Paterson Catholic Shocks Defending National Champ St. Anthony; St. Patrick Up Next; All-Passaic County Picks | Zagsblog
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Sunday / December 15.
  • Paterson Catholic Shocks Defending National Champ St. Anthony; St. Patrick Up Next; All-Passaic County Picks

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    (Photo courtesy Jersey Journal)

    Paterson Catholic went into Jersey City and made history Monday night.

    Behind 21 points from sophomore guard Myles Mack, 19 from junior forward Fuquan Edwin and some clutch play from  junior guard Jayon James, the No. 3-seeded Cougars knocked off defending national champion and No. 2 St. Anthony 60-55 in the Non-Public North B boys basketball semifinals at Golden Door Charter School.

    Paterson Catholic (26-4), which hadn’t beaten St. Anthony since Marquis Webb was a freshman in 2000, will face St. Patrick (26-3) Wednesday night in the sectional final at Rutgers. The Cougars lone state crown came when Tim Thomas was a sophomore in 1994.

    “It means a lot to be one of two [PC] teams to beat St. Anthony,” Mack told Keith Idec of the Bergen Record. “It hasn’t happened in a long time. We feel great about this, but we’ve still got business to handle.”

    St. Patrick, No. 5 in the RivalsHigh 100, beat No. 64 Paterson Catholic 64-57 in the quarterfinals at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. in December and now the teams will meet again with a state championship on the line.

    “Theyr’e a very good team,” St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle said that night. “We should be finishing them off. They’re a better outside shooting team than I thought they were.”

    In the first Paterson Catholic-St. Patrick game Mack led PC  with 20 points and  Edwin added 19.

    George Mason-bound forward Paris Bennett led the Celtics with 21 points that night and sophomore Michael Gilchrist added 15. Gilchrist has since suffered a foot injury but could still play. Stellar junior guard Kyrie Irving sat out the required 30 days and missed the first game with Paterson Catholic.

    Playing against PC in his final game in a St. Anthony uniform Monday night, Villanova-bound wing Dominic Cheek had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists while junior Devon Collier, who transferred in before the season began, tallied 20 points and 15 boards.

    The Friars made 20 turnovers and PC went on a 7-0 run at the 52-all mark. Mack and Trevor Clemmings made five foul shots in the final minute.

    “They made plays (late) and we turned the ball over,” St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley told the Jersey Journal. “The numbers were just clearly in their favor. Our defense always gives us a chance to be in the game, but when you turn the ball over that many times, you’re scoring against your own offense.”

    Hurley’s team lost six Division 1 recruits from last year’s Tournament of Champions winner, but this year’s team lacked the guard play highlighted by Tyshawn Taylor, Mike Rosario and Jio Fontan.

    On this night, PC’s guard trio of Mack, James and Kyle Anderson outscored the St. Anthony guards Cheek, McLeod and Carter 28-21.

    Led by current Seton Hall freshman Jordan Theodore, Paterson Catholic had lost last year’s game at St. Anthony 84-71 but this year’s loss is historic on several fronts:

    **Paterson Catholic will play for the Non-Public B state championship for the first time since Timmy Thomas was a sophomore in 1994.

    **Damon Wright joins Tommie Patterson among PC coaches with a win over St. Anthony. Patterson, now at Clifton, has beaten Bob Hurley, Kevin Boyle and Bob Farrell.

    **For the first time since 1999 when St. Augustine’s beat St. Patrick, a team other than St. Anthony or St. Patrick could win the state title.

    **St. Anthony lost for the second time this year in its own gym, following a 60-58 loss to Tobias Harris and Long Island Lutheran. Before that, the Friars had not lost a game in its gym since 2003.

    **After that game, Coach Hurley already seemed to be looking toward next season.

    “If this year is now in a freefall, we’re not used to this,” Hurley said that night. “It is for us, it’s a freefall. Anybody observing this sees a total lack of poise. I’m playing seniors and we’re not playing very well…This is getting a little bit mysterious. I think we’d like to start maybe working on next year.”

    RECRUITING NOTES:

    Coaches from Providence, Notre Dame, Fordham, Iona, Manhattan and ST. Peter’s were among those watching the action.

    NON-PUBLIC B STATE CHAMPS SINCE 1980

    1980 – St. Anthony

    1981 – St. Anthony

    1982 – St.  Augustine Prep  (Richland)

    1983 – St. Anthony

    1984 – St. Anthony

    1985 – St. Anthony

    1986 – St. Anthony

    1987 – St. Anthony

    1988 – St. Anthony

    1989 – St. Anthony

    1990 – St. Anthony

    1991 – St. Anthony

    1992 – Marist (Bayonne)

    1993 – St. Anthony

    1994 – Paterson Catholic

    1995 – St. Anthony

    1996 – St. Anthony

    1997 – St. Anthony

    1998 – St. Patrick

    1999 – St. Augustine

    2000 – St. Patrick

    2001 – St. Anthony

    2002 – St. Anthony

    2003 – St. Patrick

    2004 – St. Anthony

    2005 – St. Patrick

    2006 – St. Patrick

    2007 – St. Patrick

    2008 – St. Anthony

    PASSAIC COUNTY COACHES ASSOCIATION

    ALL COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL

    2008– 2009

    1ST TEAM

    JUSTIN CROSGILE DE PAUL

    KARON ABRAHAM EASTSIDE

    DAVID WEST EASTSIDE

    ASMAR EDWARDS KENNEDY

    SHONDEL STEWART KENNEDY

    TYSON PICKETT PASSAIC

    MAYNARD FREEMAN PCTI

    FUQUAN EDWIN PATERSON CATHOLIC

    MYLES MACK PATERSON CATHOLIC

    JASON ROSENBERG WAYNE VALLEY

    COACH OF THE YEAR – DAMON WRIGHT PATERSON CATHOLIC

    2ND TEAM

    BRYANT LEWIS EASTSIDE

    DAQUERE HAYES KENNEDY

    ANTOINE ALEXANDER KENNEDY

    NAJEE SALAAM PASSAIC

    DOMINIC COIRO PASSAIC VALLEY

    JAYON JAMES PATERSON CATHOLIC

    STEVE LEQUERICA WAYNE HILLS

    JOE RUSSO WAYNE HILLS

    NICK SILJEE WAYNE VALLEY

    JASON SOFMAN WEST MILFORD


    Written by

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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