February
8, 2004
March 21,
 |
 |
|
Westwood freshman Corey Raji (left) battling for a rebound against Ramapo's Kyle Tinsley. |
|
ALLENDALE - It had been a long wait for Marcus Gomes. The Westwood senior played three seasons of varsity basketball without even a sniff of the Jamboree as the Cardinals struggled to get into the win column.
This year, with a solid supporting cast, he got the chance to finally play on the big stage and he certainly didn't disappoint the big crowd at Northern Highlands High School on Saturday night.
Gomes dropped in 28 points and added 11 rebounds as the Cardinals, in their first Jamboree appearance in over 20 years and winless in four previous county tries, earned a trip to the quarterfinals with a 61-50 win over eighth-seed Ramapo.
"We played
with great intensity heart," Gomes said of his team's effort. "It feels good
to play like that in front of a good crowd. I've waited to play in the Jamboree
for four years, and I hardly slept last night I was so excited."
 |
| Jimmy Taranto (11 points) was the only Ramapo player to finish in double digits. |
The Cardinals will have the giant task of facing top-seeded Don Bosco, a 71-42 winner over queen of Peace, next Sunday at Paramus High School in what will likely be the 7:00 p.m. game.
"From the very first day I took over, these kids have wanted to work," fourth-year Westwood head coach Kevin Brentnall said. "We came in saying that we needed to dominate the backboards and defend the three, and that was our ticket to winning today."
That and the fine play not only Gomes but Ryan Henry and Corey Raji. Henry had 12 of his 20 points in the first half, when he and Gomes did all of Westwood's scoring, and Raji had 10 points, 17 rebounds and 4 steals.
The trio
did all the damage in the first quarter, controlling the game after Brad Jones
opened up the contest for Ramapo (11-4) with a three-point field goal 43 seconds
in. It would be the last points that the Raiders would score for 9:53, as
they missed 10 straight shots and committed five turnovers.
 |
| Westwood's Marcus Gomes went off for 28 points in his first ever Jambo game. |
With Raji grabbing 7 rebounds in the opening quarter, Westwood (12-3) went on a 15-0 run, with Henry getting 8 points and Gomes 7. Henry had the final six points of the first period, knocking down three jumpers in the paint.
"He didn't have a great week," Brentnall said of the senior, "but he finally looked like himself yesterday. He has so much energy that when he's not playing with that energy you know something's wrong."
Ramapo was down double digits for the majority of the second quarter, but got baskets by Jim Taranto and Chris Ford in the final 30 seconds (Ford's just before the buzzer) to close the gap to 25-17 at the half.
A Kyle Tinsley bucket made it a 26-21 Westwood lead with 5:53 left in the third quarter before the Cardinals threw in six straight points to re-establish an 11-point lead. Gomes had four of them, including a putback to culminate the run.
Raji
scored off an offensive rebound with 26 ticks remaining in the third, sending
Westwood into the final quarter with a 42-30 margin. The rookie was a big
factor in Ramapo having only 1 offensive rebound in the first half.
 |
| Ramapo's Brad Jones hit a three that got his team the lead to open the game. |
"He's not a freshman anymore," Brentnall said of his center. "At this point of the season, he's been through it and it isn't an issue any more. We felt he could handle the inside one-on-one."
Tinsley scored inside with 4:14 to go to move Ramapo within 48-42, but Henry countered that with another running jumper in the paint. Chris Arnold dropped a three to make it 50-45 Westwood with 2:42 left, but the parade to the foul line began and the Cardinals were near-perfect, hitting 11 of 12 charity tosses in the final 1:58.
"They are an outside shooting team," Brentnall remarked, "and we knew we had to defend their three-point shooters, because they can shoot lights out, and the strength of our defense is closing down on shooters."
Taranto was the lone Ramapo scorer in double figures with 11 points as the Raiders hit 21 of 55 from the field and just 3 of 6 at the foul line. Westwood was 22 of 44 shooting and connected on 17 of 20 free throws.
Gomes is now looking forward to the Bosco game, saying that, "the game of basketball is all about pressure, and you have to match their intensity and play with them."
To purchase a Collector's Print of this story, visit the NJS.com School Store!
|
|
|
| About Us | Contact Us | Home | Advertise |
Questions?
E-mail the editor editor@northjerseysports.com
All contents © copyright 2001-2004 HSSportsWeb.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
|
