February
5, 2007
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| Mike O'Keefe (30) came off the bench to give Don Bosco Prep some instant offense in a 55-46 win over Queen of Peace. | |
TENAFLY -- Being a sixth man on a basketball team may seem like an easy assignment, but in some ways it may be the most difficult job, especially if your role is to be the “instant offense.”
Mike O’Keefe has not only accepted that role, he has embraced it, and on Sunday morning at Tenafly High School, he was the catalyst for a Don Bosco team that found itself in a struggle with Queen of Peace in a Round of 16 matchup.
His five first quarter points kept the game within reach, and his three-point field goal in the middle of a 12-0 third period run gave the Ironmen a lead the would never relinquish in a 55-46 triumph.
The win moves Bosco into the quarterfinals next Sunday at Ramapo College, where the fourth-seeded Ironmen will face fifth-seeded Ridgefield Park in the 12:00 p.m. opener.
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| Bilal Dixon got Q of P off to a quick start by scoring 8 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. |
Don Bosco (14-5) had a shooting nightmare in the first half, hitting only 8 of 33 shots, and the Golden Griffins were getting the ball inside to Bilah Dixon, who scored eight of his 20 points in the first quarter.
“For whatever reason, we had no cinch offensively,” Diverio remarked. “We let the big guy hurt us.”
Enter O’Keefe, who came on three minutes into the game and promptly dropped in a three-point field goal and added another jumper, keeping Bosco in striking distance at 15-9 after one quarter.
“There’s no pressure on me, so I just go in and shoot the ball,” O’Keefe said. “I’m looking to contribute any way I can and do my best, come off the bench and knock down my shots and get the team going.”
“He’s our shooter, when he comes in we look for him,” teammate Georgio Milligan said, and DB head coach Kevin Diverio added, “he can really shoot it.”
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| Bosco's Peter Bonilla hit a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter and give the Ironmen a 39-31 lead. |
Queen of Peace (14-5) could not take full advantage of the Ironmen shooting woes, committing 10 first half turnovers and shooting just 1 of 7 themselves in the second quarter. Part of their troubles centered on the insertion of O’Keefe (14 points) and Alex DiSanzo into the line-up.
“When Alex and O’Keefe went in, it changed the things a bit’” Diverio commented. “O’Keefe hit the shots and DiSanzo was quicker than (Dixon) and he got his hands on some passes inside and caused some problems.”
The allowed Bosco to creep within 22-19, and they traded points over the first five minutes of the second half. Down 31-27, they went on the 12-0 tear that flipped the game in their favor.
As well as O’Keefe’s contributions, the third quarter saw Milligan finally get untracked. Held to a single point in the first half, he scored eight in the third and four in the run.
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| Al-Don Mohammed and Q of P fell to 14-5 with the loss. |
“It was a mental thing,” Milligan admitted. “I just had to keep positive and make the next shot.”
It was also an adjustment in the offensive strategy that helped get things untracked.
“Patience, ball movement and transition defense,” Milligan listed.
“We had to get the ball to the high post and playing inside out,” Diverio explained, “and Vinny Pernice did a good job of getting it at the high post and hitting people diving to the blocks They had to adjust to the high post and it gave our shooters a bit of room.”
With Peter Bonilla’s trey to start the fourth quarter, Bosco had a 39-31 lead, but the Griffins fought back to within 41-39 off a steal and layup by Corey Kearney, the only two points QP’s leading scorer would notch.
A Milligan jumper and two A.J. LoRusso free throws extended it back to a five-point lead, and after a Dixon free throw, LoRusso scored a bucket and Kyle Smyth added to free throws to make it 49-40 with 2:47 left.
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| Georgio Milligan had 8 rebounds for Bosco, which will face Ridgefield Park in next weekend's quarterfinals. |
Queen of Peace was 16 of 41 on field goals (0 for 11 from three-point range) and 14 of 18 at the foul line. Dixon also had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Kearney was 0 for 9 and missed all five of his three-point tries.
Don Bosco shot 19 of 51 and was 13 of 22 from the free throw stripe. Smyth had 11 points while Milligan had 8 rebounds.
“Moving on, at this point of the season, that’s all that matters,” Diverio said. “Find a way.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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