(Photo courtesy Jersey Journal)
Paterson Catholic went into Jersey City and made history Monday night.
Behind 21 points from sophomore guard Myles Mack, 19 from junior forward Fuquan Edwin and some clutch play from junior guard Jayon James, the No. 3-seeded Cougars knocked off defending national champion and No. 2 St. Anthony 60-55 in the Non-Public North B boys basketball semifinals at Golden Door Charter School.
Paterson Catholic (26-4), which hadn’t beaten St. Anthony since Marquis Webb was a freshman in 2000, will face St. Patrick (26-3) Wednesday night in the sectional final at Rutgers. The Cougars lone state crown came when Tim Thomas was a sophomore in 1994.
“It means a lot to be one of two [PC] teams to beat St. Anthony,” Mack told Keith Idec of the Bergen Record. “It hasn’t happened in a long time. We feel great about this, but we’ve still got business to handle.”
St. Patrick, No. 5 in the RivalsHigh 100, beat No. 64 Paterson Catholic 64-57 in the quarterfinals at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. in December and now the teams will meet again with a state championship on the line.
“Theyr’e a very good team,” St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle said that night. “We should be finishing them off. They’re a better outside shooting team than I thought they were.”
In the first Paterson Catholic-St. Patrick game Mack led PC with 20 points and Edwin added 19.
George Mason-bound forward Paris Bennett led the Celtics with 21 points that night and sophomore Michael Gilchrist added 15. Gilchrist has since suffered a foot injury but could still play. Stellar junior guard Kyrie Irving sat out the required 30 days and missed the first game with Paterson Catholic.
Playing against PC in his final game in a St. Anthony uniform Monday night, Villanova-bound wing Dominic Cheek had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists while junior Devon Collier, who transferred in before the season began, tallied 20 points and 15 boards.
The Friars made 20 turnovers and PC went on a 7-0 run at the 52-all mark. Mack and Trevor Clemmings made five foul shots in the final minute.
“They made plays (late) and we turned the ball over,” St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley told the Jersey Journal. “The numbers were just clearly in their favor. Our defense always gives us a chance to be in the game, but when you turn the ball over that many times, you’re scoring against your own offense.”
Hurley’s team lost six Division 1 recruits from last year’s Tournament of Champions winner, but this year’s team lacked the guard play highlighted by Tyshawn Taylor, Mike Rosario and Jio Fontan.
On this night, PC’s guard trio of Mack, James and Kyle Anderson outscored the St. Anthony guards Cheek, McLeod and Carter 28-21.
Led by current Seton Hall freshman Jordan Theodore, Paterson Catholic had lost last year’s game at St. Anthony 84-71 but this year’s loss is historic on several fronts:
**Paterson Catholic will play for the Non-Public B state championship for the first time since Timmy Thomas was a sophomore in 1994.
**Damon Wright joins Tommie Patterson among PC coaches with a win over St. Anthony. Patterson, now at Clifton, has beaten Bob Hurley, Kevin Boyle and Bob Farrell.
**For the first time since 1999 when St. Augustine’s beat St. Patrick, a team other than St. Anthony or St. Patrick could win the state title.
**St. Anthony lost for the second time this year in its own gym, following a 60-58 loss to Tobias Harris and Long Island Lutheran. Before that, the Friars had not lost a game in its gym since 2003.
**After that game, Coach Hurley already seemed to be looking toward next season.
“If this year is now in a freefall, we’re not used to this,” Hurley said that night. “It is for us, it’s a freefall. Anybody observing this sees a total lack of poise. I’m playing seniors and we’re not playing very well…This is getting a little bit mysterious. I think we’d like to start maybe working on next year.”
RECRUITING NOTES:
Coaches from Providence, Notre Dame, Fordham, Iona, Manhattan and ST. Peter’s were among those watching the action.
NON-PUBLIC B STATE CHAMPS SINCE 1980
1980 – St. Anthony
1981 – St. Anthony
1982 – St. Augustine Prep (Richland)
1983 – St. Anthony
1984 – St. Anthony
1985 – St. Anthony
1986 – St. Anthony
1987 – St. Anthony
1988 – St. Anthony
1989 – St. Anthony
1990 – St. Anthony
1991 – St. Anthony
1992 – Marist (Bayonne)
1993 – St. Anthony
1994 – Paterson Catholic
1995 – St. Anthony
1996 – St. Anthony
1997 – St. Anthony
1998 – St. Patrick
1999 – St. Augustine
2000 – St. Patrick
2001 – St. Anthony
2002 – St. Anthony
2003 – St. Patrick
2004 – St. Anthony
2005 – St. Patrick
2006 – St. Patrick
2007 – St. Patrick
2008 – St. Anthony
PASSAIC COUNTY COACHES ASSOCIATION
ALL COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL
2008– 2009
1ST TEAM
JUSTIN CROSGILE DE PAUL
KARON ABRAHAM EASTSIDE
DAVID WEST EASTSIDE
ASMAR EDWARDS KENNEDY
SHONDEL STEWART KENNEDY
TYSON PICKETT PASSAIC
MAYNARD FREEMAN PCTI
FUQUAN EDWIN PATERSON CATHOLIC
MYLES MACK PATERSON CATHOLIC
JASON ROSENBERG WAYNE VALLEY
COACH OF THE YEAR – DAMON WRIGHT PATERSON CATHOLIC
2ND TEAM
BRYANT LEWIS EASTSIDE
DAQUERE HAYES KENNEDY
ANTOINE ALEXANDER KENNEDY
NAJEE SALAAM PASSAIC
DOMINIC COIRO PASSAIC VALLEY
JAYON JAMES PATERSON CATHOLIC
STEVE LEQUERICA WAYNE HILLS
JOE RUSSO WAYNE HILLS
NICK SILJEE WAYNE VALLEY
JASON SOFMAN WEST MILFORD
