PISCATAWAY — It was an event that brought out a throng of impressive people to the Rutgers Athletic Center.
University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari was there. Noted “60 Minutes” correspondent Steve Croft, the man who gets all the interviews with President Barack Obama, was seated courtside, getting the entire lowdown for a feature that will run March 27.
Even Caroline Kennedy, the last surviving member of America’s Camelot and daughter of JFK, was in attendance, so it had to be an event of historical importance.
And it was that. After all, it’s not every day that the nation’s two top high school basketball teams square off in a state playoff game. In fact, it had never happened before Wednesday night.
That’s right. Never had the two best high school teams in the United States squared off this late in the season, but when No. 1 St. Patrick of Elizabeth took on the No. 2-ranked Friars of St. Anthony in the NJSIAA Non-Public B North championship game, it was a contest of epic proportions, two undefeated titans waging war.
That’s why the RAC was sold out hours in advance and thousands were outside, trying hard to get in. That’s why some 8,000 people strong were buzzing with excitement.
In the opening stages of the game, it looked as if the top-ranked Celtics were simply going to run the underdog Friars right out of the building. Derrick Gordon and Chris Martin were raining 3-pointers left and right and St. Patrick had an 11-4 lead before people were getting comfy in their seats. The lead was pushed to 15-6 shortly after and there was a feeling that this was going to be a long night indeed for the fabulous Friars.
But one can never underestimate a team coached by legendary Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley. Because of Hurley’s influence, there was no panic in the Friars. There might have been with some of the other 8,000 in attendance, but not with Hurley. There was still time, plenty of time.
So Myles Mack hit a baseline jumper, then drained a 3-pointer and suddenly the Friars were back in business. All was calm and all was bright. No need to pack up the belongings and head home just yet.
The Friars battled back to tie the game in the second quarter, but quickly, the Celtics regained the lead and held it through halftime. St. Patrick was up, 28-23, at intermission.
After the break, Jordan Quick canned a long 3-pointer, then Mack got a steal, drove to the basket and was fouled, giving the Friars their first lead of the game. Quick hit another trey and the Friars were up four (32-28) just 1:10 into the second half.
The top-ranked team in the nation wasn’t going to simply go away after that. The Celtics marched right back, scoring the next seven points to take a 35-32 lead, thanks to a conventional 3-point play from Gordon, who ended the day with a game-high 26 points.
Gordon made a free throw in the closing seconds of the third quarter to give St. Pat’s a 40-39 lead after three periods.
When the ball was inbounded to start the final stanza, something magical happened to the Friars. It was like someone took pixie dust and sprinkled it over the Friars in their huddle, because they just totally took over the game in an instant.
Lucious Jones, who also goes by the nickname of Lucky, made a driving layup that gave the Friars the lead for good. Kyle Anderson, who continues to show everyone why he might evolve into the greatest Friar of all-time, converted on a drive of his own, then made the play of the game.
St. Patrick’s All-American forward Michael Gilchrist, who was having a dreadful of a night, drove into the lane for what appeared to be an easy shot, but it wasn’t so easy, as Anderson swatted it off the backboard, collected the ball, and passed it ahead to a streaking Quick for the layup that pushed the Friar lead to 45-40 with 6:13 left.
“The block was big,” Anderson said. “But it was all because Coach Hurley kept changing defenses on them. That was a major point.”
When Jerome Frink avoided traffic down low and made a rebound basket among a valley of giants, the Friars had a commanding 47-40 lead with five minutes left.
“That separation there was monumental,” Hurley said. “You could see their fatigue setting in.”
From there, the Friars just played swarming, relentless, and tenacious defense the rest of the night, totally earning a 62-45 victory, a win that puts the undefeated Friars (29-0) in the position to win yet another national championship, one that will give Hurley four national crowns in his already historic career.
“I can’t describe what just happened,” Hurley said in a post-game press conference. “We just beat a great high school basketball team. The kids did an outstanding job, especially in the fourth quarter.”
When the dust cleared, the Friars allowed the high-flying and soaring Celtics to score all of five points in the final period. St. Patrick might have had 15 points in the first five minutes, but they scored just five in the final eight, when it really counted.
“This game turned out to be everything it was supposed to be,” Hurley said. “The best team won and I’m glad it was us. I think they were a little tired in the fourth quarter and we jumped on that. I never thought we could get so much control. It was just a remarkable performance.”
The Friars held Gilchrist, headed to Kentucky to play for Calipari in the fall, to just seven points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Mack led the Friars with 19 points. Jones, who battled Gilchrist for most of the night, had 12 points and nine rebounds. Anderson was solid with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“This is a team game and we were going to win this as a team,” Hurley said.
That they did, especially down the stretch.
While there was euphoria among the Friar faithful, it wasn’t the same for the other Jersey City team playing Wednesday night.
In the opening game of the championship doubleheader, the Marauders of St. Peter’s Prep were defeated by Seton Hall Prep, 55-47, in overtime, in the Non-Public A North title game.
It was a nip-and-tuck contest throughout, with the largest lead either team having was the six-point advantage the Marauders (23-6) had after three periods at 35-29.
Unfortunately for St. Peter’s, it was a former teammate who did the Marauders in big time. Dallas Anglin, who spent the first year-and-a-half of his high school life at Grand and Warren, scored 17 points, including a huge 3-pointer to give the Pirates the lead for good in overtime.
“Believe it or not, I’m happy for the kid,” St. Peter’s head coach Mike Kelly said of Anglin. “He had to make a tough transition and he’s done well. I don’t feel any animosity towards him at all. We just didn’t play our best basketball. I thought it was two evenly matched teams.”
“I think this is a budding rivalry that will go on for years,” veteran Seton Hall Prep coach Bob Farrell said.
The two teams have now met in the state playoffs the last three seasons. Seton Hall won in the sectional semifinals in 2009, with the Marauders winning the state sectional last year and the Pirates turning the tide this season.
It marked the end of a remarkable run for four Prep seniors, namely Kevin Walker, Keith Lumpkin (10 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks), Chase Fluellen and Stephon Whyatt (team-high 21 points), who led the Marauders to four straight county titles and a state sectional crown last year.
“We call them the ‘Core Four’ and deservedly so,” Kelly said. “My hat is off to those guys. We just didn’t make shots and that hurt us.”
So it wasn’t like a year ago, when both Jersey City schools won state sectionals at Rutgers. But it was definitely a memorable night, thanks to the fabulous Friars, who put on a show in their battle of the titans.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
. To read more about the Rutgers doubleheader, log on to www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.