Monday, February 1, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Richie Colon hit for a career-high 27 points as Garfield beat Becton, 66-61, and won its first game in the Bergen County Jamboree since 1999.

ORADELL – Ever since earning a spot off the bench for Garfield as a freshman, Richie Colon has defied the odds. Listed now at a generous 5-foot-7, the junior guard is often the smallest guy on the court. But if there is one thing that Colon proved on Sunday, it was that height is not necessary to stand tall in the game of basketball.

In fact, Colon came up with the best game of his career in the most important game of his career, at least until next week.

Colon scored baskets on three straight possessions in the third quarter, including a pair of three-pointers. He finished with a career-high 27 points as Garfield, the No. 11 seed, won its first Bergen County Jamboree game in 11 years with a 66-61 triumph over 22nd-seeded Becton at Bergen Catholic High School.

“This is a huge win for this team and for Garfield as a whole,” said Garfield head coach Chris Annibal. “We had our ups and downs today, but we fought through them. Richie Colon hit some big shots when we needed them and we got some defensive stops. Coming in as a (number 11) seed, the last thing you want to do is come out here and lose your first-round game. But we knew Becton was a tough matchup for us and they battled us every step of the way.”

The teams traded the lead several times in an entertaining first-half. Neither was able to grab any momentum until the final seconds of the half when one shot swung the momentum Becton’s way. Off of an inbounds play, Dylan McBreen came off of a screen and nailed a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to snap a tie and give the Wildcats a 30-27 lead heading into the locker room.

But the momentum gained by McBreen’s shot was erased on the first possession of the second half when he was called for an illegal screen, which was his fourth foul and sent him to the bench for the remainder of the quarter.

Becton was in it until the final minute before falling to 10-5 on the season.

“When Dylan (McBreen) picked up his fourth foul, our offense was not as crisp without him on the floor,” said Becton head coach Bill Schoener. “Dylan is an excellent shooter and he forces defenses to play honest. They were able to double-team our big guys inside and then (Colon) started hitting shots from all over the place, including those two dagger three-pointers that killed us.”

Josh LeClerc’s only points came on a convention three-point play as Garfield grabbed a three-point lead. Colon then took over and changed the complexion of the game in the final minute of the quarter. He drilled a three-pointer to bump the lead up to six, but Becton’s Drakkar Kelly answered with one of his own to cut the lead back in half. Colon responded with another three-pointer, then hit a teardrop from just inside the foul line on consecutive possessions to put the Boilermakers ahead, 49-41.

“Richie had the hot hand and we tried to get him open and get him the ball as often as possible,” said Garfield’s Jabbar Drakeford. “He was shooting the ball so well that our only responsibility was to try and keep that going as long as we could.”

Behind the play of Kelly and Tristan Liebeck, the Wildcats tried valiantly to get back in the game. Three-pointers from Kelly and McBreen trimmed the lead to four, 62-58, inside the final minute. Colon closed out the game with two key free-throws to give Garfield its first win in the Jambo since 1999 and the first Jambo victory Annibal.

Colon hit a trio of three-pointers and was 8 of 8 from the foul line for Garfield (10-4). Even with Colon’s stellar effort, the Boilermakers had balanced scoring. Kamil Rutkowski had 11 points, Damon Godbolt and Drakeford each had 9, and Fillipe Fraga had a big fourth-quarter dunk among his seven points.

Kelly and Liebeck each hit a pair of three-pointers on their way to scoring 18 points apiece for Becton (10-5). McBreen chipped in with 11 points and Daniel Phillips had 10.

Garfield gets an interesting matchup next week against sixth-seeded Don Bosco Prep. That game will be on Saturday at Northern Highlands High School at 2:00. For Don Bosco, the game is one on their customary trip to the Rothman Center where the Jambo semifinals and finals are played. But for Garfield, a win would likely go down as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the program’s history. It is a fact not lost on any of the Garfield players or the coaching staff.

“It means a lot to a school like us to win a game here in the (Jambo),” added Drakeford. “This is a huge deal for us. It is the only place where we would even get a chance to play a team like Don Bosco. Words can’t even describe the feeling we have now just winning this game. If we can play well and win another game, I can’t even imagine how crazy we would go.”

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