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Junior
Falcons Reach Final Four For |
By Greg Machos
February 16, 2008METUCHEN, NJ--There is one thing about being the top seed in any tournament, it is always top to live up to the expectations, burdens, and pressures that come along during the course of post-season play. For the Junior Falcons of St. Joseph's, there is no exception to that rule despite an impressive 22-1 record entering Saturday's Quarterfinal matchup in the 2008 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament with Immaculata of Somerville at the Bird Cage. Despite going 7 of 14 from long distance in the first half, St. Joe's JV squad turned the ball over some eight times over the first two periods while the Junior Spartans, which hail from Somerset County, and the Delaware East Division of the Skyland Conference, only committed four, and clicked on 16 of 29 attempts from the floor to tie the score at halftime, 34-34. Things were still not easy in the second half either for the favorite as the visitors from near the Somerville Circle, and Route 22 East, battled hard despite only scoring in single digits in each of the final two periods, and committed 15 turnovers in the third and fourth quarters.
In a game that saw the lead change hands some 15 times along with 8 ties including eight such lead exchanges and two ties in the second half, the Junior Falcons didn't finally take charge until the final 4:43 of the game when they broke away from a 49-48 deficit with a 10-0 game ending spurt for the well earned, 58-49 victory. Freshman guard, Matt Wagner keyed the run by first igniting it with a three pointer from the right wing at the 4:06 mark for a 51-49 lead, and then helped seal the win with a pair of free throws at the 54.6 second mark for a 57-49 lead. Sophomore forward, Matt Delaney came up with two clutch free throws at the 3:20 mark for a four point, 53-49 advantage, and then after a brief lull in the scoring, came up with a steal at half court, and took it all the way in from the left side for a 55-49 edge with 2:11 remaining. Wagner ended up with a 4 of 10 shooting performance including a 4 of 8 effort from beyond the arc, and also made 3 of 4 from the free throw stripe for 15 points along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal.
Meanwhile, Delaney made 5 of 7 shots from the floor, and 4 of 9 from the line for 14 points along with 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Fellow sophomore, Nick Contino led the way for the Junior Falcons with a team high 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting including 4 of 6 from downtown while also collecting 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Contino scored 14 of his 16 in the first half to pace the St. Joe's effort over the first two periods. To view the rest of the individual stats for St. Joe's, check out the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. For the game, St. Joseph's went 20 of 48 from the floor overall for 41.7 percent, and ended up with a 9 of 21 effort from three point range after a 2 of 7 showing from deep in the second half. At the line though, the Junior Falcons really struggled by only making 9 of 23 from the charity stripe for 39.1 percent. On the other side of the scorebook, Immaculata ended up making 23 of 56 shots for 41.1 percent after being limited to just 7 of 27 attempts in the second half. A real key disparity in the game though was from beyond the arc as the Junior Spartans were unable to get into a real true rhythm from there by only making 3 of 17 shot attempts for a paltry 17.6 percent. Another difference was at the line, where Immaculata only had four attempts, and didn't make any. So although the Junior Falcons were subpar at the free throw line, it was still sufficient enough for the win.
In other statistical areas, turnovers ended up actually even at 19-19 with St. Joseph's efforts in the second half. Rebounding went to the Junior Spartans with a 29-26 edge overall including a slight 8-7 edge on the offensive glass. Immaculata also won out in several other stat departments including assists (15-11), steals (11-7), and blocks (1-0). Charges were even with neither team drawing one. The Somerset County school managed to convert the 19 miscues by the Junior Falcons into 11 points, and its eight offensive rebounds into four second chance points. Moreover, the Junior Spartans picked up seven points off the fast break. St. Joseph's, which outscored Immaculata in three of the four periods, scored in double figures in each of the four quarters while the visitors from the Skyland Conference only managed to do that in two of the periods. Arriving late to the gym after a long walk from South Plainfield, GMC Hoops managed to not miss much since the game was a little less than two minutes old when the site sat down to take in the action. With 6:05 left in the first, St. Joseph's held a slight lead at 5-4. Seconds later, the Junior Falcons turned the ball over, but Immaculata didn't take advantage, and actually returned the miscue with one of its own at the 5:50 mark.
Eighteen seconds after that though, St. Joseph's JV coach, Pete Mercatili wasn't liking what he was seeing as the team had trouble getting its offense in gear so he called a timeout. Following the stoppage, Wagner took a shot from long distance on the right wing, and it was nothing but net as the Junior Falcons took an 8-4 lead at the 5:20 mark. On a subsquent Immaculata possession, the Junior Spartans cut into the St. Joe's lead with a jumper from the left wing for an 8-6 score at the 4:45 mark. Fifteen seconds later, on St. Joseph's next offensive sequence, Contino found sophomore forward, Robert O'Grady for a short turnaround jumper in the paint for a 10-6 lead with 4:30 to go in the half. Immaculata would tie things up though with four straight points on a layup at the 4:20 mark, and then a field goal with 3:12 to go in the period for a 10-10 score. Over the next 1:12 though, Contino began to get hot, and sank two threes from the left wing for a 6-0 run, and a 16-10 lead with about two minutes to go in the first. Nearly a half minute after that, the Junior Spartans trimmed the deficit to four with a score that made it 16-12. Immaculata then scored six of the next eight points to pull within two at 18-16, but then St. Joseph's closed out the period with the final four points including one of two at the line, and a three pointer from sophomore Eric Peterson off an assist by Contino for a 22-16 lead heading into the second.
At the start of the second, the Junior Spartans made it known that they were in this game to stay as they opened things up with a 10-0 run over the first 2:48 to take a 26-22 lead with 5:12 remaining in the first half. Immaculata scored four of the points in the first 1:29 to close within two at 22-20, and then got two three pointers while O'Grady misfired on two free throws. Realizing that they were in for a dogfight, the Junior Falcons showed some resolve, and fought their way back to the lead with an 8-2 run over the next 3:05 that consisted of a three pointer from the top of the key by Contino at the 4:25 mark, another trey by the sophomore at the three minute mark that tied the score at 28-28, and then a drive from the left side for a reverse by freshman guard, Nick Straught for his only points of the game, and a 30-28 lead with 2:07 to go before the intermission. Immaculata, which missed its first two free throws of the game just moments before Straughn's basket, then battled back with 6 of the final 10 points of the half to square the game up at 34-34 despite scores from Contino and Delaney. Looking at the key halftime statistics, the Junior Spartans were 16 of 29 from the floor for 55.2 percent while the Junior Falcons were 13 of 28 for 46.4 percent. The Somerset County school even shot fairly well from three with a 2 of 5 showing, but St. Joe's was far more superior with a 7 of 14 effort. At the line, neither team did well with Immaculata going 0 of 2, and the Junior Falcons making just 1 of 6.
Turnovers also helped the visitors from Somerville as they held a 4-8 advantage. At the start of the third quarter, the Junior Falcons came out fired up with five straight points in the first 1:35 for a 39-34 lead with 6:25 to go in the period. Wagner found Delaney for a layup as the sophomore was fouled for a three point play that made it 37-34 at the 7:06 mark. Then, Delaney drove in from the right side for a layup, and a five point edge some 41 seconds later. However, Immaculata settled down, regained themselves, and actually grabbed the lead back with a 7-0 spurt over the next 2:11 for a 41-39 score. Sparking the rally was a behind the back pass for a layup, and a 39-36 score at the 5:07 mark. Twenty-six seconds later, the Junior Spartans forced a steal that led to a three pointer from the left side following a scramble for a loose ball at the 4:41 mark that tied things up at 39-39. Immaculata then went ahead with another layup at the 4:14 mark for the 41-39 lead. Neither team would score for over a minute and a half before Straughn found Wagner for a three pointer from the right wing for a 42-41 Junior Falcon lead with 2:34 to go in the third. Delaney then got going again with an offensive rebound, and drive for a layup on the follow, and a 44-41 lead, and then made one of two at the line with 1:01 to go in the frame for a 45-41 advantage.
Closing out the third quarter with a score underneath to close the gap to two entering the final priod of action, Immaculata tied things up on a hook shot in the paint with 7:15 remaining in the contest. On the next St. Joseph's possession though, Wagner drew a foul, and made one of two at the line for a 46-45 lead with 6:53 to play. Following a full timeout by the Junior Spartans at the 6:33 mark, Immaculata took the lead on a drive from the right wing into the key for a short jumper that made it 47-46 with 6:19 left. St. Joe's then had an opportunity on its next possession to swipe the lead back, but Delaney misfired on two charity shots, and the Junior Falcons appeared to be in trouble at the 6:06 mark. However, Delaney would redeem himself nearly a half minute later with a drive along the left side of the key for a layup that put his team on top again at 48-47 with 5:37 to go. Immaculata quickly replied though with another score in the paint to go ahead again at 49-48 with 5:25 left. Unfortunately for Junior Spartan fans and supporters, that would be the last time their team would hold a lead, and actually score in the game. Not to say that the Junior Spartans didn't have their share of opportunities. Take for instance the situation at the 4:43 mark when Immaculata went to the line with a chance to increase its lead. Immaculata would misfire on both attempts, and then despite getting the offensive board, missed a three point try from the left wing, and the score remained 49-48.
Withstanding, the latest charge by the Junior Spartans, St. Joseph's had new life, and found a sense of urgency it had lacked for a good part of the final quarter. The Junior Falcons would take the lead for good when Wagner drilled a three point shot from the right wing for a 51-49 score at the 4:06 mark. A little more than forty-five seconds later, Contino found Delaney, who drove left to the left low block for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and resulted in two charity shots for a four point, 53-49 edge with 3:20 to play. Turning on the pressure defensively, St. Joe's used a bit of run and jump to force a turnover at halfcourt on a steal by Delaney, who took it in from the left side for a layup, and a 55-49 lead with 2:11 left. Following a Junior Falcon timeout with 1:19 to go, Delaney got the ball again from Contino for a drive from the left side for another layup attempt that drew a foul, but the sophomore forward couldn't take advantage with an 0 of 2 showing at the 1:06 mark. Wagner would pick up his teammate though when he drew a foul, and made two foul shots with 54.6 seconds to play, and made the score, 57-49. St. Joseph's then closed the game out with another free throw for the nine point win. With the victory, the Junior Falcons not only improved to an impeccable 23-1 on the year, but also reached the Final Four at EBHS for the sixth time in the past seven years. The only year St. Joe's didn't make the semifinals was in 2003. St. Joseph's will take on fifth seeded Bishop Ahr, which defeated fourth seeded Piscataway on Friday to make its third straight Final Four trip.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
St. Joseph's (23-1) |
22 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 58 |
Immaculata |
16 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 49 |
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