February
14, 2005
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PARAMUS -- If a poll of the neutral observers entering the Paramus High School gymnasium for Sunday night's Jamboree quarterfinal finale between St. Joseph and Ramapo had been taken, one would have been hard pressed to find anyone who gave the Green Raiders any chance of knocking off the undefeated top seed.
Yet, there it was, inside 50 seconds to go, Ramapo trailing by one point and in possession of the ball. A gym full of people looking at what would have been one of the biggest upsets in Jamboree history.
It was not to be, as the Raiders committed only their fifth turnover of the game with 38.5 to go, forcing them to foul. The McCourty brothers, Devin and Jason, both drained two free throws to finally secure a hard-fought 39-34 win. St. Joseph (20-0) will now have an opportunity to take on Englewood, the fourth seed whose only loss came in the Indian Hills Christmas tournament and denied them a chance to face SJR for the title.
"We won and we're very pleased about that," St. Joe's head coach Mike Doherty said. "I think our kids withstood an outstanding challenge from Ramapo. We've been fortunate to play almost all of our games out in front and comfortable from the beginning.
"Ramapo showed tremendous toughness, and nothing should be taken away from them. They had an outstanding game plan and it was a very challenging atmosphere."
There were a number of pre-game theories that never materialized, as the Raiders gave a solid showing as the ninth seed against a team they had lost to 56-30 in that same Indian Hills tournament in December.
! Theory - Ramapo, with no one taller than 6-foot-2, can't match up inside. Reality - St. Joseph got only 14 points all game in the paint, and just four in the second half. !
! Theory - Ramapo can't stop Gerald Inman. Reality - Inman had 13 points in the first half, including a trio of three-point field goals, and was held scoreless in the second half. !
! Theory - The St. Joseph defense will cause big problems for the Raider guards and force Ramapo to an outside game. Reality - Ramapo matched SJR's 14 points in the paint, with the guards getting 12 of them. They only turned the ball over five times all game, compared to 10 by the Knights. !
! Theory - Ramapo better be hot from the outside, because they won't get second shots. Reality - The Raiders had nine offensive rebounds, one less than St. Joseph, and the best blocked shot of the day was a monster by Steven Hunt on Inman, who has six inches on him. SJR only had a 33-25 overall edge off the glass.
"We just proved that we can play with anybody," an upbeat Ramapo head coach Joe Del Buono said. "This wasn't just a moral victory. We executed the game plan, we controlled the tempo and we did what we had to do to stay in the game. These kids played with confidence and within the scheme."
From the first quarter, which ended with the Raiders up 12-10, to the end, the game never spilled in St. Joe's favor. They had a 25-19 lead at the half, thanks to an eight point blitz in the final 1:29 of the second quarter.
Down 19-17, Noruwa Agho got free inside for a basket, then Devin McCourty and Inman buried threes, Inman's with seven seconds to go. When Jason McCourty opened the third quarter with a three, the Knights had their biggest lead at 28-19.
Bill Bronander then scored two baskets, the second off an offensive rebound as Ramapo trailed just 31-25 after three quarters. The Green Knights made only two baskets in the third and one in the fourth, shooting 3 of 19 over the second half.
"We played a great matchup zone today," Del Buono added, "and we defended the post very well. How much more proud can I be of a team?"
When A.J.Pisarri got inside for a layup with 50 ticks left, it was 34-33 Joe's, and Ramapo (15-5) forced a turnover on the inbounds. They took it in, but the ball was lost on a drive on the left baseline, only the second turnover in the second half.
Devin McCourty nailed two foul shots with 37.2 remaining, and Jim Taranto had a chance to get it back to within one, but missed two free throws with 24.3 on the clock. Jason McCourty hit his two with 19.7, making it 38-33, and Hunt made the second of two with 14.2 left. Devin Wooten then hit the second of two with 11.7 remaining, and a Ramapo three was off the mark.
Inman had 13 rebounds and 7 blocked shots for the Green Knights, as he did neutralize Hunt's offense inside, holding him to six points, eight boards and two blocked shots. Agho stepped up with 11 points and 8 rebounds for Joe's which was 13 of 43 shooting and 7 of 10 at the line.
Ramapo was led by Bronander's 11 points, and he had 7 rebounds as well. The Raiders were 14 of 49 from the floor and just 4 of 9 at the charity stripe.
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