St. Anthony caps back-to-back unbeaten seasons

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For all Bob Hurley has accomplished in his Hall of Fame coaching career – the 1,049 victories, a slew of Division I recruits and the countless lives influenced – he added a first to his legendary resume Tuesday night on the same IZOD Center court St. Anthony (Jersey City) captured most of its 11 previous New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles.

The Friars survived public school power Plainfield 66-62 to give Hurley back-to-back national championships for the first time. After a shaky first half, the Friars pulled away over the final minutes in a rematch of the 2011 TOC title game before 5,352 fans.

More than just the unprecedented national championship repeat and a third crown in five seasons, St. Anthony (32-0) earned its New Jersey-record 12th TOC title, seventh undefeated season under Hurley and 65th win in a row.

Each of those consecutive victories have come since UCLA-bound senior Kyle Anderson transferred to the small Jersey City Catholic school near the Holland Tunnel after Paterson Catholic shuttered its doors in 2010. Anderson went 93-1 over his final three high school seasons, with the lone loss coming against the Friars in the 2010 state Non-Public B final.

To put that in perspective: St. Anthony greats Bobby Hurley and Jerry Walker led the Friars to a 91-2 record from 1987-89.

Anderson posted 14 points, six rebounds, five blocks, four assists and four steals while playing all 32 minutes in his final high school game.

"He did the logical thing and joined us," Hurley said of Anderson post-Paterson Catholic. "He really helped us quite a bit with this streak."

"It's been a great run," Anderson said. "This year, we just wanted to get back to work and finish another terrific season like we did before."

Anderson was his usual brilliant self, but St. Anthony only gained separation from Plainfield because fellow senior Jerome Frink dominated down low.

Following a shaky first half for both himself (six points, 3 of 11 shooting) and his team (nine turnovers), Frink returned to the court with a vengeance. Usually among the quietest of the Friars, his play spoke volumes in the second half. After scoring on a pair of short shots, he then threw down a ferocious dunk to spark a 13-3 surge that opened a 42-32 cushion late in the third quarter.

All told, Frink tallied 20 of his game-best 26 points over the final 16 minutes while adding 13 rebounds.

"I kind of rushed things in the first half," Frink said. "I just had to calm down and let the game come to me in the second half. My teammates helped me with that."

Senior Tariq Carey, a transfer from Newark East Side, added 10 of his 18 points in the second half, allowing St. Anthony to begin pulling away for a seemingly one-sided championship victory. After all, a Frink lay-up on the break upped the St. Anthony lead to 59-45 with 3:11 left.

However, Plainfield (30-4), the state's top public school over the past several seasons, pulled within 65-62 on a bucket by Jahmal Lane (21 points) with 11 seconds left. The Cardinals were just the fourth team to stay within double-digits of St. Anthony – and did so despite Yale-bound senior forward Justin Sears playing just nine minutes because he re-injured his ankle in the first quarter.

On this night, however, it was not enough for Plainfield to prevent Hurley from adding another first to his already legendary resume.

"This is the most recent one, so this is the best one," Hurley said.