Wednesday, January 20, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

WAYNE – Question: What do Batman and Robin, peanut butter and jelly, Jordan and Pippen, mashed potatoes and gravy, Corn Flakes and milk, Starsky and Hutch, Bergen Catholic and the Bergen County Jamboree all have in common?

Answer: One of them alone is just not as good as when both are together.

Bergen Catholic has the most total games played, wins, and championship game appearances in the Bergen County Jamboree’s illustrious history. But heading into Tuesday, the Crusaders were sitting at a game below the necessary .500 mark to even be considered for entry into the Jambo. A loss to a strong Passaic County Tech team would have likely sealed the Crusaders’ fate: No Jambo For You!

It is something that did not sit well with either the players or head coach Joe Dionisio. In their most important game of the year, the Crusaders finally put it all together and realized that they are not just a team worthy of a spot in the Jambo but one that no team will want to face come tournament time.

Mark Richards scored eight of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter as Bergen Catholic led wire-to-wire in an impressive 60-39 victory at Passaic County Tech Institute in Wayne.

“We really needed this game and we got it,” said BC’s Eric Flanagan. “We want to make the Jambo. If we lost this game, we knew we were in trouble. There is no margin for error and we came out aggressive right from the beginning.”

The Crusaders hit their first three shots and they were off and running. Richards scored inside twice, sandwiched around a three-pointer by Eric Flanagan to put Bergen Catholic ahead, 7-0, just 1:18 into the game.

Xavier Nieves tried to keep PCT in it, but the Crusaders quickly pulled away. Football standout Tanner McEvoy also proved to be a force on the hardwood. His three-pointer from the top of the key gave Bergen Catholic a 22-9 lead after one quarter.

The size advantage and the Crusaders’ three-point shooting were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome. Flanagan nailed consecutive threes to give Bergen Catholic a commanding 39-17 halftime lead.

“I’ve been struggling hitting open shots lately, so it was nice that I could knock a couple down,” added Flanagan. “PCT is a team that can go on a run quickly because of their pressure defense. We didn’t want to give them any momentum, so it was important to start strong.”

PCT’s Terrell McDuffie hit a three-pointer to open the second half, but the Bulldogs never got any closer. Richards and Doug Rigg dominated the paint and the Crusaders showed offensive balance with nine players cracking the scoring column.

Despite battling foul trouble, Richards led Bergen Catholic (6-6) with 15 points. Rigg added 11 points and Flanagan had 10. PCT’s Nieves led all scorers with 17 points, including 10 of 11 at the foul line for PCT (8-5).

The win pulled Bergen Catholic back to .500 and it will need to win at least two of its next four games to be considered for entry by the Bergen County Jamboree committee. With the history of Bergen Catholic in the tournament and its tough regular-season schedule, it is likely that the Crusaders will get in.

But Dionisio is more concerned about his team’s performance on Tuesday than their prospects for the future.

“Any time you can come into this gym and get a win, that’s a positive,” said Dionisio. “They are very athletic and they like to put a lot of pressure on you. I thought we handled that particularly well in the first half and it allowed us to get some open looks. We obviously want to be a part of the Jambo, but we’re not worried about that right now. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season and it looks like after a tough start that we’re headed in the right direction.”

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