Hartford Public knocks off SMSA to win inaugural Greater Hartford Conference boys basketball title

HARTFORD - For a minute there, it looked like the inaugural Greater Hartford Conference boys basketball championship game was going to be a TKO.

No. 2 Hartford Public led top-seed Sport & Medical Sciences Academy by 15 late in the third quarter.

Then it turned into Ali-Frazier.

Pick your own personal favorite of that trilogy. Wednesday night's battle between the GHC's two heavyweights, the third of three on the season, turned into a classic that went down to the wire, with Hartford Public holding on for a 57-54 victory before an amped-up full house at SMSA.

Jaiden Booth scored 29 points to power Public, and Jorge Nieves added 12 while commanding the glass.

But with SMSA heating to a boil in the fourth quarter behind Elijah Williams (19 points) and JaShaun Jernigan (18), the Owls didn't put the Tigers away so much as hold on when a final flurry of 3-pointers failed to find the mark in the waning seconds.

"That was amazing," said Hartford Public coach Leo Ramirez, his Owls Basketball sweatshirt soaked with sweat. "Both teams from Hartford, you couldn't picture it any better, and it was a great game."

A great game that sets a high bar for all league championships that follow. This was the first championship for the former Capital Region Athletic League, which re-branded as the GHC this year.

Both Hartford Public and SMSA are the newest kids on the league block. Hartford Public left the CCC for the CRAL in 2024, and this was SMSA's first season in the GHC after relocating from the NCCC, where the Tigers had won five league crowns, including four straight from 2021-24.

SMSA appeared to be on target for the GHC banner. The Tigers (20-3) blazed a 16-0 trail through league competition, including two previous victories over Hartford Public (17-6).

The Owls flipped the script Wednesday. They never trailed, building leads of 15-11 after one quarter and 25-20 by halftime.

In the third quarter, a 17-4 outburst sparked by a Sasha Elia drive, a Booth 3-pointer and a Ja'meer Jefferson fast break layup had the Owls cruising 42-27.

SMSA, however, closed the frame on a 9-1 surge capped by a top-of-the-key 3 from Williams at the horn. It was a foreshadowing of the fourth quarter, when treys from Williams and Jernigan, fueled by intense full-court pressure, cut the gap to 3 and set up a furious final two minutes.

Public kept the Tigers at bay on a 3-pointer by Leo Ramirez, the son of the coach, and a press-break drive by Booth.

"We lost to them two times in a row; we couldn't do it three," said Booth. "The emotions were high. The intensity was high today. We needed this win. Now we're on the Run to the Sun."

Indeed, the two teams now head to the CIAC tournament holding No. 3 seeds in their respective divisions - SMSA in III, Hartford Public in V. Both have byes into Tuesday's second round. SMSA hosts the winner of Sheehan and South Windsor. Hartford Public will welcome Valley Regional or GHC rival Comp Sci.

Player of the Game

Jaiden Booth:Hartford Public's All-State football player can play a bit of basketball, too. The senior led all scorers with 29 points. Booth hit seven shots from the floor, including a pair of 3s, and was 13-for-14 from the line.

Quotable

"We were hungry. We lost (to SMSA) twice. We definitely weren't losing the third time, especially in the conference (final). We were hungrier."
- Hartford Public's Jorge Nieves.

Hartford Public 57, SMSA 54

HARTFORD PUBLIC   15 10 18 14-57
SMSA                             11   9 16 18-54

Hartford Public:Jaiden Booth 5 2 13-14 29, Jorge Nieves 6 0 0-4 12, Leo Ramirez 1 1 0-0 5, Sasha Elia 2 0 0-0 4, Jonathan Mitchell 0 1 0-0 3, Jameer Jefferson 1 0 0-0 2, Israel Olmeda 0 0 2-2 2. Totals: 15 4 15-20 57.
SMSA (20-3):Elijah Williams 5 2 3-7 19, JaShaun Jernigan 3 1 9-12 18, Xzavion Rios 2 1 2-4 9, Jaylen Del Valle 0 2 2-2 8, Bishop Rush 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 6 16-25 54.
3-point field goals: Hartford Public-Booth 2, Ramirez, Mitchell; SMSA-Williams 2, Del Valle 2, Jernigan, Rios.
Team records:Hartford Public 17-6; SMSA 20-3.

This article originally published at Hartford Public knocks off SMSA to win inaugural Greater Hartford Conference boys basketball title.