EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – After stopping
St. Patrick (Elizabeth) in the biggest game in state history 12 days earlier, securing the nation's No. 1 ranking and winning a state-record 11th New Jersey Tournament of Champions crown appeared inevitable and anticlimactic for
St. Anthony (Jersey City).
However, through much of Monday night at the Izod Center, everyone kept waiting for the Friars to deliver their renowned knockout run.
Plainfield led in each of the first four quarters, then weathered a few small storms to stay within three points late in the third quarter.
Although St. Anthony (33-0) never completely shook a scrappy opponent in capturing its latest TOC crown, a tougher-than-expected 61-49 victory before 4,180, it finally secured the Friars' fourth mythical national championship.
"Somebody told me earlier today that we've now won national championships in four decades: '89, '96, '08 and 2011. That's a pretty good mark of consistency," St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley Sr., said. "To win a fourth national championship, you have to win a state championship and Tournament of Champions in New Jersey. That's difficult to do."
Early on, Plainfield (24-9) challenged popular opinion that it might prove nothing more than an historical footnote for New Jersey's most storied program. Although public-school powers like Plainfield and
Linden are viewed through a different prism than St. Anthony and St. Patrick, realize that the Cardinals gave Hurley's bunch one of its biggest tests in this storybook season of theirs, falling by a 59-47 score Jan. 2.
However, as Hurley said in the days leading up to his latest triumph, that version of the Cardinals was still discovering its identity a handful of games into the season after star guard
Tyrone Johnson had transferred to
Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.).
This improved version of Plainfield seized a 10-6 lead at the outset. In rapid response, Rutgers-bound senior
Myles Mack (17 points, 4 assists, 4 steals) sparked an 8-0 surge for the Friars before Dijan Allen-Jordan changed the energy inside of the Izod Center by banking home a 30-foot three-pointer as the first-quarter buzzer sounded, pulling the Cardinals within 14-13.
And while the Cardinals held two quick leads in the second quarter, 6-8 junior
Kyle Anderson – who like Mack transferred from now-defunct Paterson Catholic – scored 11 of his 17 points in the period as St. Anthony left the floor with a 30-26 halftime lead. Anderson also added eight assists and six rebounds.
"We just had to keep our poise in the second half," Mack said.
Although the Friars led 39-30 in the third quarter, Plainfield trimmed that to a three-point deficit before an 8-0 surge spanning the final two periods gave Hurley's squad a 47-36 cushion. It was the same resolve they showed in fourth-quarter displays against
Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and St. Patrick, using their rigorous conditioning drills to gain an inherent edge over the final eight minutes each game.
Although Hurley explained the Friars' advantage by saying, "I think we just wore on them" and compared playing for him to "completing Hell Week for a Navy SEAL," Plainfield coach Jeff Lubreski offered a more in-depth analysis.
"St. Anthony is a very good basketball team. That about sums it up," said Lubreski, who got a game-high 19 points from Sekou Harris. "I felt that we gave them a pretty good shot. They make the correct pass or correct play. It's difficult to come back on them."
Meanwhile, Monday's win soothed some bruised egos from last winter when the Friars lost in the state Non-Public B title game. Although adding Anderson and Mack after Paterson Catholic's closure certainly helped, St. Anthony was not a two-man show as the timely contributions of fellow starters
Jerome Frink,
Lucious Jones and
Jordan Quick proved all season.
And now, the Friars can add another banner to their collection. Along with their 26th state crown and 11th TOC title, there will be a fourth national championship.
GIRLS TOC: Trenton Catholic Academy (Trenton) 54, Neptune 49In the girls final, Trenton Catholic Academy became the first school to win TOC crowns in boys and girls basketball by capping an improbable run, downing No. 11 Neptune, 54-49, as Rutgers-bound senior Briyona Canty (game-high 17 points) went 7-for-8 from the foul line over the final 50 seconds.
The Iron Mikes' boys won the TOC in 2010, but the TCA girls (29-4) earned theirs by overcoming two nationally-ranked teams – first by shocking No. 6 Shabazz in the tournament semifinals, and then by holding defending champion Neptune to 30.9 percent (17-for-55) shooting.
TCA took control with a 16-0 first-half run and led 35-21 before the Scarlet Fliers pulled within a point three times in the final quarter. Then Canty iced the game from the charity stripe, earning bragging rights over Neptune stars and future college teammates Syessence Davis (14 points) and Shakeena Richardson (16 points, 4-for-22 shooting).
Queen Tiye-Jackson, who will play at Old Dominion, finished with 16 points and Robin Perkins added 15 for the Iron Mikes, who triumphed despite 23 turnovers.
