Saturday,
February 28, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Eric Santana hugs Hudson Catholic head coach Rick Marinello after the Hawks held off Hudson Catholic, 51-48, to win their fourth straight Hudson County championship. |
JERSEY CITY – All season long, Hudson Catholic has been able to outlast opponents by wearing them down with their advantage in talent and their ability to harness it into the team concept. It would not come so easy, however, on Friday night in the Hawks' most important game of the season to date. With the Hudson County title at stake, Marist showed up with designs on ending the Hawks' dominant run of county supremacy.
For every punch Hudson Catholic threw, the Royal Knights answered right back all the way down until the final seconds. With a wild crowd going crazy every step of the way, the Hawks had to rely on good old-fashioned defense to hang on their crown.
Nassir Barrino and Marion Williams both made big plays late to keep the Hawks in front, but they were not safe until Tyheem Burno blocked a game-tying attempt from 3-point range as time expired as top-seeded Hudson Catholic survived to win a fourth straight Hudson County title with a thrilling 51-48 triumph at the Yanitelli Center on the campus of Saint Peter's University in Jersey City.
“We knew this game was going to be different and we had to come out with more intensity than we have all season,” said Williams, who was often locked up with Marist standout guard Asante Gist, a transfer from Roselle Catholic. “We actually got away with taking too many outside shots in the first half. When it came down to it and the pressure was on, we had to focus on just getting stops. We have a lot guys who can score, but it's our defense that makes us champions.”
Marist got off to a slow start, not scoring for the first six minutes of the game. The Royal Knights trailed 8-0 on a layup from Barrino before Logan Santiago single-handledly got them going. He scored seven straight points on three possessions to cut the lead to one by the end of the quarter.
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Marist's Asante Gist, a transfer from Roselle Catholic, finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists for Marist. |
The Hawks padded their lead on a pair of buckets from freshman guard Jahvon Quinerly. A nice spin move for a layup was followed by 3-pointer from the wing as the Hawks led by as many as 11. Marist got some momentum going into the locker room by holding the Hawks scoreless for the final 3-plus minutes of the first half with Kenny Jones hitting an acrobatic shot off the glass and converting the 3-point play to trim the lead down to a manageable five points by halftime, 21-16.
Marist kept the momentum going in the third quarter, taking its first lead on a Santago 3-pointer. Gist followed with a pair of free throws for a four-point lead, but it did not last long. Williams provided a spark for Hudson Catholic with consecutive layups. Quinerly and Burno tacked on 3-pointers in the final 1:07 of the quarter to put Hudson Catholic in front going into the fourth quarter, 35-29.
That set the tone for a frenetic fourth quarter which featured the constant pendulum swing of Hudson Catholic trying to pull away and the Royal Knights fighting back.
Marist's best chance to take the lead came when it was down one with just over three minutes to go when a wide-open layup was missed underneath. The ball ended up in Barrino's hand in transition and he raced to the other end for a 3-point play in what turned out to be a five-point swing.
Santiago would not let his team fall by the wayside so easily as he stroked a deep 3-pointer to cut the Marist deficit to one, 45-44, with 1:16 remaining.
Kyle Elliott made a steal and scored on a breakaway layup to cut the lead to one for the final time, 47-46. Quinerly responded with two free throws with 32 seconds left. He went to the line again with 3.2 seconds left but only hit the second of his two foul shots, which gave the Royal Knights one last chance to send the game into overtime. Christion Dejan raced down court and got what appeared to be a pretty clean look from 22 feet out. But Burno was in position and calmly rose up to block the shot as the final buzzer sounded and the Hudson Catholic seniors got to celebrate a fourth straight Hudson County title.
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Freshman Jahvon Quinerly finished with 11 points for Hudson Catholic. |
“I knew (Dejan) only had so much time so I waited and made sure I was in good position to get a hand in his face,” said Burno. “He was coming right at me and I knew I had to make a play. I'm a defensive guy so that's exactly the spot I wanted to be in. Whatever it takes to get the win, that's what I'll do.”
Barrino led the way with 15 points on his way to earning Tournament MVP honors for Hudson Catholic (22-3). Quinerly added 11 points and senior center Sammy Friday finished one point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Santiago led all players with 16 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Gist added 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists for Marist (20-5).
Retaining its crown in Hudson County was the goal from day one and now the Hawks have achieved that. Next up, the Hawks will look to add a Non-Public B North state title to their resume.
“I'm proud of the way we battled through adversity all night and all season really,” said Hudson Catholic head coach Nick Marinello. “We knew with (Gist) in the lineup that Marist would be a much different team than when we played them earlier in the season. They played great and played really hard the entire way. I'm glad our kids matched their energy and made plays when we needed to. That comes down to being poised and having senior leadership. Now we have to get back in the gym and turn our attention to the states.”
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