Tuesday, January 8, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Jordan Theodore was 9 of 14 from the floor and 6 of 11 from three-point range to notch a game-high 27 points for Paterson Catholic, which improved to 7-1 on the season.

HAWTHORNE – Hawthorne made its claim as the top public school team in the B-PSL with an impressive win over Elmwood Park, the preseason favorite in the King Division this past Saturday. But there is one parochial school that has been head and shoulders above the rest of the league in talent and results over the past decade.

On Tuesday night, Paterson Catholic showed just how wide the gap is between itself and the rest of the league.

Lance Brown scored on an alley oop just three seconds into the game and the Cougars never trailed. Jordan Theodore scored 27 points and Fuquan Edwin had 20 as Paterson Catholic breezed to a 94-52 victory.

“It’s tough to stay focused sometimes in league games, but we knew we had to in this one,” said the Theodore, who is headed to Seton Hall University next season. “Hawthorne beat Elmwood Park and Elmwood Park played us really tough last year. No matter what the score or the situation, you have to keep working hard and you can’t take breaks.”

Eric Van Tine led Hawthorne with 20 points.

Paterson Catholic’s 6-11 center Ian Chiles tipped the opening jump ball to Jayon James, who took one dribble and launched a half-court pass for Brown, who threw down the two-handed dunk. Theodore hit a three-pointer on the next possession to give the Cougars a five-point lead before Hawthorne got off a shot.

The Bears pulled within five, 11-6, with just over three minutes to play in the opening period on a Matt Branagh lay-up. But the Cougars responded by converting three straight turnovers into baskets in the midst of a 12-2 run to close the quarter with a 15-point lead, 23-8.

Theodore kept the hot hand from beyond the three-point line, hitting four of his five attempts in the first half as Paterson Catholic opened up a 26-point halftime lead, 48-22, on its way to another romp over a league opponent.

The loss could have been the worst thing that happened to the Bears, who had one of the biggest wins in the program’s history on Saturday. But led by the school’s all-time boys’ leading scorer, Eric Van Tine, the Bears will only take the positives from playing against a foe like Paterson Catholic.

Lance Brown (right) scored on an alley oop dunk just three seconds into the game and PC never trailed.

“To play against a team this good and this athletic can only make us better,” said Van Tine, who recently broke the 1,000-point plateau. “We still have a lot of tough games to play and a lot to prove. Winning our league is our first priority. We learned a lot from this game and we’ll work that much harder to correct the mistakes we made tonight.”

Theodore was 9 of 14 from the floor and 6 of 11 from three-point range to notch a game-high 27 points for Paterson Catholic (7-1). Edwin finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. James had a solid game with eight points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Myles Mack finished with 10 points off the bench.

Van Tine led Hawthorne (5-3) with 20 points. Matt Branagh also played well with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

Both teams have little time to rest as each has huge games this week. Hawthorne faces archrival Glen Rock tonight. Paterson Catholic will face perennial New York power Mount Vernon and one of the nation’s most highly touted seniors, forward Kevin Jones, in the Super Six at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 11:00 A.M.

“We started strong, but we have to get tough and put a whole thirty-two minutes together,” said Paterson Catholic head coach Damon Wright. “We have to stay motivated all the time and we have to learn how to play hard every possession.

“The bottom line is that everyone is going to judge us and we’re going to judge ourselves by how we play in the big games. We want to win the counties and our section. If we’re going to do that, we have to be more consistent and we have to play better defense by moving our feet than we did tonight.”

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