Sunday, February 3, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Kyle Smyth's basket with 6:01 left in the third quarter gave hime 1,000 points for his career, a highlight of Don Bosco Prep's ninth straight win in the Bergen County Jamboree.

ALLENDALE – By its own admission, two-time defending champion and second seeded Don Bosco Prep did not play well over the first eight minutes of Saturday’s Round of 16 Jambo game against Elmwood Park. The Ironmen were not choosing their shots well, they were not as aggressive in poking holes in a defense as they normally might be and they had a few kinks to work out in the early going.

And here is the kicker…Despite what could be seen as a subpar quarter, the Ironmen never trailed for even a second. They scored nine of the game’s first 11 points and 11 of its first 15. And when Bosco got its act together in the second quarter and beyond, it was business as usual for the Ironmen, who won their ninth straight Jamboree game, 58-32, over No. 18 Elmwood Park at Northern Highlands High School.

“We were very impatient offensively in the first half. It was almost like if we didn’t get something in transition that we were just taking the first shot available,” said Bosco head coach Kevin Diverio. “Our shot selection was poor; we were impatient against the zone and forced the issue. Fortunately our defense was good and we were able to come in at halftime and be up nine.”

Jared Forestieri led Elmwood Park with 9 points with all of them coming after halftime.

In fact, the Bosco defense was so good that it limited the Crusaders to just five first half field goals and 12 first half points as it opened a 21-12 lead at the break. And when A.J LoRusso’s steal and assist set up Georgio Milligan to score the first points of the second half, Bosco went up by double digits for the first time.

EP briefly snuck back to within single digits on Ryan Belisle’s three-pointer from the corner, but Bosco center Kenny Click scored the next four points to push the lead back to 12 points at 27-15 and the Ironmen turned it on from there.

Bosco’s next basket became a piece of school history when Kyle Smyth, the Iona-bound senior, drove the baseline and converted the lay-up that gave him 1,000 points in his standout, three-year varsity career.

“Coach [Diverio] got after us a lot [at halftime] and it was evident in the second half. We got a couple of turnovers early,” said Smyth, whose 1,000th point put his team up 29-17. “We pushed the lead into double digits and when it got up past 15, that was key.”

The lead got to 15 for the first time at 37-22 on Milligan’s conventional three-point play with 2:22 to go in the third quarter and the Ironmen stretched their advantage to 46-25 when Smyth hit a three-pointer to close the third quarter scoring.

Georgio Milligan scored a game-high 14 points for Bosco, which will take on Englewood in next week's quartefinal.

Bosco called off the dogs in the fourth quarter and it only served to increase it balanced score sheet. Milligan (14 points) and Smyth (13 points) led Bosco, but behind them was a bunch of players who took what the defense gave them. Click and Vaughn Gray each scored six points, LoRusso scored four, Alex DiSanzo made a field goal and a free throw and Brandan Beckford, Matt Ryback and Aaron Broomfield all scored fourth quarter field goals.

Elmwood Park was held without a double digit scorer as Jared Forestieri led the way with 9 points, all of them in the second half. Belisle finished with six points, Ryan Velez, Jimmy Schmitt and Paul Daniels all had five points and Karl Walker’s field goal rounded out the Crusaders’ scoring.

Bosco will get a shot at its 10th straight Jambo win next weekend at Ramapo College against an Englewood team that was made a lasting impression with its win over Northern Highlands in a game that Diverio got to see first hand.

“They were impressive and that is what everyone has said about them all season. They can be the best team in the county if they want to be,” said Diverio. “They played like it today and they are going to present a challenge for us, no doubt about that."

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.