GMC Hoops Game Notes–#9 CBA @ #1 St. Joseph’s–Non-Public A South State Tournament Quarerfinals–March 2, 2012

Second Quarter Tear Provides Difference For Falcons

METUCHEN, NJ–In a game that was highly anticipated at St. Joseph’s for the last three weeks, the Falcons put together a huge second quarter to take command against its arch rival and nemesis, CBA in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 Non-Public A South State Tournament at the Bird Cage.

Danny Brix was the catalyst for St. Joe’s with 9 of his 11 first half points in the second quarter as the Falcons broke free of a 4-4 first quarter tie with a 17-3 surge to take a 21-7 lead at the intermission.  CBA trailed by as much as 18 points early in the fourth quarter before putting together an 11-3 run to pull within 37-27.  However, the Colts were unable to get any closer as freshman Karl Towns threw down a one handed jam, and followed that up with a three from the right corner for a 42-27 lead with under three minutes to go.

From there, the Falcons were able to come away with a 47-32 victory to advance to the semifinal round for the fourth time in the last seven years.  St. Joseph’s will take on fourth seeded Bishop Eustace, which was a 66-61 winner over St. Augustine in another quarterfinal down in South Jersey.  The game will be at St. Joe’s at 7:00 PM on Monday night.   The last time these two teams met in the state playoffs was when Jay Williams, Brian Wilson, and Ryan Uszenski defeated the Crusaders for the Falcons last Non-Public A South title in 1999.

Three players scored in double figures for the Falcons.  Brix led the way with 15 points while Quenton DeCosey added 12 points, and Towns chipped in with 11.  Jimbo Long contributed with 8 points including two threes.  Karim Awad rounded out the St. Joe’s scoring with one point.  Kiernan Hughes led CBA with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. DeCosey scored 10 of his points in the second half including a three point play to end the third quarter, and another in the fourth.  Towns scored 9 of his points in the second half.  The freshman phenom also had several blocked shots on defense.  CBA did a solid job of containing DeCosey and Towns, especially in the first half, but only had three field goals over the first two periods, and was actually 3 of 16 shooting from the floor.

The first period couldn’t have been scripted any better for CBA.  Both teams went through a process of feeling the other squad out.  The Colts were deliberate and patient on offense, and that resulted in two layups midway through the period for a 4-2 lead after Brix had opened the scoring in the game with a baseline jumper.  Meanwhile, the Falcons had a tough time getting  into a rhythm offensively.  Long would tie the game with a jumper that ended the first quarter scoring.  The second period saw St. Joe’s take the initiative, and set the tone for the rest of the game.

The Falcons were more aggressive right from the outset of the second as they forced several turnovers, and got transition opportunities including one that resulted in a layup by Brix for an 8-4 lead.  Joes also tried to get DeCosey going right away in the second as the Temple bound senior opened the scoring in the frame.  CBA got within three at 10-7 before the Falcons ended the frame with the last 11 points bookended by threes from Long and Brix.  The three by Brix was a product of great ball movement capped by an extra pass from Towns to Brix.  Towns, who made a couple other nice passes including one for another score, demonstrated how much he has become more disciplined and mature offensively from earlier in the season.

St. Joseph’s opened up a 19 point lead early in the third as Towns knocked in a fadeaway jumper from the right low block, and Long got his only points of the second half with a trey.   The Falcons capped the 6-2 start with two free throws by Towns midway through the period.  CBA would score the next seven points to pull within a dozen, but DeCosey helped quell the Colt uprising with his first points of the second half for a 31-16 lead heading into the fourth period.  The three time GMCT Champions increased their lead back to 18 points with just under six and a half minutes remaining before CBA rallied with an 11-3 tear over a span of 3:11 to get within ten, but couldn’t get closer.

The win marked the second time in the last three years St. Joe’s defeated CBA.  Before losing to the Colts last season, the Falcons defeated their arch rival back in 2010.  St. Joseph’s wound up losing to Camden Catholic in the semifinals that season.  This year, the Falcons will be playing the semifinal round at home for the first time in the Dave Turco era at the school.   Beating CBA is only a first step, but it was still a very important one.  While the Falcons had their struggles in this one, they did what they had to do, and that was to win and advance.  Even more important, St. Joe’s managed to win comfortably without a huge performance from DeCosey. Others stepped in to pick up their teammate. Bishop Eustace will present a formidable challenge on Monday.

Both teams have played a common opponent in East Brunswick this season.  St. Joe’s defeated the Bears twice in hard fought battles during the Red Division regular season while the Crusaders edged EB in the Eustace Showcase back on Feburary 11th in Pennsuaken.  Eustace features Carson Puriefoy, a 1,000 point scorer at the school, who is one of the top players in the Olympic Conference and South Jersey.  The last time Eustace visited Middlesex County was back in 2010 when it defeated Bishop Ahr in the Non-Public A South quarterfinals.  A win for the Falcons, and they will travel to Jackson Liberty High School on Wednesday to play in its first sectional final in 13 years.