February
21, 2006
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HACKENSACK -- There had been plenty of talk about the sixth man for St. Joseph after Saturday night’s Bergen County Jamboree semifinals. The sixth man made a major impact again in the championship game on Monday.
The difference was that it was not the Green Knights’ James Bryant but Don Bosco’s Giorgio Milligan who stepped up and became a prominent figure in the 50th title game.
Milligan had 13 points over the final three quarters, with almost every one of them coming at a crucial point in the game. Combined with Kyle Smyth’s 14 second half points, the duo led Don Bosco to a 60-56 defeat of the defending champions at the Rothman Center on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University.
The Ironmen took their sixth Jamboree title overall and third in five years (1973, 1978, 1997, 2002, 2004), and head coach Kevin Diverio joins Bergen Catholic’s Chris Donfield (6), Teaneck’s John Mazziotta (4) and Hackensack’s Mel Henderson (4) as the only coaches with at least four Jamboree championships.
The teams were never more than seven points apart until the final minute of the game, but the Ironmen (19-4) held the lead for the vast majority of the game, and were able to stave off the Green Knights (20-3) each time they got within a possession.
It was Milligan who kept them up in the second quarter, scoring eight straight Bosco points in one stretch. He broke a 19-19 tie with a basket and, after Joe’s had grabbed a 22-21 lead, he found his way in the lane for a layup and foul, converting the three point play for a 24-22 DB advantage with 2:02 left. Bosco would not lose the lead the rest of the game.
“He’s been doing that all year,” Diverio commented. “He’s a huge lift off the bench, he gives us energy and rebounding and scoring. I don’t think he’s a secret anymore.”
“I’m good at drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line,” Milligan said of his style of play.
Despite being down 26-22 at the half, St. Joseph was feeling pretty good, considering that Junior Galette spent 10:29 of the opening 16 minutes on the bench after picking up three fouls. He got his second with 3:52 to go in the opening quarter, but remained in the game and was whistled for the third with 2:29 left and his team down 13-9.
“There was some thought (to taking him out), but we felt we needed him in there,” SJR head coach Mike Doherty related. “I thought Domonic Wright did a solid job for us, and we were okay being down only four at the half.”
Facing the prospect of a grueling second half, the Ironmen came out with a dual purpose.
“Our goal was to limit transition points and keep them off the glass,” Diverio explained. “I don’t know if they had any transition points all game, we did a real good job of that, and Pete (Brown), Connor (Cornine) and Giorgio all chipped in on the glass.”
They needed every rebound, as the Knights crept within one point at 27-26 two points twice. Each time Bosco answered, with a Smyth three point play opening a five-point lead that would hold at 36-31 through three quarters.
Smyth had been scoreless in the first half, seeing limited touches, but the ball found him much more in the second half.
“Coach did a good job of adjusting,” Smyth remarked. “He posted me up a couple of times, and that got me to the free throw line.”
The foul line became a frequent stop for Bosco in the fourth quarter, as the Knights were forced to foul to try and catch up. They hit 12 of 20 at the stripe, which left just enough wiggle room to keep the game in doubt.
The game hovered between a four and six point lead most of the way, and after a David Zuber steal and layup for Joe’s, it was 51-47. Trevor Harris then found Brown inside for a dunk at 1:15 before Pete Bonilla hit a pair of free throws and Smyth made one of two with 59.2 to go.
Zuber dropped a three-point field goal, Galette made one of two foul shots and Noruwa Agho scored off a rebound and completed the three-point play with 21.2 on the clock to bring SJR within 58-54.
Smyth was fouled immediately and hit one of two with 20 seconds left, then Bryant drove the lane for a layup that had St. Joseph within three at 9.2. They again fouled Smyth, who made the front end of a two shot foul that sealed the game.
“It means a lot, that’s a good team we just beat,” Smyth said of the Knights. “It’s a good feeling for us. I’m just glad I hit that first one.”
St. Joseph shot 19 of 39 from the floor (1 of 8 behind the arc) and 11 of 16 at the line. Agho had a game-high 19 points while adding 7 rebounds, and Galette had 11 points and 8 boards. Marc Mandara had 13 points for the Green Knights, nine in the first half that kept his team in the game.
Don Bosco was 22 of 49 shooting (1 of 3 threes) and hit 21 of 33 free throws. Brown was the third Ironmen player in double figures with 11 points and he had 7 rebounds.
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