February
19, 2005
 |
 |
 |
| JR Inman scored 17 of his 27 points in the first half to lead St. Joseph Regional into the Jambo finals for the second straight year. | |
HACKENSACK -- After squeaking by Ramapo last Sunday and following that up with a tough overtime win over Bergen Catholic on Monday, St. Joseph was still undefeated but seemingly showing some cracks in its armor. The Green Knights were hearing Englewood receive more and more respect, with the Maroon Raiders becoming something of a chic choice to finally end the Green Knights' 21-game winning streak.
Motivating a team like Joe's is never a good thing for an opponent, and it was a Knight team that felt it had something to prove on Friday night at the Rothman Center in a Bergen County Jamboree semifinal game.
They
ratcheted up their well-publicized defensive pressure, then used it to give
Englewood a dose of its own medicine, stunning the Raiders with a 19-0 blitz
to start the game on the way to a 74-36 trouncing.
 |
| After a tough first half, Englewoood's Alvin Mofunanya finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. |
St. Joseph will now take a 22-0 mark into its fourth championship game appearance and second straight title game when they face NNJIL rival Paramus Catholic on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Rothman Center. The two teams faced each other in early January, with the Green Knights posting a 67-32 win. St. Joe's will be looking to win its third crown, with the other two coming in 1981 and 1982. They lost to Don Bosco in last year's final, 53-33.
"We thought we could play them straight up," Englewood head coach Gerald Akridge said of the game plan, "and run them, but against certain teams, you just can't do it. Their defense was just that good. They denied the first pass, and we couldn't get the ball down low."
Instead, it was the Knights who were filling the basket. While Englewood was 0 for 3 shooting and turned the ball over six times, SJR was getting 10 points out of Devin Wooten (4 of 4 shooting, including two three-point field goals) and 7 from Gerald Inman to ignite the 19-0 burst.
"Our
senior leadership was very prominent," SJR head coach Mike Doherty said of
the four upperclassmen on the floor. "They obviously came ready to play, and
they were very focused. We had a lot of respect for Englewood (18-2, with
a 16-game winning streak coming to an end), and we needed to be at our best.
It's a credit to these guys that they were able to perform like they did."
 |
| Jason McCourty had 5 assists and 4 steals for SJR, which scored the first 19 points of the game. |
"We're at the point of the season where everyone has to step, and Devin definitely solidified his spot. He was relaxed and just let it flow," Inman said of his teammate.
While Wooten and Inman were scoring, Devin and Jason McCourty were stealing and dishing, taking an Englewood team that for the first time looked unsure of itself and showing them what big game pressure is all about.
"We felt the biggest key early on was locating them," Doherty said of the defensive scheme. "We knew they wanted to run everything through (point guard Aaron) Dorrell, so we wanted to make it difficult for him to get the ball.
"Then we wanted to locate (James) Anderson right away, and not give him any looks to get going. Our guards did a great job of hounding them."
Anderson finally got Englewood on the scoreboard with 5:48 into the game, but the Knights kept on coming, moving out to a 25-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Perhaps the biggest telltale stats were Englewood's 1 of 4 shooting and 10 turnovers in that opening period.
"If I
have to lose, I'd rather lose now," Akridge said. "This is a lesson for this
team, and hopefully we can take something from this and be better prepared
in the state tournament."
 |
| Englewood's Darnell Downer tyring to get into the paint. |
St. Joe's remained relentless in the second quarter, stretching its margin to 44-15 at the half. The second half saw a back and forth third quarter before the Knights pulled even further away in the fourth as Englewood again had only 4 shots in the final period.
Inman showed why he is Rutgers-bound next fall, scoring 27 points (17 in the first half) with 10 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocked shots. He got the better of Alvin Mofunanya, who did score 15 points with 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. The St.Joseph-bound Mofunanya was shut out in the first quarter, when he had three turnovers as the ball-hawking Green Knights harassed him inside and out.
"The whole week people were talking like, oh, that's going to be the upset," Inman said, "and we just used that as fuel. We had three of the best practices we've had all year, and we came out as strong as we practiced."
Englewood was just 12 of 38 shooting and 11 of 14 at the free throw line. They were guilty of 26 turnovers, their most of the season in one game, with 15 coming in the first half. Anderson had 11 points for the Raiders.
Wooten finished with 12 points and Devin McCourty had 10 points, 6 boards and 4 assists. Jason McCourty had 5 assists and 4 steals for Joe's, which was 27 of 55 from the floor and 15 of 22 at the line.
FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, CHECK OUT THE NJS.com SCHOOL STORE!
|
|
|
| About Us | Contact Us | Home | Advertise |
Questions?
E-mail the editor editor@northjerseysports.com
All contents © copyright 2002-2005 HSSportsWeb.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
