January 17, 2010
Friars take Jersey City showdown
Jordan Quick hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lead St. Anthony's comeback.
Click Here for photos from St. Anthony at St. Peter's Prep.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – This season’s edition of St. Anthony might not be the most talented group that Bob Hurley has coached in his many years at the school. But last night served as reminder to never count them out.
Trailing by 10 late in the fourth quarter, the Friars stormed back to defeat St. Peter’s Prep in a 67-64 overtime thriller in the nightcap of the Dan Finn Classic at the Jersey City Armory.
“This group right now is going to make their mistakes,” Hurley said. “But we have them convinced that we’re not going to be out of a game as long as there’s some time up there and there’s a way to stop the clock.”
“I was kind of scared for a minute, my team was down,” guard Jordan Quick said. “But I knew we’d still win the game. We were going to come back and win the game.”
A back-and-forth affair the entire night, Prep’s Myles Davis delivered what appeared to be the final dagger when he buried a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 56-46 with 2:30 left in regulation.
But St. Anthony (10-1) was not yet ready to relinquish their claim as Jersey City’s premier team.
After struggling from beyond the arc all game, the Friars came alive from beyond the arc, hitting 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions. Quick started the run with a triple to cut the lead to seven. Elijah Carter responded with a 3-pointer of his own and Quick struck again after a Marauder turnover.
“I was just feeling it,” said Quick, who hit three from long range in the second half. “As soon as it left my fingers I knew it was going in.”
A pair of missed free throws from St. Peter’s (8-2) set up another 3-pointer, this one from the hands of Lucious Jones from straight away with 49 seconds left, capping off a stunning 12-2 St. Anthony run to force overtime.
“You look at it and they get four 3-pointers from great players,” Prep coach Mike Kelly said. “Great players stepped up. Unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce right on our free throws and that’s the game right there. I wish it could have been different, but it wasn’t.”
Jones delivered another 3-pointer in overtime to snap a 60-all tie with 2:08 left and give the Friars a lead they would never relinquish.
A drive to the basket by Davis would cut the deficit to one, but that was as close as the Marauders would get after an ill-timed turnover with five seconds left. A desperation 3-pointer attempt from J.J. Hladik was blocked as the buzzer sounded leaving multiple Prep players in tears after the game.
“That just tells you how much our guys wanted it,” Kelly said about the loss. “It doesn’t sting it flat out is a jackhammer.”
Jones and D’Marcus Owens had four points apiece in the extra session for St. Anthony. Quick added a point in overtime to finish with 17 points and take home Player of the Game honors for the Friars.
“It’s been coming,” Hurley said about Quick’s progression. “We’ve seen it in practice. He really helps us because he can nail shots. If you’re looking to double Elijah or you’re looking to double Derrick (Williams), you’re not guarding on him.”
Jones scored 13 points, nine of them coming in the last half of the fourth quarter or overtime and Carter had 12 points. Williams had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Marauders, Davis was spectacular in his second game back from a concussion. He scored seven points within the game’s first four minutes and added four more in overtime to finish with 23 points. Davis connected on four 3-pointers and also had seven rebounds and four steals.
Ronald Roberts had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Walker added 11 points of his own.
St. Anthony won’t have long to celebrate this victory. On Monday, the Friars will face Westchester (Los Angeles) in the National Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in Springfield, Mass. Westchester is ranked No. 7 in the USA Today Super 25 and the 1 p.m. game will be televised on ESPNU.
St. Peter’s Prep will try to rebound from the gut-wrenching defeat on Tuesday night when they travel to North Bergen.
“We’re just going to let them mourn for a little bit and they deserve to mourn,” Kelly said. “There’s nobody who can go into that locker room and pump them up right now.”
The Marauders' Myles Davis connected on four 3-pointers to finish with 23 points.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Anthony Friars (11-1) | 13 |
15 |
9 |
21 |
9 |
67 |
| St. Peter's Prep Marauders (8-2) | 14 |
16 |
12 |
16 |
6 |
64 |
| St. Anthony | St. Peter's Prep | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| St. Anthony: Williams 10 rebounds; Bracey 6 rebounds; Jones 6 rebounds. St. Peter's Prep: Roberts 10 rebounds; Davis 7 rebounds, 4 steals; Walker 4 assists. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||