Sunday, February 24, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Raphael Ortiz's jumper with 5.5 seconds to go gave St. Peter's Prep the last two points it needed to win its first ever HCIAA-Coviello Division championship with a 48-47 win over Union Hill on Super Saturday in Jersey City.

JERSEY CITY – Just a month ago, St. Peter’s Prep was in the middle of a dismal season, After a 2-7 start, the Marauders were saddled with a 4-9 record and in the middle of a rebuilding process designed to get some experience for its outstanding sophomore and freshman classes. But what happened instead was that Prep started to grow together as a team and started to play like it had nothing to lose.

Prep won its final five games to make the state tournament on the day of the cutoff. Two weeks later, the Marauders won on the last day of the regular season to qualify for the HCIAA-Coviello tournament. So when they faced a 10-point deficit against Union Hill on Saturday in the HCIAA-Coviello final, the Marauders never flinched because they were never supposed to be there in the first place.

The same calmness rang true when they were down a point with time winding down in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line and the Hillers collapsing on 6-7 freshman center Keith Lumpkin, Raphael Ortiz knew he was going to have enough of an opening to take the biggest shot of his life.

The sophomore guard drained the foul line jumper with 5.5 seconds left, and St. Peter’s then held off two last-second shots by the Hillers as the Marauders, the lowest seed in the tournament, recorded their third consecutive tournament upset to win their first-ever HCIAA-Coviello title with a thrilling 48-47 victory in the first of four HCIAA championship games on Super Saturday at Dickinson High School.

Union Hill’s Jewry Hernandez, hit a 3-pointer to put Union Hill ahead 41-38 with 4:15 to go.

“I can’t believe this is even happening,” said Ortiz. “This is the best feeling I’ve ever had and the best game I’ve ever played in.”

The teams went back-and-forth early before Jonathan Aguerto came off the bench to give Union Hill a spark. The sharpshooting sophomore hit bookend three-pointers; one to end the first quarter and one to start the second to put the Hillers up by seven points. He drilled another one just before the halftime buzzer as Union Hill grabbed a 22-15 halftime lead.

Momentum was clearly on the side of the Hillers, who played all but 22 seconds of the second quarter without their leading scorer, Justin Sanchez, who was slowed by foul trouble. The senior came back in the third quarter and hit a three-pointer for Union Hill’s largest lead of the game, 30-20. Just a minute later and with the Hillers up by seven, Sanchez was forced to the bench with his third foul.

The Marauders did not capitalize on that opportunity in the second quarter with Sanchez on the pine, but they made the most of their second chance. Prep received big buckets from Nick Rabiecki and Lumpkin to get them back on track. J.J. Hladik’s only field goal of the game, a three-pointer, with two seconds remaining in the quarter put Prep ahead for the first time in the second half, 38-36.

“(Justin) Sanchez is their leader and without him in there, we had to make a run,” said Rabiecki. “He’s a really tough player and he gives them another threat. We were able to gamble more on defense and we got a few steals. We got our confidence back at the right time, going into the fourth quarter.”

Freshman Keith Lumpkin, Prep's 6-7 center, kicked the ball out and recorded the game-winning assist.

Union Hill’s Jewry Hernandez, who played well throughout on both ends of the floor, hit a three-pointer to put Union Hill ahead 41-38 with 4:15 to go. But the Marauders refused to go away and a pair of freshman pulled them back within a single point.

Lumpkin and Walker both scored on putbacks, the latter with 50 seconds to cut the lead down to one, 47-46. After a turnover, St. Peter’s Prep had what looked to be one last possession to try and take the lead. Union Hill defensive specialist Jose Matta came up with a steal on the play and went down to the other end of the court on a 2-on-1 fastbreak. But Walker raced back to make a steal and give the Marauders a second chance at another upset victory.

The final play was designed to go to Lumpkin inside, but he was double-teamed all game long and Ortiz saw an open area at the elbow. Ortiz took two dribbles and let fly a 15-footer that went in with 5.5 second left to put Prep ahead 48-47.

“They were doubling on Keith (Lumpkin) and I saw enough room to take a shot,” said Ortiz. “It all happened so fast that I didn’t really have time to think about it all. I just stepped up and took the shot. It felt good coming out of my hand and I was pumped to see it go in. But five seconds is a long time against Union Hill and we had to focus on getting one more stop.”

Despite foul trouble, Union Hill senior Justin Sanchez finished with 14 points.

Or in this case, two more stops. With 3.4 seconds left, the Hillers took the ball in at half-court. Aguerto took a turnaround three-pointer from the corner that was off the mark. Sanchez’s putback attempt from 17 feet hit the front rim as time expired and St. Peter’s Prep became only the second No. 8 seed ever to win the HCIAA-Coviello title (Emerson did it back in 2003).

While the win was a landmark one for the Marauders, it was one in a recent line of devastating losses for the Hillers. It was the second time in as many years that Union Hill reached the HCIAA-Coviello title game and had a 10-point lead in second half, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion in the final minute.

“It’s tough, this is one hurts as much as any of the losses we’ve had over the years,” said Union Hill head coach Carlos Cueto. “We got in foul trouble, which hurt us; and we didn’t execute when we needed to. (St. Peter’s Prep) stepped up and hit big shots all throughout the second half.”

Union Hill (18-7) will have no need for motivation come state tournament time on Thursday. The Hillers will travel to Colonia to face the Patriots in the North 2, Group 3 quarterfinals. The Hillers lost to Colonia, which hit a shot at the buzzer to send the game overtime, in double overtime in last year’s sectional final.

Senior Nick Rabiecki earned MVP honors for St. Peter’s Prep with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.

Hernandez led the Hillers with 16 points, four assists, and three steals. Sanchez and Aguerto added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Rabiecki earned MVP honors for St. Peter’s Prep with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Lumpkin led them in scoring and rebounds with 12 and 10, respectively. Ortiz added 10 points, including two on the game-winner. The Marauders will carry this elation of this win into the state tournament into Tuesday where they will face St. Joseph’s (Montvale) in a first-round Non-Public A North matchup.

But the Marauders will not be thinking about that just yet. Instead, they will take the weekend to revel in one of the biggest upsets in HCIAA-Coviello tournament history.

“We’re a little ahead of the learning curve we expected, but that’s just fine by me,” said St. Peter’s Prep head coach Mike Kelly. “When we were sitting at (4-9), we honestly did not think we would be in this position. We knew the talent was there, we just needed to put it all together. The freshmen have grown up quicker than we expected and our seniors have really been true leaders. To barely sneak in as the No. 8 seed and win the whole thing is something that hasn’t sunk in yet.”

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