February
9, 2004
March 21,
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James Feimster and Paramus Catholic advanced to the quarters with a convincing win over Englewood. |
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TENAFLY - It would have been easy for Paramus Catholic to cry foul after the pairings for the Jamboree were announced. After all, the Paladins were rewarded with the second seed then given one of the toughest Round of 16 opponents in an ever-improving Englewood.
Instead of complaining, PC went out and showed everyone that it was ready to take on all comers and have every intention of making the tournament its showcase event.
After a close first half, the Paladins played their run and gun style to the max in the third quarter, pulling away from the Maroon Raiders on the way to a 71-52 win that sends them to Paramus High School next Sunday for a quarterfinal matchup with 10th-seed Northern Highlands in a 2:00 p.m. start.
Despite
the relative ease in which it dispatched the Raiders in the second half, PC
head coach Tony Campbell was still not completely satisfied with his team,
saying that, "they say we're a number two in the county. Some nights we are,
some nights we're not. We've still got to get better and more consistent."
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| Lawrence Williams was a force inside for Paramus Catholic. |
"It's not about rankings and it's not about where you're seeded," Campbell continued. "It's about who comes to play and who gets it done on the court."
With Luis Guzman hitting for 12 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter, Paramus Catholic (12-4) turned a 30-29 halftime lead into a 54-41 advantage entering the last period. PC shot 9 of 15 in the quarter, with Guzman burying a pair of three-pointers and going 5 of 6 overall.
With the score at 35-33 Paramus Catholic, the Paladins went on an 8-0 run over 2:12 in the middle of the third quarter. Lawrence Williams scored the first four and Guzman (off a steal) and Tyler Wright finished the streak for a 43-33 lead.
Englewood would get no closer than seven points the rest of the quarter, and an 8-2 stretch in the fourth quarter sent PC up by 62-47 and effectively put the Maroon Raiders (10-6) down for the count.
"A win is a win, and for the most part we got after it and made some big shots," Campbell acknowledged. "Luis had a nice game, but he needs to do better defensively and we need to take better care of the basketball (16 turnovers)."
Williams had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, and the 6-foot-6 center neutralized Englewood's 6-8 center Alvin Mofouyanya, who had 6 points, 11 rebounds and 1 block.
The Maroon Raiders finished 21 of 65 from the floor, including just 4 of 15 behind the three-point line, and 6 of 10 on free throws. Stefan Williamson led Englewood with 13 pints and James Anderson added 11 before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Paladins shot a nice 28 of 55 from the floor and 13 of 21 at the free throw line, with Guzman also grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Chris Dupars had 5 assists.
"Our outside guys did some good things, our inside guys did some good things, and I think it was a good collective effort," Campbell noted.
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