February
7, 2005
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TENAFLY - The final Round of 16 game in the Bergen County Jamboree had a great matchup. Not team versus team, as you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who gave Leonia much of a chance against top-seeded and undefeated St. Joseph.
The game's draw was the Lions' sophomore sensation, Ahmed Hassan, against the stifling Green Knight defense that was allowing opponents less than 40 points a game. Could the Leonia sharpshooter find the range?
The answer - no more so than any other player who had previously tried to dent the St. Joe's pressure. Hassan was rendered harmless by the Knights, and the result was a 69-30 St. Joseph win that sends them through to the quarterfinals against Ramapo next week in a 7:00 p.m. start at Paramus High School.
There were a number of similarities for the Green Knights from last year's Round of 16 game, when another sharpshooter by the name of Joe McGowan gave them fits before Joe's finally emerged.
"We had gone through a very tough (Round of 16) game with New Milford last year," SJR head coach Mike Doherty recalled, "and I think it was in the minds of our guys. We didn't want to be tight. We wanted to be aggressive and get out to a good start."
It wasn't laser-like, but it was a 7-0 start ,as Gerald Inman hit a three-pointer and a layup and Jason McCourty turned a steal into a dunk at the other end in the first four minutes of the game. While points were slow to come for St. Joe's, they were all but impossible for Leonia. Hassan was harried throughout, and was kept off the scoreboard in the first quarter, which ended with St. Joseph ahead by 14-6.
"We had a lot of respect for Hassan and their offense," Doherty said. "We were able to get pressure on the perimeter and take that away."
The teams traded baskets at the outset of the second period, then the green Knights ran off 13 straight over a three minute period to blow the game open at 29-8. Inman had six of the points and Junior Galette had a pair of baskets and Edwyn Macelus a three pointer.
"Those two guys (Galette and Macelus) off the bench gave us some real quality minutes," Doherty said. "They gave us a big contribution.'
The half ended with the Knights owning a 37-18 lead, and they completed dominated the third quarter, outscoring Leonia by a 19-4 margin. Inman had 8 points in the period, as the Lions could not combat his size and physicality inside.
The fourth quarter belonged to the reserves for SJR, as ten players scored points for the Knights in the game while Leonia was ice cold, hitting only 5 of 25 second half shots.
Inman took game honors with 23 points, the only Green Knight to reach double figures. He also had 8 rebounds, while the McCourty brothers, Jason and Devin, each chipped in with 4 assists. St. Joe's was 28 of 52 from the floor and 9 of 13 at the free throw line.
Hassan finished with 11 points, but he was 1 of 8 from three-point range and 5 of 20 overall. The Lions hit just 11 of 41 shots (including 3 of 17 from behind the arc) and were 5 of 10 on foul shots.
The Green Knights will now take on a Ramapo team that they were able to wear down in the Indian Hills Christmas tournament, but Doherty cautions that the Raiders are not the same team they faced some seven weeks ago.
"We played well in the first game, but the score (56-30) was not an indicator of how tough that game was," Doherty assessed. 'We're happy to be moving on and we expect a very tough game from them again. They've stepped up their game, and it should be a good challenge."
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