Sunday,
March 14, 2010
By
Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
TOMS
RIVER – After handily beating previously undefeated Paterson
Catholic in the Non-Public North B section final, it seemed the
stars were aligned for St. Anthony to make yet another run toward
immortality. The Friars had not lost in a state final in over
30 years, winning the last 19 times it made it that far. Its opponent,
Trenton Catholic, had lost in each of the past two years in the
Non-Public B state final, including a 30-point drubbing two years
ago at the hands of St. Anthony, and had not won a state title
since 1990.
But
Trenton Catholic had a pair of starters from the championship
game loss in 2008 on the floor on Saturday and both came up big
in scoring the school’s biggest win in two decades that
needed three overtimes to decide.
Frantz
Manhasset came up with a big steal in the third overtime and Khalid
Lewis pulled down a rebound in the final seconds. He dribbled
out the clock and ended St. Anthony’s bid for a record 26th
state title by handing the Friars their first loss in a state
title game since 1979 with a heartbreaking 57-56 setback before
3,400 at the Ritacco Center.
“This
is the best feeling ever, I don’t think anything could top
it,” said Manhasset, who will play at Drexel next year.
“I’ve been working every day for three years to get
this opportunity. To beat a team as great as St. Anthony’s
in my senior year is beyond my wildest dreams.”
The
game started nearly 40 minutes late due to the weather conditions
that caused the St. Anthony’s to get stuck in traffic and
eventually caused the cancellation of the St. Peter’s Prep-Camden
Catholic Non-Public A state final.
A
three-pointer from Lewis gave Trenton Catholic a 9-6 lead after
one quarter, but the lead did not last long. The Friars hit 9
of their 10 shots in the second period, including three three-pointers
D’Marcus Owens and Lucious Jones and a pair of buckets from
Elijah Carter as St. Anthony’s ripped off 11 straight points
en route to a 28-19 halftime lead.
St.
Anthony held an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter
when Lewis gave the Iron Mikes the shot in the arm they desperately
needed. His three-point play got them back within striking distance
and they stayed that way through the remainder of the game.
Markese
Tucker’s basket with 2:49 to play gave the Iron Mikes their
first lead since early in the second quarter, 39-38. Owens responded
with a three-pointer from the corner, but Manhasset answered by
hitting a pair of free-throws. Trenton Catholic got the ball back
and had a chance to win in regulation, but Manhasset’s shot
was well off the mark and the teams went to overtime.
Trenton
Catholic was up by two with the ball and 22 seconds left, but
St. Anthony’s Jordan Quick made a steal off the inbounds
pass and Derrick Williams was fouled going to the basket. He made
both free-throws with 9.5 seconds left to tie the game. The Iron
Mikes best look of the first overtime session came at the buzzer
when Manhasset’s layup rolled off the rim and the teams
looked towards a second overtime.
“That
was frustrating to watch, but we had to get it out of our minds
and onto the next overtime,” said Trenton Catholic’s
Khalid Lewis. “Great teams always look ahead. They never
look back at what could have been.”
Down
by two with less than a minute to play, the smallest guy on the
court came up huge. Owens nailed another three-pointer to put
the Friars ahead by one. Manhasset was fouled on the ensuing possession
and made one of two free-throws to tie the game at 52.
St.
Anthony had two chances in the final seconds to win it in the
second OT. Owens’ three-pointer was off and Devon Collier
got the rebound. But instead of pulling it down and going back
up with the ball, he thought there was only a second left, so
he tried to tap it back in the basket. It missed and both teams
and a capacity crowd had to mentally and emotionally prepare for
a third overtime.
“We
had our chance right there and we couldn’t put the ball
in the basket,” said St. Anthony’s head coach Bob
Hurley. “I’m pretty sure Devon (Collier) was not aware
of exactly how much time was left and just wanted to get the ball
up on the rim.”
Collier
fouled out on the first possession of the third overtime to take
away the Friars’ biggest option inside. Their other option,
Williams, gave them their only lead of the third overtime on a
three-point play for a 55-54 lead.
The
Iron Mikes then got an unexpected spark off the bench from Ronnie
Paden with just over a minute to play. He created a steal off
of their full-court press and his only points of the game were
on a layup that put Trenton Catholic ahead to stay, 56-55.
Owens
missed a pair of free-throws and the Friars were forced to foul.
Manhasset hit 1 of 2 from the charity stripe with 19 seconds to
play. On the the Friars' final possession, the St. Bonaventure-bound
Carter went hard to the rim and was fouled just as hard by Manhasset.
His first free-throw was good to cut the lead to one with 4.7
seconds left.
But
the second shot missed and Lewis was able to snatch down the rebound
and run out the clock to end the marathon classic.
“It’s
weird because we did it and yet I still can’t believe we
did it,” said Lewis. “You think about playing all
your life in a game like this, but you never think it’s
actually going to happen. We just had to keep fighting and find
a way to make plays.”
Manhasset
led all players with 20 points for Trenton Catholic (26-3). Lewis
added 15 points, and Dondre Whitmore had 12. Collier had a double-double
with 12 points and 10 rebounds for St. Anthony, which finished
the season with a 27-3 record. Carter led the team in scoring
with 13 points, while Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Owens chipped in with eight points, five assists, and three steals.
But the Friars made just 9 of 21 from the free-throw line in the
game, as compared to Trenton Catholic’s 11 of 14 in the
three overtime sessions.
Any
game is exhausting to be a part of. But when it goes to three
overtimes, and it is a state final, and it ends up as a loss,
it is a bitter pill to swallow.
“We’re
definitely disappointed because we had opportunities to come away
with a win and we let it slip away,” added Hurley. “It
was a great game for the fans and any time a game goes to three
overtimes, especially a state final, it’s one that will
be etched in the minds of everyone who witnessed it. But it is
hard to take when you give it everything you have and you don't
come away with a win. We gave it everything we had, we just didn’t
execute enough at the right time, especially at the foul line.”
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