Tuesday, February 23, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Manny Hernandez scored 6 straigh points in crunch time to help lead Paramus Catholic to a 59-54 win over Bergen Catholic and its first Jambo title since 1976.

TEANECK – Manny Hernandez could be a starter on just about every other team in Bergen County. But rather than be star on an average squad, he came to Paramus Catholic to try and be a part of history with a great one.

With 10 seniors on Paramus Catholic’s roster, the junior guard-forward knew it was more important to fit in with his team by giving it a spark off the bench and help it become more diverse offensively. But with time winding down in the biggest game in the history of the Paramus Catholic boys basketball program, Hernandez did what came naturally...he took over.

Coming off of a career-high 21 points in a semifinal win over top-seeded St. Joseph Regional, Hernandez saved his best for last. He scored six straight points in the fourth quarter that put fourth-seeded Paramus Catholic ahead for good and gave the Paladins only their second-ever Bergen County Jamboree title and the first one they got to celebrate on the court with a hard-fought 59-54 triumph over seventh-seeded Bergen Catholic in Monday night’s Bergen County Jamboree final at the Rothman Center on the campus of Farleigh Dickinson University.

“I’m so happy for our kids, we showed a lot of poise tonight,” said Paramus Catholic head coach Greg Barnes. “Bergen Catholic deserves a lot of credit because they kept coming back at us even when they were down ten or eleven points. But Manny was Manny tonight and he came through with some big plays down the stretch for us.”

Paramus Catholic had the edge in terms of athleticism and used it to its advantage early behind senior captain Andre Blackwood to take a quick 9-2 lead. The Paladins stretched the lead to double-digits in the second quarter, but the Crusaders nibbled it down to a reasonable six-point deficit by halftime, 28-22.

BC’s Doug Rigg scored on a putback to make it a one-possession game and pull the Crusaders within two, 55-53, with 21 seconds left.

The Crusaders kept clawing their way back into the game, largely behind the shooting of Eric Flanagan. He nailed a pair of three-pointers in the period, the latter which tied the game before Mark Richards’ free-throw gave the Crusaders their first lead, 38-37, heading into the fourth quarter.

The lead changed hands several times in the final stanza with Bergen Catholic going in front for the last time on another Flanagan three-pointer, 47-46, with 4:30 to play.

With the game and their hopes of being Bergen County champions slipping away, someone needed to rise to the occasion. Just as he did in the Paladins’ Jambo semifinal win, Hernandez accepted the challenge and thrived under the most intense situation he has ever played in.

The junior did most of his damage from the free-throw line, especially after he was fouled while taking a three-point shot. He made all three foul shots to put PC ahead to stay. On the Paladins’ next two possessions, he added another free-throw and scored on a putback to cap a personal 6-0 run and give PC a 52-47 lead with 3:03 to play.

“That one little stretch hurts us a bit and it turned out to be the difference,” said Bergen Catholic head coach Joe Dionisio. “I’m proud of our kids because we never stopped playing hard. We had to win a game on the day of the cutoff just to have a chance to qualify for the Jambo. So for us to get all the way to the final is something our kids can be very proud of.”

Paramus Catholic held a seven-point lead with less than a minute to play, but the Crusaders refused to fade away. Steve Ferreri came off the bench later and scored his only points of the game on a deep three-pointer to trim the lead to 55-51. After a turnover off of the ensuing inbounds play, BC’s Doug Rigg scored on a putback to make it a one-possession game and pull the Crusaders within two, 55-53, with 21 seconds left.

PC center Justin Harris was 8 of 10 from the free throw line and finished with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Hernandez twice hit one of two free-throws over the next 10 seconds with Paramus Catholic up by three, the Crusaders still had a chance to tie in the waning seconds of regulation. But their only shot was on a deep, contested three-pointer from Ferreri with the Paladins’ 6-7 center Justin Harris snatching down the rebound. He iced the game by hitting a pair of free-throws with 2.8 seconds left for the final margin as the jubilant Paladins celebrated a Bergen County Jamboree title on the court for the first time in school history.

The Paladins only other title came in 1976 when Englewood was forced to forfeit the championship game in order to be eligible for the state tournament.

“It’s a great feeling to be the ones celebrating finally,” said Hernandez. “I knew I had to step up and make some free-throws. It was a game that was all about tempo. We knew they were going to try and slow it down. We had to do our best to speed the game up and try to force them into mistakes.”

Hernandez led all players with 17 points for Paramus Catholic (18-3). Blackwood did most of his damage in the first half, en route to 13 points. Harris scored just once from the field, but was 8 of 10 from the foul line on his way to a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Mark Richards finished with team-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for Bergen Catholic (15-10), while Flanagan added 14 points.

The landmark win for Paramus Catholic now has it not just in the discussion of being in the upper echelon of teams in Bergen County, but at the head of that discussion as this season’s Bergen County Champions.

“When these kids were sophomores and freshmen, I knew we had the capability to do this,” added Barnes. “We got better last year and had (17) wins, and this year we took the next step. Now we know we’re a good team and the kids are playing with a lot of confidence. Now we know we’re a really good team, we’re champions.”

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