For several weeks, the excitement about hosting the first state-tournament boys basketball game in history had been brewing inside Pinelands Regional High School. The only development that topped the excitement on Feb. 26 was the way the Wildcats played in the first half of the contest.

“Everyone was hyped,” said junior guard Anthony Diaz, who scored 15 points as the fifth-seeded Wildcats crushed 12th-seeded Gloucester Tech, 70-42, during the first round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III…