Monday, February 4, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Joe Efese pulling down one of his 13 rebounds for St. Joseph, which outlasted Ridgefield Park, 45-35, in the Jambo's Round of 16.

TENAFLY – The seeds said that the game was not supposed to be competitive. St. Joseph Regional came in at No. 3 seed with the potential to win the whole shabang, while No. 19 Ridgefield Park needed to pull what was considered an upset in last week’s play-in round just to get into the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Jamboree. But neither team was buying the type of matchup that the seeds were selling.

It was just last year when St. Joe's was the favorite heading into the tournament and just this round when the Green Knights became the first No. 1 seed to bow out of the Jambo in the Round of 16. And since it is not in Ridgefield Park's nature to back down from anyone, the result was an entertaining if not pretty battle in the last of four games on Sunday at Tenafly High School.

When Chris Cuecha snuck in and stuck back an airball for the first points of the fourth quarter, Ridgefield Park drew even at 33, a tie game with 7:29 left in regulation.

Chris Cuecha's putback to start the fourth quarter scoring brough Ridgefield Park all even at 33.

"We knew that Ridgfefield Park was a very savvy team and had the ability to really shoot well. Cuecha and [David] Urbay in particular came to play today and that really made it difficult," said SJR head coach Michael Doherty. "Being able to knock down a couple of shots can help relax kids, but we didn't do that. I think our kids were a little tight and I think, again, that is a credit to Ridgefield Park.”

Doherty had nothing but kind words after the game for Ridgefield Park, but there were plenty of positives on his own side as well, especially down the stretch.

After Cuèche's basket made the possibility of an upset a reality, St. Joseph settled in and ran off 12 straight points to burst RP's bubble and advance to next weekend's quarterfinal round with a 45-35 win.

St. Joseph's had two advantages down the stretch, one of which they had all game long and the other they were sorely missing through all but a few minutes through the first three quarters. The constant was Joe Efese, the 6-6 junior center who was all over the glass on both ends of the floor all game long. The welcome addition was senior point guard Hakim Williams, who saw only limited action over the first three quarters because of foul trouble.

In his most extended minutes of the season, sophomore Alex Aitkens came off the bench to score 9 points.

Efese had game-highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds and he was at his most effective when his team needed him most. He hit a free throw, a revelation in itself for an SJR team that made just 3 of 12 to that point in the second half, with 6:53 to go in the game that gave his team for good and he scored three field goals, two on the fastbreak and one on a foul line jumper, in the fourth quarter to lead the Green Knights home.

Williams, on the other hand, hit the bench for the first time with 1:05 to play in the first quarter and he sat straight through to halftime after picking up his second foul. Williams returned to start the second half and hit a three-pointer that put his team up by double digits for the first time in the game at 31-21 with 5:02 to go in the third quarter.

Twenty-two seconds later, Williams picked up his fourth foul, went back to the bench and, coincidence or not, Ridgefield Park went on a run. Urbay kicked it off with a three-pointer, the start of a 10-1 spurt that brought RP to within 33-31 at the end of three quarters and back even when Cuecha extended the run to 12-1 with his basket to start the final quarter.

But foul trouble of its own and St. Joseph's depth and its relentless pursuit of offensive and defensive rebounds finally fatigued Ridgefield Park and pushed SJR over the top.

David Urbay hit three three-pointers for Ridgefield Park.

"I am really proud of how well the kids played and we were even a little shorthanded today," said Ridgefield Park head coach Chris Gaskin, whose team played without the talented Marquise McMillian, who got the old DNP, coach's decision. "The guys that were out there busted it, they gave it everything they got and they have no reason to be upset with their effort. We just hung with one of the top 30 teams in the state of New Jersey."

Urbay and Cuecha scored 13 points each to tie for team high honors for the Scarlets, while Warren Murphy was steady at the point and finished with 5 points. Chris Romantico's two field goals rounded out the scoring for RP.

Efese led the way for SJR, but its unsung hero had to be sophomore Alex Aitkens, who saw extended minutes in place of Williams and came through 10 points, including two three-pointers and eight total points in the second quarter when Williams went to the bench. Kyle Thomas scored 9 points, Marvin Fulford had 4 points, and Kai Dominguez had a field goal for the Knights and Tyler Bryant also played well off the bench.

Kyle Thomas scored 9 points for SJR.

"It is certainly a huge thing for us to be able to turn to the bench with confidence," said Doherty, who has led St. Joseph to the county final in two of the last three seasons and to the Jambo title in 2005. "Alex Aitkin's, who played a great game overall for us, and Tyler Bryant, two guys who have not seen any significant action for us this year, but we know what they are capable of and we were able to rely on them."

Added depth will be a nice luxury to have heading into next weekend's quarterfinal matchup against Bergen Catholic. The two teams met once already this season with SJR escaping with a 53-50 win.

"With what happened last year, losing in the first round, we are all just happy to be moving on," said Williams, the Knights' point guard. "We respected Ridgefield Park coming in here today, we know how fast this could all be over, and we respect BC. We expect another tough game."

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