Chiefs within four, 58-54, with 2:56 left.

Bishop Ahr answered back with a 6-0 run to stretch the lead back to 10, 64-54, with 1:40 remaining, and the Trojans stayed ahead for the win.

"It was nice to coach against him, I've always said that they have a good team. It didn't hurt that we had one of our starters hurt, but that's no excuse, they came out ready to play and he did a good job coaching them and I'm happy for him and I'm happy for them," Griffin, Sr. said. "Him and I talk every night, we talk about each other's team and we talk about what we think the other person should do, and again his team came in ready, he did a great job getting them ready and they came in here in a very hostile environment and they stuck to their game plan."

Alex Santiago scored a game-high 19 points to pace Bishop Ahr, while Deontae Crawford recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kudelka finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Grant led Piscataway with 14 points and nine rebounds. Arrindell finished with 14 points and seven rebounds while Jrodan Davidson added 14 points and six rebounds.

"I think we did well, I think that earlier in the year we might have lost a game like this, with a team trapping us and slowly creeping back," D.J. Griffin said. "But I think this game really showed how we've improved as a team, how we've matured as a team and the fact that I think we finally know all together that we've taken that next step as a program."

Griffin, Sr. is trying to lead Piscataway in that direction as the Chiefs haven't had a winning season since 2011.

"I think we got a little out of character early on, and the first quarter was the difference. If you take the first quarter away, it's anybody's ballgame, but the first quarter is a question of maturity, that's a question of winning, and that's exactly what I'm trying to zero in on," Griffin, Sr. said. "What we're dealing with here, we're trying to change the culture because we've been losing for so many years and it's not as easy as people think to try and change from a losing mentality to a winning mentality."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego