Eagles Upset 13th Ranked Team in State on the Road
LINCROFT, NJ–The revival of Cardinal McCarrick basketball went to another level on Friday night. Playing a state ranked team, the Eagles showed that they belong not only in the GMC, but also in the state. McCarrick upset 13th ranked CBA, according to NJ.com, on a layup with two seconds remaining by NyQuan McCombs, 62-61. The Eagles jumped out to a 21-15 first quarter lead, and maintained that lead through the rest of the first half. CBA rallied in the third with a 23-18 showing to pull within one, and the game stayed close through the fourth until McCombs layup won the game for the Eagles.
Cardinal McCarrick netted 8 three pointers in the contest along with 14 field goals and 10 free throws. The Eagles had three different players score in double figures on Friday night including: Gilberto Cue (18 points), McCombs (16 points), and reserve Josh Green, who scored 13 points. Elijah Mitchell added 9 points while big man Santiago Dervishaj chipped in with 6. Mitchell and Dervishaj were also big on the boards with 8 and 6 rebounds respectively. Both teams had 5 different players get into the scorebook. CBA, which only had two players score in double figures, was led by Jack Laffey, who pumped in 30 points while Pat Andre added 14.
The win improved McCarrick to 6-0 overall on the season including three non-conference wins. The Eagles began the season with three straight wins in the GMC to earn team of the week honors from GMC Hoops. McCarrick then followed that up with two wins and a championship over the holidays at the Kearny Kardinal Holiday Tournament in Hudson County. The Eagles will return to GMC action next week with games against Metuchen on January 6th and J.F. Kennedy on January 9th after playing Hoboken Charter on Monday.