February
5, 2006
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| Luis Guzman scored off a steal to start an 8-0 Paramus Catholic run in the first quarter that gave the Paladins the lead for good. | |
ALLENDALE -- There are not too many people with knowledge of high school boys basketball in Bergen County who will debate this statement: Paramus Catholic is the most talented team.
Talent doesn’t always translate into victories, however. There is still a need for effort and desire, and those two areas may be the only thing standing between the Paladins and a Jamboree championship.
The talent was readily on display on Saturday night at Northern Highlands High School, as the third seeded Paladins cruised to a 61-30 win over Northern Highlands in a Round of 16 game. PC will now face Old Tappan in next week’s quarterfinals at Paramus High School.
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| Reed Nicol was the bright spot for NH, draining a trio of three-pointers on the way to a team-high 12 points. |
While the talent was obvious, there were portions of the game where Paramus Catholic almost seemed to be sleepwalking through, and that is the enigma that surrounds this team. While it is true that Highlands was no match for the Paladins, it was not a scintillating performance.
“It was good to come in here and get the victory,” PC head coach Tony Campbell said. “Things fell our way. They missed a lot of shots that could have given them momentum, though our defense helped that happen. We were fortunate to get the win.”
From the outset, it was clear that the Paladins had a decisive advantage. The teams traded three-point field goals to open the contest before Luis Guzman scored off a steal to start an 8-0 run that he also finished with a layup.
Guzman had 8 of his 19 points in the opening stanza, leading PC to a 19-5 bulge at the close of the quarter. They added an 11-0 streak in the second period over a 4:32 span, moving out to a 34-9 lead.
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| PC's Josh Hewlett had 6 rebounds and 2 of the team’s 9 blocked shots |
PC caused seven first quarter turnovers and 11 in the first 13 minutes, and the defensive strength had Highlands unable to get any kind of offensive flow. The Highlanders had only 14 first half shots, making just three before heading off down 34-11.
“The pressure caused a lot of transition layups,” Campbell explained. “They missed shots, we made some and it carried the momentum for us.”
The edge came off the game in the second half, as the Paladins seemed content to trade baskets and mark time. Highlands (9-7) missed 10 straight shots over a five minute period spanning the third and fourth quarters, during which PC (13-4) scored 15 unanswered points to go up 51-20.
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| Brian Bovino came off the bench to grab 7 rebounds for Northern Highlands. |
“We got sloppy in the third quarter, but we were able to sustain (the big lead) because of the cushion we had,” Campbell said.
Paramus Catholic shot 25 of 49, with many of the baskets being layups or in the paint. They hit 3 of 8 threes and 8 of 19 free throws. Guzman was the only Paladin in double figures, and Josh Hewlett had 6 rebounds and 2 of the team’s 9 blocked shots. Terrell McKenzie had 5 assists.
Reed Nicol was the only offensive bright spot for NH, draining a trio of three-pointers on the way to a team-high 12 points. Highlands was only 8 of 32 shooting in the second half and 11 of 46 overall (3 of 11 threes), and they went 5 of 10 at the free throw line. Brian Bovino came off the bench to grab 7 rebounds.
FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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