Two years ago, the Friars of St. Anthony survived a scare at the Dan Finn Classic, falling behind St. Peter’s Prep in the fourth quarter by as many as nine points, before coming back to eventually win in overtime.
Last year, during their undefeated national championship season, the Friars defeated the Marauders by 20 points as part of the Finn Classic.
The distance between the two has widened, as evidenced by the 61-21 lambasting the Friars laid on the Marauders last Saturday in the annual Finn Classic at the Jersey City Armory.
The Friars, still the top-ranked team in the state and No. 3 nationally, improved to 12-0 overall and won for the 45th straight time.
Head coach Bob Hurley credited the team’s incredible defense for the lopsided victory.
“Defensively, we’re playing pretty good right now,” said Hurley, whose team is surrendering under 40 points per game and had consecutive games where they allowed just 21 and 25 points. “We have been dominating everyone off the backboards with our size and length. Teams are not getting any easy looks against us. For a while, we’ve been pretty set with our defense. We’re still trying to find ourselves offensively and we’re getting better.”
Hurley gave a huge compliment to the Friars’ defensive prowess.
“Twelve games into the season, we’ve never been this dominant on defense,” Hurley said. “We’re holding teams in the 30s and teams are having a tough time getting into the 40s.”
For a program that historically has dominated defensively, it’s quite a statement.
Hurley also credits the play of senior center Jerome Frink, who has watched his college stock skyrocket during the course of this season. The 6-foot-6 Frink, who had been receiving mid-major level college offers before the start of the season, is now gaining more recognition due to his fine play of late.
Frink, who suffered a dislocated finger just three days before the Prep game, scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds, earning the game’s Most Valuable Player award.
“I think his play is reflective in the phone calls I’ve been receiving from some very good schools,” Hurley said. “I told the family to be patient and that he would see some better offers. I knew that if we were going to be pretty good this year, we needed Jerome to be pretty good. I think we’ll continue to see more doors opening. He has that good Jersey City toughness.” …
Hudson Catholic is also hitting its right stride. The Hawks are currently ranked No. 8 in the state, thanks to the play of junior standouts Reggie Cameron and Michael Young.
The 6-foot-9 Young, who continues to impress, had a clutch basket to defeat Roselle Catholic last Sunday. Both are averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds per contest, watching their major college stock rise by the passing day…
The Hawks’ also have a rising star in girls’ basketball. Junior Sydney Stanton had 21 points and 21 rebounds in a game against Dickinson recently. No matter how you slice it, those are impressive statistics…
Lincoln’s Breana Bey remains among the top scorers in New Jersey. Bey’s 23.9 point per game scoring average ranks fourth in the state, while Sybil Lynch of Hoboken’s 20.3 average is ranked 14th overall in the state…
At the NJSIAA Group Relays last weekend at the Bennett Center in Toms River, the county definitely fared well in the sprint medley relay, with four local sprint medley teams bringing home medals.
St. Peter’s Prep was third in the Non-Public A sprint medley, withb>Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ryan McGann, Demetrius Cross and all-world Florida-bound sprinter Najee Glass doing the damage.
The Marauders were also second in the high jump relay, with Dashawn Putman and Eamonn Dwyer bringing home the silver medal.
The Snyder boys’ 4×200-meter relay team of Calvin Geathers, Denell Johnson, Taylor Lane and b>Timoy Malcolmfinished third in the Group II relays.
Among the girls, the St. Dominic Academy sprint medley team of Sarah Sisk, Victoria Rediger, Cara Keating and Cecilia Sabbers finished third in Non-Public A, while the McNair Academic sprint medley team of Morgan Spann, Nicole Nicholas, Briana Miller and Brittany Gibson finished fifth in the Group I sprint medley relay…
Hudson Reporter Boys’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (12-0). 2. Hudson Catholic (9-2). 3. St. Peter’s Prep (7-3). 4. Bayonne (7-3). 5. Snyder (9-3).
b>Hudson Reporter Girls’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. Bayonne (10-3). 2. Lincoln (8-2). 3. Secaucus (9-2). 4. North Bergen (5-6). 5. Marist (6-7). – Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
TASTY TIDBITSSt. Anthony defends to the hilt at Finn Classic
