February
4, 2007
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| Kaihrique
Irick finished
with 19 points and 11 rebounds as Teaneck knocked off St. Mary's, 64-49, to reach the Jambo's Round of 8. |
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ALLENDALE -- After missing the county and state tournaments last year, Teaneck welcomed a return to the Jamboree, even though the Highwaymen were stalled in traffic on Route 17 on the way north to Northern Highlands High School.
Once there, they started slowly before turning up the pace and taking control of their Round of 16 game against St. Mary. Teaneck used a 14-2 third quarter run to break a 31-all tie and moved on to the quarterfinals with a 64-49 win over the Gaels. Teaneck (14-3) will face the winner of the Pascack Hills-Wood Ridge game next Sunday at Ramapo College.
Whether it was the late arrival or the ability of the Gaels (13-2) to work the paint, the Highwaymen found themselves in a 29-all struggle at halftime. St. Mary’s Ryan Cuccinelli had eight points in the first quarter to spearhead a 21-19 Gael lead, and a Chris Slager layup and a pair of Louis Saunders free throws allowed the Gaels to get even heading into the intermission.
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| Ryan Cuccinelli led St. Mary's with 23 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots, and he grabbed 7 rebounds. |
“We got here late, and we didn’t really warm up the way I’d like,” Teaneck head coach Curtis March said, “so we just had to get our rhythm going. In the second half, we got Kaihrique (Irick) inside and it worked pretty well for us.”
Irick was held to six first quarter points through the first half, but he dropped five in a 14-2 run in the middle of the third quarter that broke a 31-31 deadlock and changed the tone of the game.
Irick’s presence in the paint keyed the momentum swing, as the Gaels were unable to match his physical play down low. It also forced some collapsing by the St. Mary defense, and that opened the outside for Chris Diaz.
Diaz, who had nailed a trio of three-point field goals in the first half to keep Teaneck in the game, had seven third quarter points as the Highwaymen moved out to a 47-35 advantage entering the fourth quarter. He also had steals on St. Mary’s first two second half possessions, which altered the complexion of the contest immediately.
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| Teaneck's Chris Diaz nailed a trio of three-point field goals in the first half. |
“The ball pressure we used to deny them the ball inside was a major factor,” March said of the second half defense.
The Gaels had only six points in the period as they committed six turnovers and took only eight shots. Without a perimeter game to balance the offense, St. Mary fell out of contention.
“That’s what we saw in the scouting report,” March said. “They did a nice job in the first half with the screens to get the ball inside, so we switched Rowe on to 44 (Slager) and Kaihrique onto 14 (Cuccinelli), and that closed off the middle.”
Teaneck continued to maintain control thanks to Irick, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Diaz, who canned 23 points on 8 of 14 from the floor (3 of 4 on threes).
The Highwaymen hit on 14 of 23 second half shots and ended up 25 of 54 in the game. They added 11 of 13 at the free throw line. Walter Farrior had 14 points and 4 assists. Cuccinelli topped the Gaels with 23 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots, and he grabbed 7 rebounds. St. Mary was 19 of 42 on field goals and 10 of 12 from the foul line. Saunders had seven assists.
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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