Boys Basketball

January 20, 2010

Prep bounces back, outlasts Bruins

Keith Lumpkin St. Peter's Prep

The Marauders' Keith Lumpkin had 13 rebounds gainst North Bergen.

Click Here for photos from St. Peter's Prep at North Bergen.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

NORTH BERGEN – Less than three minutes away from what would been the greatest win in school history, the last game for St. Peter’s Prep turned into a nightmare as a 10-point lead over St. Anthony ended in a crushing overtime defeat.

Last night in their first game since then, the Marauders once again saw a large lead in peril. Unlike the Dan Finn Classic, this one wouldn’t end in heartbreak as Prep held on for a 75-61 victory over the Bruins in front of a raucous crowd in North Bergen.

“There definitely was that feeling,” guard Myles Davis said about the similarities to Saturday, “But I knew we were playing a team in North Bergen, that no offense to them, isn’t as experienced as St. Anthony. I definitely learned from the experience against St. Anthony.”

Leading by as many as 26 points in the second half, the Marauders (9-2) opened the fourth quarter with an uncharacteristic five turnovers. North Bergen (8-2) took full advantage of the miscues by going on a 10-0 run that cut the lead to just six with five minutes left and must have provided a hunting flashback of three days earlier to Prep.

“(North Bergen’s) capable of putting up a second half like that which was my worst nightmare,” St. Peter’s coach Mike Kelly said. “The toughest enemy in the game is momentum and we had to play against their momentum.”

This night would be different for a Marauder team ranked No. 4 in the state. Against St. Anthony they missed three straight free throws in the final minute of regulation. This time in front of a hostile road environment, Prep calmly made 8-of-9 shots from the charity stripe down the stretch.

Four of those free throws came from Davis, who had 10 points in the game’s final 4:47. The junior standout helped stall the Bruins’ momentum with an old-fashion three-point play to make it 66-55 lead with 3:41

“I knew once I got that and-one we were going to be fine,” Davis said. “I knew I just had to take over and be a leader.”

Any chance at a comeback died a minute later when Ronald Roberts’ three-point play gave Prep a 13-point advantage and caused North Bergen’s Noel Allen to foul out.

Allen had been a one-man wrecking crew for the Bruins before fouling out as the 6-foot-5 senior scored 22 points in the second half, including 11 in a four-minute stretch where the deficit shrunk from 17 points to just six.

“He doesn’t leave the front of the rim,” Kelly said. “And he’s so strong that if you don’t put a body on him early in the possession, he’s going to dominate the possession.”

Matched up against two of the state’s top big men in Roberts and Keith Lumpkin, Allen was dominant, finishing with 31 points and 13 rebounds. Allen, who had scored 93 points over the previous three games, is now averaging more than 23 a game this season.

“He’s stepping up and playing very well,” North Bergen head coach Kevin Bianco said. “We pretty much run everything through him. He’s taking it on his shoulders and trying to carry us.”

Behind Allen, Chris Rodriguez (nine points) and Dany Abrue (eight points), the Bruins responded from a 20-point first half to score 43 points after the intermission.

“We’re not going to roll over, especially here in North Bergen,” Bianco said. “No one’s just going to come in our house and (have us) roll over.”

Missing his usual deadly accuracy from long range, Davis compensated by relentlessly attacking the rim. The strategy paid off to the tune of 27 points and a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line.

“I haven’t been going to the hole as much because my (outside) shot’s been falling,” said Davis, adding that Kelly has wanted him to put a greater emphasis on attacking the basket. “Today my shot wasn’t going down that well. I just knew that I had to get to the basket.”

Davis also had 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Roberts overcame first-half foul trouble to score 16 points, including a few highlight dunks. Keith Lumpkin added six points and 13 rebounds and was one of nine different Marauders to score.

Peter Ramanand North Bergen

North Bergen's Peter Ramanand (1), had four rebounds and three assists.

  1 2 3 4 Total
St. Peter's Prep Marauders (9-2)
19
18
22
16
75
North Bergen Bruins (8-2)
14
6
23
18
61
St. Peter's Prep   North Bergen
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Kevin Walker
0
0
5
5
J.J. Hladik
1
1
0
5
Myles Davis
6
2
9
27
Ronald Roberts
6
0
4
16
Keith Lumpkin
3
0
0
6
Stephon Whyatt
1
0
2
4
Jim Calabrese
2
0
0
4
Chase Fluellen
3
0
0
6
Matt Porter
1
0
0
2
Total
23
3
20
75
 
 
 
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Gio Rodriguez
0
1
0
3
Justin Glennon
2
0
0
4
Chris Rodriguez
4
0
1
9
Dany Abrue
4
0
0
8
Noel Allen
13
0
5
31
Orel Thompson
0
0
0
0
Alejandro Vasquez
0
0
0
0
Peter Ramanand
0
0
2
2
Chris Tavaras
0
0
0
0
Khalied Saled
2
0
0
4
Jonathan McIntosh
0
0
0
0
Total
25
1
8
61
     
North Bergen: Allen 13 rebounds; Saled 9 rebounds; Ramanand 4 rebounds; C. Rodriguez 4 rebounds. St. Peter's Prep: Lumpkin 13 rebounds; Davis 11 rebounds; Fluellen 5 rebounds; Roberts 4 rebounds; Walker 4 rebounds.