St. Joseph’s senior guard, Josh Ingram follows through on a three point attempt in the first half against Union Catholic in the 2023 Non-Public A South Championship at Lenape High School on Wednesday night. Ingram was limited to just 12 points as the Falcons lost 86-72.
Falcons Fall to Vikings in Non-Public A South Championship
MEDFORD, NJ – For the first time in five seasons, the St. Joseph’s Falcons were playing for the Non-Public A South Championship. And, after defeating defending sectional champion, Rutgers Prep twice during the season including the semifinals on Monday night, and taking on a Union Catholic team that it had defeated earlier in the season, the odds appeared in the Falcons favor for their first sectional title since 2014.
However, Union Catholic entered Wednesday night’s sectional championship at Lenape High School playing on a different level. The Vikings had just knocked off top seeded Camden Catholic in the other sectional semifinal on Monday night, and had won 11 of 12 since that last meeting with St. Joseph’s at Kean University on January 28th. The only loss was to NJ.com’s top ranked team in the state in Union County and Non-Public B North champion, Roselle Catholic in the UCT semifinals on Valentine’s Day.
The massive wave of momentum that head coach, Dr. Jim Reagan Jr., and his UC Vikings were riding proved to be too much for the Falcons. Led by the guard trio of Chimeziri Okeoma, AJ Altobelli, and Keyshawn Winchester, and bolstered by the play of big men Yaw Ansong and FK Muntari as well as reserves Raheem Williams and Terrance Wood, Union Catholic defeated St. Joseph’s, 86-72 to win its first sectional championship in 36 years.
Okeoma, a Plainfield native, poured in a game high 26 points on 9 total field goals including two threes, and 6 of 7 from the line. The senior guard, who was one of five different Union Catholic players to score in double figures, also handed out 8 assists and swiped 3 steals. Altobelli added 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Ansong chipped in with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist.
Muntari and Wood both contributed with 11 points and 5 rebounds while Williams (7 points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal) and Winchester (4 points and a steal) rounded out the scoring for the winners. Leading the way in defeat for St. Joseph’s was junior guard Jeremy Clayville, who scored a team high 18 points in just his second game back from an injury that had sidelined him for a little over a month.
Junior guard Jeremy DeCaro displayed his usual gritty competitiveness coupled with a solid offensive effort of 13 points. Senior Josh Ingram and junior Dave Caruso each added 12 points as the Falcons had four different players score in double figures. Anthony Williams (8 points), Dante Regan (4 points), Owen Griffin (3 points), and Dan Bellavia (2 points) rounded out the scoring for St. Joseph’s.
Both teams combined for 16 three pointers with the Falcons getting the lion’s share. St. Joe’s outscored Union Catholic by a margin of 33-15 from long distance, which helped the Falcons stay within striking distance for much of the first half, and put together a desperate rally late in the contest. However, the Vikings enjoyed a decisive 54-30 advantage in points scored from within the arc, and a 17-9 edge in point from the foul line.
Union Catholic sank 17 of its 21 free throw attempts for 81 percent while St. Joseph’s was just 9 of 11 for 82 percent. The Vikings as a team also collected 23 rebounds, 15 assists, 7 steals, and 2 blocks. The Falcons had 8 different players score in the contest while Union Catholic had 7. UC outscored Joes in each of the first three periods as it built up a 63-41 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Vikings scored at least 23 points in three of the four quarters.
St. Joseph’s outscored Union Catholic by a margin of 31-23 in the fourth as the Falcons scored 43 percent of its points in the final frame. Much of that came during a dramatic late game rally when the Falcons trimmed a 23 point fourth quarter deficit to just 11 at 79-68 with under a minute and a half to play. Clayville and DeCaro capped the 18-6 spurt with back to back three point plays. The Falcons then had a chance to get within single digits.
Unfortunately, the Falcons three point attempt fell short, and then Bellavia was ejected from the game for a flagrant foul at the 1:14 mark. Union Catholic’s Okeoma then sank 3 of 4 from the line to effectively put the game away. The Vikings got off to a fast start in the contest. After both teams went back and forth a bit for a 7-7 tie, Union Catholic took the lead for good with a decisive 12-0 tear that included 6 points on a finger roll, dunk, and layup by Ansong, a driving layup by Altobelli, and a baseline jumper from Okeoma for a 19-7 lead.
Okeoma then added a three pointer for a 17-3 outburst, and a 24-10 advantage at the 54 second mark of the opening quarter. Clayville struck for a three to close out the Falcons first quarter scoring and then DeCaro knocked down a pair of triples, that highlighted an 11-6 rally that put the Falcons within single digits at 30-21. The Vikings responded with a putback and a layup from Wood to go back up by a baker’s dozen at 34-21 with two minutes to play.
St. Joseph’s managed to get back within 9 points again at 34-25, but Okeoma splashed two threes including one to beat the second quarter buzzer to put Union Catholic up 40-26 at the intermission. The Vikings continued its onslaught in the third with a 23-13 surge that included a layin, two handed dunk, and layup by Ansong, a driving layup from the left side from Altobelli, and capped by a trey from the left wing by Williams for its largest lead of the game with 15 seconds remaining in the stanza.
After Joes ended the third with a score to trim the deficit to 22 entering the fourth and final period, the Falcons began to apply some full court pressure, and make the tempo more chaotic. Meanwhile, Union Catholic took its foot off the gas a bit, and St. Joseph’s began to get back into the game. DeCaro netted his final three of the contest off an inbounds pass by Caruso to Williams, who touched passed to his right to DeCaro in the corner for the open shot.
The Vikings, which got two more scores including an and one from Wood and a reverse layup by Winchester before DeCaro’s three, then brought the house down when Okeoma lobbed to Ansong for a two handed alleyoop jam and a 73-50 lead. Clayville then struck for a triple to spark the late rally at the 3:44 mark of the fourth. Clayville and Bellavia also highlighted St. Joe’s final charge with drives into the paint for scores. Unfortunately, the rally came too little, too late as Union Catholic won its first sectional crown since 1987.
With the victory, Union Catholic improved to 20-9 overall, and advanced to the Non-Public A State Championship at Rutgers University on Friday night, March 3rd at 5:00 PM against St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City. The third seeded Marauders, which defeated the Vikings, 62-45 in the SFIC Festival at Kean University’s Harwood Arena back on January 7th, rallied in the second half to defeat fifth seeded Bergen Catholic to win the Non-Public A North Championship, 56-55 on Wednesday night at Franklin High School.
Finally, St. Joseph’s closed out its season at 18-11. The Falcons had some ups and downs during the course of the season, overcame injuries, and played a very tough non-conference schedule in addition to the formidable schedule of the GMC Red, which included GMC Hoops Top Ten teams, St. Thomas Aquinas, Colonia, South Brunswick, Piscataway, and Old Bridge. The Falcons put together a great run in the state tournament that included upset wins over 3rd seeded Immaculata and defending champion, Rutgers Prep.