Eagles Dig Too Deep A Hole Early Against Nation’s Top Ranked Team
TOMS RIVER, NJ–It was a rough ending to what had been a great ride. Cardinal McCarrick, which endured a rough patch prior to the start of the 2011 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, had its season end in the Non-Public B State Final against the nation’s new number one team, St. Anthony’s of Jersey City. The Eagles, which lost five of 11 games after getting off to a 9-1 start, was unable to overcome another slow start.
McCarrick fell behind 18-7 in the first quarter as starters Marques Townes and Jeremy Cruz drew two quick fouls, and the Friars were not only in the bonus, but the double bonus. On top of that, head coach, Joe Lewis was assessed a technical foul, and the Friars outrebounded the Eagles by a margin of 34-16 in the game. Cardy Mac also committed 17 turnovers in the game while only shooting 29 percent.
The Eagles, which was making their third appearance in the Non-Public B State Final for the third time in the last nine years, and playing St. Anthony’s in the state championship for the first time since 1980, had no players score in double figures while the Friars had three score in double digits. Paterson Catholic transfer, and junior forward, Kyle Anderson, pumped in 22 points while Jerome Frink added 14 and Lucious Jones chipped in with 10 points. Anderson also grabbed five rebounds to earn team MVP honors while Ahmid Williams led McCarrick with 9 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.
While Cardinal McCarrick needed St. Anthony’s to come out overconfident after its decisive victory over arch rival St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth in the Non-Public B North Championship Game, or the Game of the Year several days earlier at the Rutgers Athletic Center, the Eagles needed to start off strong, which was something it hadn’t done throughout the entire state tournament. The Eagles trailed at the half, and late into the third quarter in the opening round of the Non-Public B South tourney against Holy Cross of Delran, fell behind 10-1 in the first quarter against Trenton Catholic in the semifinals, and trailed 13-7 early in the second period against Gloucester Catholic.
The Eagles also needed to shoot well from the perimeter. However, with St. Anthony’s solid defense, especially on the perimeter, long range shooters such as Charlie Gorman and Cruz were unable to get going. St. Anthony’s outscored McCarrick by a margin of 21-9 from beyond the arc. Rebounding was also another key as the Eagles were unable to keep the Friars off the boards, and were outrebounded by over a 2 to 1 margin. With all these things working against the Eagles, beating St. Anthony’s was too tall of an order.
With all of that said, there is a lot to be proud of if you’re a McCarrick fan. Despite losing one of your top scorers from last year in Dana Raysor, who transferred back to St. Patrick’s, the Eagles were able to reach the Final Four of this year’s GMCT. True, the Eagles didn’t win a divisional crown as projected by many including myself earlier in the season, but many didn’t expect the Eagles to knock off defending Tournament of Champions winner, Trenton Catholic. Known a lot more for a high octane offense, many forgot that the Eagles could play defense. However, besides limiting St. Joseph’s to only 47 points in the GMCT Semifinals, McCarrick yielded an average of only 45 points per game in the Non-Public B South tourney.
Then, there is always next year. The Eagles are losing Gorman, Cruz, Mike Lewis, and John Appiah, but still have a great deal returning including Williams, Townes, Jumanne McDaniel, Will Thomas, Mohammed Alli, Robert Nunez, and Alonzo Hamilton. McCarrick should be right back up there at the top of the heap in the GMC as well as contend for the Non-Public B South title.