SANTA ANA, Calif. - If the St. Patrick High School Celtics from Elizabeth, N.J. were distracted because they may be expelled from their state boys basketball tournament, they sure didn’t play like it.
If they were trying to make a statement with a resounding 91-64 win over nationally-ranked Taft (Woodlands Hills, Calif.) in the final game of the Nike Extravaganza Saturday night, they sure weren’t talking about it.
Michael Gilchrist goes baseline en route to two of his 21 points.
Photo by Louis Lopez
The Celtics, No. 11 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings, improved to 17-2 with a thorough and impressive victory by outscoring the No. 24 team in the country 32-14 in the third quarter. (See rest of Saturday's Nike Extravaganza by
CLICKING HERE.)
“We always play together,” said Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving, who delivered game-high totals of 24 points and six assists while teammate Michael Gilchrist added 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. “We’re really together right now because we’re a long way from home and we played a good team and needed a win.”
It had to help with morale as well after the Controversies Committee of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Association recommended the Celtics be excluded from the state tournament this season and that coach Kevin Boyle be suspended for holding several illegal practices before New Jersey's designated start date of Nov. 27.
A NJSIAA executive committee will make a final decision on Wednesday. If it agrees with the Controversies Committee’s ruling, then St. Patrick will have a chance to appeal.
According to a Newark Star Ledger report, the Controversies Committee also investigated possible recruiting violations against St. Patrick but found none.
Asked about the allegations after Saturday’s game, Boyle told MaxPreps he couldn’t speak on the matter because of legal issues. He then offered this:
"We had several open gyms prior to the season – that was the accusation,” he said. “It has to go to another to committee to decide if it’s overturned or if they agree with the penalty.
Coach Boyle kept his team together despite possible sanctions.
Photo by Louis Lopez
“I’ll say this: something will come out that is really going to surprise people.”
If the decision stands and an appeal isn’t upheld, then the Celtics will not get to defend its state championship.
“That would be very disappointing,” Irving said. “This is my senior year and I’d love to end my year winning back-to-back state titles.
“The thing is we can’t control or pay any attention to that. It’s a ruling. We have to get past all that and just play good basketball. I think we did that tonight.”
Indeed they did, by shooting 60 percent from the field, including 10 of 15 on 3-pointers, and getting contributions from multiple sources. Ten different players scored, including 10 points from Derrick Gordon and eight each by Joshua Daniell and Rich Dobin.
Gilchrist, who has had knee and ankle injures of late, was especially active down low, making 6 of 7 shots and 9 of 11 free throws.
USC-bound Bryce Jones led Taft (19-4) with 19 points.
"We did a much better job of defending the second half," Boyle said. "I'm not saying it was our best performance of the year but it was one of them."
Boyle said he’s optimistic his team will more than salvage a successful season.
“We’re confident things will work out,” Boyle said. “In some way or another we will continue our championship run.”
He alluded to playing in a national tournament – presumably the National High School Invitational tournament that features teams not sanctioned by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
That's if they are banned from the state tournament.
“We’ll see what is available to us,” Boyle said. “We’re confident and hopeful it will be in one of those two events.”
St. Patrick 91, Taft 65
St. Patrick 24 15 32 20 - 91
Taft 15 18 14 17 - 64
ST. PATRICK (17-2): Kevin Boyle Jr. 1-2 0-0 3, Jarrel Lane 1-4 2-2 4, Kyrie Irving -11 7-7 24, Gjon Vukdedaj 2-5 0-0 5, Chris Gibson 0-1 1-2 1, Chase Plummer 2-3 2-2 6, Joshua Daniell 3-3 0-0 8, rich Dobin 3-3 0-0 8, Michael Gilchrist 6-7 9-1 22, Derrick Gordon 5-10 0-0 10, Oney Kinman 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 30-50 21-26 91.
TAFT (19-4): Mark Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Kevin Braithwaite 1-1 0-0 3, Khiry Williams 0-2 2-2 2, Bryce Jones 7-11 3-4 19, Pierson Williams 2-9 0-0 5, De Andre Daniels 3-10 3-3 9, Landon Drew 2-2 0-0 5, George Idehan 1-2 0-0 2, Spencer Dinwiddie 1-3 0-0 3, Maxwell 1-1 0-0 2, Brandon Perry 1-1 1-2 3, Jordan Gathers 2-8 4-6 9. Totals 22-53 13-17 64.
3-point goals: Boyle Jr., Irving 3, Vukedaj, Daniell2, Dobin 2, Gilchrist, Braithwaite, Jones 2, Williams, Drew, Gathers. Rebounds: St. Patrick 34 (Gilchrist 13), Taft 19 (Jones 6). Assists: St. Patrick 16 (Irving 6), Taft 9. Turnovers: St. Patrick 17, Taft 15.
MaxPreps correspondent Martin Henderson contributed to this report.
