Sunday, February 21, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Myles Mack had 17 of his 23 points in the first half as Paterson Catholic made a run late in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a 79-38 win over DePaul in the Passaic County semifinals.

PATERSON – The question is, how good has Paterson Catholic been this year? While its goals for the season are yet to be reached, the answer to that question was on full display on Saturday in the Passaic County Semifinals against DePaul. The Spartans came into the game with a 17-4 record and wins over traditional parochial powers Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco Prep, and St. Joseph Regional. But it was apparent that even as well as the Spartans have played this season, Paterson Catholic is simply on a different playing field than the rest of the teams in Passaic County.

Myles Mack had 17 of his 23 points in the first half as Paterson Catholic made a run late in the first quarter and never looked back. The Cougars had a 29-point lead by halftime and breezed into the Passaic County Final with a 79-38 romp yesterday over fifth-seeded DePaul at Paterson Kennedy High School.

“I thought we were a little sloppy early and we are a team that likes to set the tone,” said Paterson Catholic head coach Damon Wright. “I think the kids were affected by the big crowd in the beginning of the game and they wanted to put on a show. But we don’t want a show, we want to take care of business and we started to do that in the second quarter.”

Davon Jacobs and DePaul were the latest quality team to fall to nationally ranked PC.

DePaul stayed within striking distance in the first six minutes. Matt Miller’s baseline jumper brought the Spartans to within one, 9-8, early. But the Cougars countered with a 10-2 run before breaking the game wide-open in the second quarter. They turned up the pressure defensively and took control of the contest. The Cougars outscored DePaul 26-6 in the second quarter to essentially end any hopes of an upset with a 45-16 halftime lead.

“We didn’t want to give DePaul any confidence and we had to force them into bad decisions,” said Paterson Catholic’s Fuquan Edwin, who will play at Seton Hall next year. “This is an experienced team and we have six seniors who have been here before. We want this team to be a part of history and we are too focused to let anyone stand in our way.”

Mack had game-highs of 23 points, five assists, and five steals for Paterson Catholic (23-0), who is ranked No. 6 in the country according to USA Today. Edwin added 15 points, while Derrick Randall and Jermaine Peart had 10 and eight points, respectively.

Miller was the lone bright spot for DePaul (17-5) with a team-high 13 points.

Jayon James and PC will play Kennedy for the county title.

Paterson Catholic will look to become first Passaic County team to win three straight county titles since Paterson Kennedy did it from 1998-2000. To achieve that, the Cougars will have to get past Kennedy in next week’s Passaic County Final, which will be at Wayne Valley High School at noon. But after watching the Cougars dominate New Jersey competition this season, it is far-fetched to think a three-peat is anything but imminent.

“To put it bluntly, they just that much bigger and that much more talented than every other team in Passaic County,” said DePaul head coach Bart Fazio. “We are a pretty good team, (Paterson) Kennedy is a very good team. But Paterson Catholic is just too big, too strong, they are well-coached, and now they are more about playing defense to create their offense. They just on a different level right now and I have a tough time seeing anyone who can stop them.”

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