February
21, 2004
March 21,
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Jason McCourty stepped up on the offensive end as St. Joseph used a balanced attack to bounce Northern Highlands. |
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HACKENSACK - Gerald Inman has been the focal point of the St. Joseph basketball team's production this season, as the junior is scoring 19 points a game, but at halftime of Friday night's semifinal in the 48th Oscar F. Thompson Memorial Basketball Jamboree, he had only two points.
It would figure that Northern Highlands was getting it done, but while Inman was not scoring, he was getting ample help from his four fellow starters, who rang up 29 first half points of their own.
That
production allowed the Green Knights to open up a double digit lead at the
intermission and coast home to a 59-38 win that moves them into the championship
game for the first time since they won back-to-back titles in
1981-82.
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| SJR's leading scorer, Gerald Inman, scored 14 of his game-high 16 points after halftime. |
The foursome of Jason and Devin McCourtry, Tim Klein and Stanley Julien picked up the slack for their leading scorer and the balanced offense led SJR into the final against NNJIL rival Don Bosco, a 63-44 winner over Cliffside Park in the other semi. The two teams will be playing for the second time in six days, as they will play for the NNJIL Division 3 title on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
Highlands, which is now 17-5 on the season, was packing its defense to stop Inman, willing to take its chances on the perimeter shooting of St. Joe's (19-3). Then the Green Knights starting filling the basket.
They shot 12 of 20 in the first half (and 18 of 37 for the game), with Devin McCourty scoring seven of the 14 first quarter points for the Knights as they took a nine point lead. Jason McCourty had six and Klein five in the second quarter as the lead increased to 31-17 at the half.
"They're
a very tough defensive team," SJR head coach Mike Doherty said, "and we needed
to shoot the ball well and we did."
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| Brian Dench led all Northern Highlands scorers with 10 points. |
From 5-5 in the first quarter, the Knights went on a 15-2 run over a 6:49 segment spanning the first and second quarters. Jason McCourty had eight of them on the way to a 13-point game that included five assists.
"We have a lot of confidence in Jason and Devin," Doherty remarked. "It's like having two point guards, they're interchangeable, and they can go to the basket or pull up for the three. Jason's really only been playing for a month (he was activated January 20 after healing a hip injury from football), so he's just getting into mid-season form."
Klein nailed all eight of his points before halftime, including to three-pointers, and Julien notched all six of his points prior to the intermission.
"He's
been a quiet, effective shooter for us the whole season," Doherty said of
Klein. "He doesn't get 20 looks a game, but he's always been able to hit one
or two key ones for us to give us some breathing room."
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| Stanly Juilen stepped up and gave SJR another offensive option. |
With the Green Knights hitting their outside shots, it forced the Highlanders to play them tighter and it gave Inman some second half room. He responded with 14 of his game-high 16 points, including back-to-back fourth quarter dunks that punctuated the win. He also had 11 rebounds and two steals.
"People are going to key on him," Doherty explained, "and one of the things he does nicely is not to force his shot. He lets the game come to him, he kept working hard on the glass, and then he put the game away for us when the opportunity was there."
Northern Highlands never got it going, shooting just 1 of 7 in the opening quarter on the way to an 11 of 36 outcome. Greg Betancourt was just 2 of 13 (and 2 of 8 from three-point range) for 8 points, his lowest outing in four Jamboree games. Brian Dench topped Highlands with 10 points.
Devin McCourty had 15 points and Julien added six boards as SJR outrebounded NH by a 27-15 margin. Ken Fetzer grabbed six rebounds to top Northern Highlands.
For more pictures from this event or to purchase a Collector's Print of this story, visit the NJS.com School Store!
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