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Burwell
Catches Fire As McCarrick Overcomes |
By Greg Machos
February 29, 2008SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—Prior to Friday night's Quarterfinal matchup against Bishop Eustace of Pennsauken in the 2008 Non-Public B South State Tournament, Mike Burwell had not really put in a tremendous shooting performance under the glare of the GMC Hoops spotlight. In six previous games covered by the web site, where complete stats were tallied (two other McCarrick games were filmed so no stats were taken), Burwell shot only 50 of 126 overall for 39.7 percent including 12 of 39 from long distance for 30.8 percent. However, despite the shooting woes in those games, Burwell has still been able to score plenty with a 25.7 points per game average thanks in part to a superb effort at the foul line going 42 of 50 for 84 percent. In addition, Burwell has done his part on the boards with an average of 10.3 rebounds per game over the six contests while handing out approximately 2.8 assists. In the first half of Friday's contest versus the Crusaders from the National Division of the Olympic Conference, the McCarrick 6'6" senior swingman, like the rest of his team, got off to a somewhat sluggish start making only 3 of his first 14 shots of the game.
However, he did what all great players do, kept shooting and playing, and through his persistence as well as a change in defensive strategy by Eagles head coach, Joe Lewis, turned what had been a tenuous four point lead late in the first half into a twenty-three point cushion in the third quarter as McCarrick rolled to an easy, 67-47 victory. Burwell ended the game by making 9 of his last 13 shots over the final 18:25 of the contest including six straight three points in an offensive explosion that ended up giving him 35 points on 12 of 27 shooting overall including a 7 of 12 effort from three along with a 4 of 5 showing at the foul line. Burwell also added another double digit rebounding performance with 13 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and even a charge in the second half. Junior guard, Julio Rosario chipped in with 19 points on six field goals including two threes, and a 5 of 6 effort at the line to go along with 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Sean Williams came off the bench to provide some punch with a 3 of 4 shooting effort for 6 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, and a steal while senior point guard, Will Snider handed out eight assists and swiped four steals in addition to blocking a shot, and scoring four points.
Meanwhile, for Bishop Eustace, which had entered the state tournament with some momentum after an upset win over rival Camden Catholic last Tuesday (37-31), Pat Vasturia led the losing cause with a team high 15 points on five field goals including a three pointer, and 4 of 5 from the line while also collecting 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Ryan Piatek (8 points on a field goal and 6 of 11 FTs along with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal) and Mike Ursomarso (8 points on 3 of 6 FGs including 2 of 3 from three point range as well as 2 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist) each chipped in with eight points. To view all of the individual game statistics for both teams, visit the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. Looking at the team statistics for the game, McCarrick, which only made 10 of 32 shots in the first half for 31.3 percent, ended up going 22 of 53 for 41.5 percent from the floor thanks to a torrid 12 of 21 performance over the final two periods for 57.1 percent. On the other side of the ledger, Eustace, which at one time was a perrenial power in Parochial Basketball, and is trying to regain that status under second year coach, and former alum and 1,000 point scorer, Bob Falconiero, was limited to just 17 of 45 from the floor for 37.8 percent while committing 23 turnovers. In the first half, the Crusaders only made 6 of 25 shots for 24 percent.
Beyond the arc, the Eagles, led by Burwell's efforts were blazing making 9 of 19 attempts for 47.4 percent while the Crusaders only took nine shots from long range, and made three for 33.3 percent. At the line, the Eagles enjoyed another advantage by making 14 of 21 attempts for 66.7 percent while Bishop Eustace only made 10 of 19 for 52.6 percent. In other statistical departments McCarrick had edges in every other category including turnovers (15-23), overall rebounds (32-26), offensive rebounds (11-8), assists (15-12), blocks (7-5), steals (13-5), and charges (1-0). The Eagles scored in double figures in every quarter while the Crusaders only did it in the second and fourth periods. McCarrick also outscored Bishop Eustace in the first three frames before being slightly outdone in the fourth with the game pretty much sown up. The first quarter saw the Eagles take a 14-7 lead despite shooting just 5 of 14 from the floor overall, and only 1 of 6 from three point range. Cardy Mac's defense was the key factor as it held Eustace to just 2 of 12 shooting, and forced five turnovers. The game started slowly for the Eagles as Burwell was blocked on his first shot attempt by Adam Matula. Piatek was eventually fouled, and the other end, but misfired on two free throws at the 7:18 mark. A little more than forty-five seconds later, Rosario connected on a field goal form the left side for a 2-0 lead. Forty-two seconds after that, Dominic Appiah grabbed an offensive board, and was fouled on the putback attempt that resulted in one of two from the charity stripe for a 3-0 lead at the 5:48 mark.
A little more than a half minute later, Burwell got on the board as he launched his first trey of the game on a jumper from the left wing for a 6-0 advantage at the 5:13 mark. Ursomarso replied to get the Crusaders on the board with a three pointer from Vasturia at the 4:30 mark for a 6-3 McCarrick lead. A half minuter later though, the Eagles got going again as Snider swiped a steal, and went in for the easy layup, and an 8-3 lead, and then following a layup by Vasturia off an assist from Piatek made the score, 8-5, the Eagles went back up by five again as Williams scored on a putback of a missed jumper by Rosario for a 10-5 score at the 2:15 mark of the first. Vasturia, who was actually held slightly below his 15.5 points per game average on the year in this contest, netted two from the charity stripe to close the gap to 10-7 with 1:37 left, but then the Eagles scored the final four points for a 14-7 lead. Rosario got the first two points with a pair from the free throw line at the 1:17 mark, and then moments later, Burwell got a steal that eventually led to his own layup off a feed from Rosario that increased the lead to seven at the 1:09 mark. At that point, Falconiero, who was a member of three state championship teams at Eustace in the mid-1970s before graduating from the school in 1976, called for time to see if he could get his kids to regroup.
Neither team scored over the last minute or so of the first so McCarrick entered the second with still a 14-7 lead, and began the new frame with four straight points over the first 2:06 including a rebound and assist by Burwell on a layup by Rosario to take an 18-7 advantage as Falconiero, who replaced previous Eustace head coach, Marty Bricketto back in the summer of 2006, called for time again at the 5:54 mark. Following the timeout, Eustace showed some moxy, and fought back with six unanswered points including a layup by Piatek, who happened to be held to nearly three points below his season average in this game, and two more from Chris Grous to trim the deficit to 18-13 with 2:33 to go before the intermission. Eight seconds later though, Burwell netted his second trifecta of the game on a jumper from the top of the key for a 21-13 lead at the 2:25 mark. Piatek, who had a nice behind the back pass earlier in the Eustace rally, handed out another assist on a layup by Grous, and then netted two from the foul line for a 10-3 tear that closed the gap to 21-17 with 1:48 to play in the first half. Unfortunately for Eustace followers that would be as close as the Crusaders would get in this one as the Eagles embarked on a 7-1 spurt to end the half as Burwell ignited the run with two free throws at the 1:28 mark, then Rosario clicked on a three pointer from the right corner off an assist by Burwell with 52 seconds to go before the intermission, and finally, Burwell scored on a putback of a Rosario miss for a 28-17 lead with 15 seconds left before halftime. Piatek then closed out the first half scoring with a one of two showing from the foul line for a 28-18 Eagle lead at the break.
Looking at the first half scoring, Burwell only made 5 of 16 shots including 2 of 6 from long range, but managed to still have a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds along with 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Rosario also struggled from the floor making just 3 of 11 including 1 of 4 from downtown, but also netted both his free throw attempts for 9 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal. On the other side of the scoresheet, Grous led the way for the Crusaders by making 3 of his 4 shot attempts for 6 points and 2 rebounds while Piatek added 5 points along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. Moving on to the halftime statistics, Eustace was only 6 of 25 from the floor including 1 of 2 from deep while the Eagles were just as paltry going 10 of 32, but made 3 of 10 from beyond the arc. At the line, both teams made five foul shots, but Cardy Mac had the higher percentage going 5 of 6 while Eustace was 5 of 8. Turnovers were actually even at eight apiece, but the big story was on the boards as the Eagles garnered a 23-14 edge overall including a two to one margin on the offensive glass (8-4). Assists (7-6), steals (4-3), and blocks (6-4) were fairly even although McCarrick enjoyed slight advantages in each category. Neither team drew a charge over the first two periods. During the intermission, McCarrick's Joe Lewis made a change in tactic defensively, and went with a halfcourt trap to stir up his team defensively.
The adjustment worked, and paid big dividends as the Crusaders committed turnovers in their first three possessions of the second half, and ended up with 15 over the final two periods. Getting more aggressive defensively, the Eagles turned up the heat, and began the third quarter with a 14-2 tear over the first half of the period for a 42-20 lead. Burwell sparked the outburst with a jumper from the right wing at the 6:41 mark that made the score, 30-18. Moments later, Snider inbounded the ball to Rosario for a layup that made it 32-18 with 6:34 left in the frame. Burwell then made two free throws with 6:13 to go in the period for a 34-18 lead. Following a Eustace timeout at the 6:06 mark, the Eagles then scored eight more points as Burwell, and McCarrick's offense in general went into a higher gear. The onslaught continued as the 14-2 tear grew to a 26-6 surge since leading 21-17 late in the second for a 47-23 advantage with 3:01 to go in the third. Capping the decisive avalanche was Williams, who scored on another putback off a Widgeon miss this time for the two dozen point lead. From there, the Eagles coasted, and even got contributions from one of its rarely played reserves to put a nice capper on the victory. Mike Brennan, a 6'8" senior, who has come a long way since his freshman year despite the lack of minutes this season, and also excels in the classroom with an A average, and solid SAT scores, stepped to the line to make one of two with 48.4 seconds remaining to bring a roar from the already raucous McCarrick student section, and make all the McCarrick fans go home happy in the 67-47 win.
With the victory, McCarrick sets a new school mark for wins at least during the Joe Lewis era with a 24-4 overall record this season. The previous record was 23 set by the 2003 Blue Division, GMCT and Non-Public B South champion Eagles (23-6), and the 2005 Blue Division and Non-Public B Champs (23-5). By the way, both those teams also won the GMC Hoops Trophy in both years, and this year's Eagles may also do that as well with a current two point lead over Piscataway in the latest standings.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Cardinal McCarrick (24-4) |
14 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 67 |
Bishop Eustace (16-11) |
7 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 47 |
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