Monday, February 20, 2012

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Paul Jorgensen scored off the opening tip to put Don Bosco Prep in front for good in a 76-59 win over Hackensack on Sunday in the semifinals of the Bergen County Jamboree.

MAHWAH – In its first two games in the Bergen County Jamboree, Don Bosco Prep let it two opponents hand around so that there was the feel that an upset might happen. Against Ridgefield Park in the Round of 16, Bosco did not pull away until midway through the fourth quarter. Against Dwight-Englewood in the quarterfinals last week, Bosco needed another fourth quarter surge to avoid being ousted. On Sunday in the semifinal round, there was no such drama.

The Ironmen made their first seven shots from the field, eight of their first nine and need just 3:17 to build its first double digit lead on third-seeded Hackensack and led wire-to-wire in a 76-59 win at the Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Complex on the campus of Ramapo College. Bosco will play top-seeded and defending champion Teaneck in the final for the second straight season after the two teams played an overtime thriller in last year's championship game.

And heading into the rematch, Don Bosco Prep is playing as well as any team in the state. The Ironmen wrapped up a league title with a 30-point win over DePaul on Thursday night and has now won 13 straight games. They have not lost a game in five weeks and now stand at 21-4 on the season.

Rashard Figures scored 15 points for Hackensack, which fell to 19-5 on the season.

“Our success has a lot to do with our depth. In order to have streaks like the one we are on now, you have to have people who can enter a game at any point and give you quality minutes,” said Kevin Diverio, who is one win away from his seventh Jambo title as Bosco's head coach and his first since 2008. “We've had guys like Jack [Ely], [Tom] Sweeny and Justin Salem, who has been a great surprise this year, come off our bench and give us a lift. Everybody has contributed all year and they did again out here today.”

But it was the Bosco's starters who got the ball rolling against Hackensack. It took just four seconds for DaJon Todmann to win the opening tap and for Paul Jorgensen to take it in for an easy layup that gave the Ironmen the lead for good. Jorgensen made a three-pointer and Leontee Carroo made two free throws as Bosco opened the game with seven straight points. Jorgensen made a jumper from the baseline and Paddy Quin hit a three-pointer from the corner as Bosco went up 14-3 with still 4:43 to play in the first quarter.

“We felt like we could come out and really bring it to them on defense. We did that and it set up our offense and the early lead,” said Quinn, the senior guard who scored 10 of his 12 points in the first 9:14 of the game. “We came out here this season to win a county championship and we are taking that goal seriously in practice and in games. We got the lead early and we kept our focus all the way through.”

Don Bosco Prep senior Paddy Quinn scored 10 first half points.

Carroo's foul line jumper that just beat the buzzer gave the Ironmen a 23-11 lead after the first quarter and Quinn's three-pointer 1:14 into the second quarter gave them their largest lead of the first half at 28-13. Stephen Prendergast's lone bucket of the game just beat the second quarter buzzer and Bosco went into the break ahead 36-24.

“I was proud of the way my team competed, it didn't have anything to do with our effort, but we have a board in our locker room that says 'Play harder and Play Smarter' and we didn't do either one of those today. We competed, we just didn't execute,” said Hackensack head coach Aaron Taylor. “When you are playing a team that is comparable to your talent level, you have to be ready to go right from the start and I don't know if we really were and it was obvious that Bosco was.”

Hackensack made a bid to get back in the game by opening the second half with a 9-1 run. Mershan Monroe putback a missed shot, followed that with a three-pointer off another offensive rebound Chris Meyers went coast-to-coast for a layup to get the Comets to within 37-33 with 4:42 to play in the third quarter. They stayed close for the next two minutes as they still trailed by four points at 37-33, 39-35 and 41-37, but Carroo took over on the baseline as he converted a Jorgensen bounce pass into a bucket and then put back his own missed shot.

Chris Meyers scored 15 points for Hackensack, which will host Montclair in the opening round of the state tournament.

After Meyers dropped in a rainbow from the baseline at the third period horn to keep Hackensack within striking distance at 51-43, Carroo scored on back-to-back trips to put Don Bosco Prep back in front by double digits at 57-46 with 6:21 to play and the Ironmen pulled away from there. An 8-0 run that lasted 1:39 started with a Quinn drive, ended with Carroo's fastbreak basket and had the Ironmen up 72-53 and looking ahead to Thursday night's rematch against Teaneck for all the marbles.

“I see us doing the same kinds of things that we do in football. We are practicing hard and we also show a lot of care and love in practice and that is the key. Guys are sharing the ball, having fun and playing great basketball and it shows on the court in games,” said Carroo, who is looking for at least one more memorable high school win before heading off to his football career at Rutgers University. “We are a hungry team this year, we remember what happened in the Jambo finals last year and we can't wait to play [Teaneck]. We back down from nobody and we are looking forward to the matchup.”

Hackensack was led by Jaimik Moore's 17 points, Meyers and Figures each finished with 15 and Monroe added 8. Carroo led all scorers with 22 points and was one of Bosco's four double-digit scorers, along with Jemal Mosely (15 points), Quinn (12 points), Jorgensen (11 points). Jack Ely, an interesting story himself, scored 7 points, all in the fourth quarter, while Sweeny made two fourth quarter field goals.

Leonte Carroo and Bosco will get a long-awaited rematch with Teaneck in the Jambo final.

Ely is the youngest of four siblings and the only boy in what has been a Bergen County basketball dynasty. His three older sisters -- Sarah, Maggie and Terry – all starred at Pascack Valley High School under head coach Jeff Jasper and Jack Ely is now trying to forge his own path on the boys side of the postseason and at a parochial school.

“Everyone in my family always loved playing in the Bergen County Tournament and told me how fun it is. They were right, it is fun because everyone comes to these games, there is a lot of history behind this tournament and there is nothing better,” said Ely. “I have obviously never been to a county final before, but a lot of these guys have and we are all excited about it. We want to win, we've worked hard for it and we are there now.”

Hackensack is not. Ousted for the second straight in the Final 4, the Comets fell to 19-5 on the season and are trying to avoid of repeat of last season when it lost in the Jambo two wins short of its goal and then lost its opening round game in the North 1, Group 4 state sectional tournament at home to Union City.

“We were in this position last year. We made the semifinals and took a tough loss and we didn't know how to bounce back from it. It has to be different this year,” said Taylor. “We are going to be a 20-win team by the end of this year, but I told our guys that we don't want to be a 20-win team without any titles. We have one more regular season game left and then we have to be ready to go for the states because I think we have a real chance to win [our section] and our kids have to believe it, too.”

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