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GMC Hoops Summaries--February 21, 2010
Week Nine--GMCT Elite Eight

DeCosey Helps St. Joe's Overcome Shaky Start To Defeat McCarrick, 59-49

By Greg Machos
February 21, 2010

EDISON, NJ--It was quite a finale to the 2010 GMCT Elite Eight Quadrupleheader on Sunday at Middlesex County College. Cardinal McCarrick entered the contest as a ninth seed in the tourney, but had the talent to go all the way while top seeded St. Joseph's had lived up to its pre-season number one ranking. The Falcons had played 16 games in the conference, but all of them were against division opponents including Old Bridge, which it defeated handily in the Round of 16 on Thursday night (79-59). The Eagles, which defeated eighth seeded Dunellen on Thursday (71-50), entered tournament play with losses in six of its last eight contests. However, the Eagles had played a schedule that included the likes of Plainfield, Piscataway, Hillside, and Lincoln of Jersey City (twice). Also, seven of the nine McCarrick defeats came by eight points or less.

Both of these schools are familiar opponents to one another. Since 1999, these two teams had squared off in the GMCT six times with St. Joe's winning three of the matchups. However, Cardy Mac won their two contests in the GMCT Finals for their only two conference titles. The last time these two schools met was in the 2009 GMCT Semifinals when then third seed St. Joseph's defeated second seeded Cardinal McCarrick by a score of 57-47. This time, St. Joe's advanced to its third straight GMCT Final Four, but it didn't come without some difficulty. McCarrick took it to the GMC Red champs early on, taking an 18-7 lead late in the first period. With 1,000 point scorer, Steve Rennard on the bench with two quick fouls, it was up to sophomore Quenton DeCosey to take over, and he did. DeCosey scored 16 points in the first half, and ended up with 20 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor including a three pointer, and 9 of 12 from the foul line while also picking up 15 rebounds for a double-double as the Falcons rallied with a 52-31 surge the rest of the way for a 59-49 victory.

When DeCosey leveled out in the second half, Rennard took over with 13 of his 14 points over the final two periods. He connected on two field goals, two threes, and 4 of 6 from the line for the game while also collecting 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Andrew Morgan also made a key contribution for the winners. The senior guard scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half while also pulling down three rebounds, and picking up an assist, and a block. The trio of DeCosey, Rennard, and Morgan accounted for 78 percent of St. Joseph's offense. Sophomore Dana Raysor led the way in a losing cause for McCarrick with 13 points as he made four field goals, a three pointer, and 2 of 3 from the line while also picking up 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Craig Thomas chipped in with 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the field, and one of two from the line. He also collected four steals, three assists, and three rebounds. Mo Isaac also contributed with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

For the game, St. Joseph's shot 18 of 47 from the floor for 38 percent including 4 of 9 from long distance, and hit 19 of 26 from the foul line for 73 percent. Meanwhile, Cardinal McCarrick went 21 of 62 for 34 percent including only 2 of 14 from beyond the arc, and connected on only 5 of 8 from the line. In other statistical areas, the Falcons had the overall edge in rebounds (37-31) and blocks (9-4), but McCarrick had edges in offensive boards (13-9), assists (9-7), charges (1-0), and turnovers (11-16). Both teams had nine steals. Each team outscored the other in two of the four quarters played with the Eagles winning the first and third periods while St. Joe's won the second and fourth. McCarrick got off to a fast start thanks to a 7 of 13 effort from the floor, and only two turnovers in the first. Meanwhile, the Eagles limited the Falcons to just 2 of 8 shooting, and forced seven miscues. Cardy Mac also made all five of its free throw attempts while St. Joe's managed to stay within striking distance thanks to a 6 of 9 effort from the charity stripe.

The Eagles drew first blood in this contest on a three pointer from the right wing by Raysor at the 7:16 mark. Rennard then got his only points of the first half on a one of two showing from the foul line at the 7:13 mark to make the score 3-1. DeCosey then tied the game up at 3-3 less than twenty seconds later when he drove to the basket, and drew a foul that produced two free throws. Ashamole then gave the Falcons the lead with a one of two effort from the charity stripe at the 6:28 mark. Isaac put McCarrick back out in front with a jumper at the 6:08 mark, and then Thomas passed to Jumanne McDaniel (3 of 7 FGs for 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) for a layup off the inbounds, and a 7-4 lead with 5:39 to play in the first. Morgan, who was 4 of 8 from the floor in the first half, then tied the game up at 7-7 with a three point play at the 5:16 mark. Cardy Mac then went on an 11-0 run over the next 3:38 to take an 18-7 lead. Thomas ignited the run with a jumper, and then Raysor added two free throws at the 3:52 mark for an 11-7 edge.

Jeremy Cruz (9 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal) then added a jumper before Thomas swiped a steal, and scored a layup as he was fouled by Rennard for a three point play, and a 16-7 lead with 3:02 remaining in the opening quarter. Things got worse for the Falcons as Rennard was called for an offensive foul, and went to the bench with two at the 2:01 mark. Fouls came fast and furious in the first as both teams had six by the 1:51 mark. John Appiah, a junior forward for McCarrick, got his only points of the game (2 FTs for 2 points, 4 rebounds, and a block) with two from the line to cap the spurt for the eleven point lead with 1:38 to go in the frame. Morgan then connected on a three pointer, and DeCosey made one of two from the line as St. Joe's scored four of the final six points of the first for a 20-11 Eagles lead heading into the second. For the rest of the game, McCarrick would only shoot 14 of 49 for 29 percent while St. Joseph's shot 16 of 39 for 41 percent. The Falcons went on a 19-6 tear in the second as DeCosey scored 13 points for a 30-26 halftime lead.

The top seeded team scored the first six points of the period including two field goals by Morgan, and an offensive rebound and follow by DeCosey to close the gap to three at 20-17 with 5:27 to go. Following a McCarrick timeout at the 4:19 mark, and an Isaac score, DeCosey got to more buckets that could have been jams to pull the Falcons to within one at 22-21 with 2:49 remaining in the half. After Morgan missed the front end of a one and one at the 2:36 mark, DeCosey put the Falcons in front at 24-22 with a three pointer with 2:04 left in the second. He then added two free throws with 1:44 to go in the half, and handed out an assist on a jumper by Peterson before closing the second with two more foul shots for the four point lead at the intermission. St. Joe's, which went 7 of 15 from the floor in the second was 9 of 23 overall from the field while McCarrick, which only shot 3 of 16 in the second was 10 of 29 from the floor in the first half. The Falcons were 2 of 4 from long distance while the Eagles were 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.

At the line, St. Joseph's made 10 of 14 including four of five in the second period while McCarrick took only one free throw in the second, and was 5 of 6 from the charity stripe in the half. The Falcons had the edge in overall rebounding (17-14), but the Eagles had advantages in offensive boards (7-5), turnovers (5-9), assists (5-2), and steals (6-5). Both teams blocked three shots while neither drew a charge in the first 16 minutes. DeCosey was nearly flawless in the first half like he was in the 83-39 rout of Piscataway on January 14th. He made all four of his shot attempts including a three pointer, and clicked on 7 of 8 free throws for 16 points while pulling down 7 rebounds, handing out two assists, and blocking a shot. Both Thomas and Raysor paced McCarrick with 7 points each in the first half as Thomas made three of seven from the floor, and a free throw while also picking up three steals and an assist. Raysor also collected three rebounds and an assist. The game, which had a only a total of five lead changes and three ties, went back and forth a bit in the third before St. Joe's took control for good.

Both teams started the second half with two field goals each as DeCosey scored on a post move, and then Peterson (2 FGs for 4 points and 5 rebounds) grabbed an offensive rebound and connected on a jumper. The Eagles got one of their baskets on a score by Isaac from Raysor for a 34-30 Falcons lead at the 5:38 mark. McCarrick then scored four of the next six points including a striding one handed dunk by Isaac off a feed by Raysor, and a layup by McDaniel from Thomas to close the gap to two at 36-34 with 4:01 to go in the period. After Robbie Ashamole (2 of 4 FGs and 3 of 4 FTs for 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, and an assist) made two free throws at the 3:42 mark for a 38-34 St. Joe's lead, the Eagles scored the next five as Raysor connected on a floater from the left baseline at the 3:20 mark, and then Thomas passed to Cruz for a three pointer from the right side to take a 39-28 lead with two minutes remaining in the period. A little more than a minute later, Robert O'Grady (2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and an assist) passed to Rennard on the right wing for a three that put the Falcons back in front, 41-39 as they called for time with 59.2 seconds to go in the period.

When play resumed, Thomas drove in for a layup that tied things up at 41-41 with 40 seconds to go, but the Falcons came right down and took the lead again at 44-41 as Rennard converted a three point play at the 29.1 second mark. Raysor scored again on a floater to pull the Eagles within one, but Contino found O'Grady for a jumper at the buzzer, and a 46-43 St. Joseph's lead heading into the fourth. In the final period, St. Joe's pulled away with a 13-6 showing. Rennard opened up the period with a three from the right wing for a 49-43 lead at the 6:31 mark. DeCosey then drew a foul on a dunk attempt that resulted in a one of two showing from the line for a 50-43 lead at the 5:42 mark. Following a timeout with 5:06 to go, Rennard put the Falcons up by nine at 52-43 with two foul shots at the 3:43 mark. St. Joseph's then took its biggest lead of the game on two scores by Ashamole before Cruz connected on a floater for a 56-45 Falcons lead with 2:26 remainng as the Eagles called a 30 second timeout.

McCarrick would scored four of the final seven points for a 59-49 St. Joe's win. With the victory, St. Joseph's improved to 20-4 overall on the season including a 17-0 mark in conference play. The Falcons advanced to the semifinals to face fifth seeded Spotswood, which defeated fourth seeded East Brunswick earlier in the day (53-47). The Eagles, meanwhile, dropped to 14-10 overall, and 9-9 in the GMC. Analysis will be forthcoming in the blog.

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