WEST
LONG BRANCH, NEW JERSEY – The St. Patrick Celtics (Elizabeth,
N.J.) overpowered the Christian Brothers
Academy Colts (Lincroft, N.J.)
70-50 on Saturday in the Boardwalk Hoop Group Showcase in front of a crowd of
2,200 at Monmouth
University.
MVP Kyrie Irving
Photo by Steve Goldberg
St.
Patrick, ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, improves to 11-0 with the
victory over Christian
Brothers Academy,
the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference. The Celtics have outscored their
opponents by over 15 points in every game.
“I
don’t think [being ranked No. 1 in the country] is added pressure,” St. Patrick
Head Coach Kevin Boyle, Sr. said. “We just go about each game and play really
hard. Our guys are not cocky or arrogant, but they’re confident that they can
play with anybody.”
Kyrie
Irving was named St. Patrick’s MVP of the game. Irving led both teams with 24 points and
scored the first seven points of the game. The dunks, blocks, and assists that Irving displayed silenced the boisterous group of Christian Brothers Academy
fans, known as the “Colt Crazies”, early in the game.
“I’m
going to get my points, but it’s about making my teammates better,” Irving said. “Like when I
lost the ball at halfcourt and I threw a behind-the-neck pass to Derrick Gordon
for the layup. That was one of those in-the-moment plays and it felt good.”
Irving has committed to play for
Coach Mike Krzyzewski next season at Duke. The
shooting guard hopes he can continue to perform at a high level as a Blue Devil
next season.
“I have a lot of goals that I want to
obtain at Duke, especially for my freshman year,” Irving said. “Coach K has a plan for me, and
I am really blessed that I signed with Duke. It’s a top place to play, and I
knew it was the right place for me when I went on my official visit.”
Gilchrist attempts a dunk during the win.
Photo by Steve Goldberg
Michael
Gilchrist’s knee injury has been a popular topic in high school basketball
since he went down last Tuesday in a game against Union.
Gilchrist scored 10 points with 12 rebounds off the bench in his second game
back. The forward is the top-ranked player by MaxPreps in the Class of 2011.
“It
was a sprained knee, but I’m all right now,” Gilchrist said. “We got the win,
so I’m happy.”
“On
the rebounding side, on the defensive side, [Gilchrist] comes up big for us,” Irving added. “He brings
that offense, and he dunks on everybody when they get close to him. He is an
impact player on every facet of the game so it feels good to have him back.”
The Celtics
jumped out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter and outscored the Colts 23-9
in the second. Kevin Boyle, Jr. had the hot hand for St.
Patrick early in the game. Boyle, Jr. responded to the “Daddy’s boy” chant from
the “Colt Crazies” by knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half.
“I
thought he was excellent,” Boyle, Sr. said about his son. “It’s important for
us that he makes some threes and takes threes because he has good range. If
they respect Kevin [Boyle, Jr.], that gives Michael [Gilchrist] more room
inside, and that gives Kyrie [Irving] more space to drive by people.”
Junior
Matt McMullen led the Colts in scoring with 16 points and was Christian Brothers
Academy’s MVP. The
Celtics had a 27-point lead, their largest of the game, at the end of the third
quarter. Christian
Brothers Academy
went on a 10-1 run to start the fourth to cut the St. Patrick lead to 18, but the
Colts ran out of time to make a comeback.
Last
season, St. Patrick defeated Christian
Brothers Academy
60-59 in a double-overtime thriller in the Boardwalk Hoop Group Showcase. The
Celtics, ranked tenth in the country at the time, avoided the upset on a
buzzer-beating shot. Although Gilchrist was healthy and was the team’s MVP, St.
Patrick was playing without Irving who was required to sit out for 30 days
after transferring from Kimberley Academy (Montclair,
N.J.).
Christian Brothers
Academy will play against Shore A –
North opponents Middletown North and Manalapan this week before a critical game
next Sunday against the St. Anthony Friars, ranked No. 5 in New Jersey. The Colts defeated the Friars
50-42 last season at Monmouth
University.
St.
Patrick will head to Springfield, Mass. to play in the Spalding Hoophall Classic against the
Findlay Prep Pilot (Henderson,
Nev.), the No. 7 team in the Xcellent
25. Findlay Prep was ranked No. 1 in the country at the beginning of the
season, but their loss to the No. 3 Northland Vikings (Columbus, Ohio)
propelled St. Patrick into the top spot.
“We’re
out to prove that we’re the No. 1 team in the country. We have another big game
on Monday, and we have a lot to prepare for,” Irving said. “We need to prepare mentally,
that’s the most important thing. This is going to be people’s first ESPN game,
and this is going to be my second one. Last year I was kind of tentative, but
this year I’m just going to go out and go put on a show.”
