Don Bosco knocks off defending champ St. Joseph by Greg Mattura of The Record
HACKENSACK — Chris Paul was absolutely perfect, and his Don Bosco teammates were close to perfect.
We’re talking about free throws here, which Paul and the Ironmen rode to 67-57 victory over defending champion St. Joseph in Sunday night’s semifinals of the 61st Bergen County Jamboree boys basketball tournament.
Paul, a senior swingman, was 13-for-13 from the foul line and Don Bosco was 29-for-32 overall — 91 percent — at Fairleigh Dickinson’s Rothman Center to knock off a division rival it lost to here in last year’s final.
“It feels good to get them back,” Paul said after scoring a game-high and season-high 26 points, “because they hit us hard last year for sure.”
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Paul and Don Bosco hit one free throw after another in the fourth quarter to beat St. Joseph for the third time this season. The Ironmen made their last 16 free throws, with Paul making eight, senior guard Charlie Bagin swishing four, and junior swingman Ronald Harper making his last four after opening the quarter with a miss.
“Obviously the foul line is a key part of any game,” said Don Bosco coach Kevin Diverio, whose team returns to FDU for Friday’s 7 p.m. final. “and today for us it was huge.”
“Don Bosco shot great from the foul line, especially in the fourth quarter,” St. Joseph coach Mike Doherty said, “and they didn’t enable us to close the gap.”
For the record, while Paul scored a “Perfect 13” from the line, Bagin (eight points) was 6-for-6, junior forward Marcellus Earlington (15 points) was 4-for-4, Harper (nine points) was 5-for-7 and senior center Manley Dorme 1-for-2.
“It feels good that what we work on in practice, when we were in a game, we affect the game in a major way,” Paul said after his 13 foul shots extended the Ironmen’s winning streak to 13.
Paul, slowed early in the season by a strained muscle in his right leg, was on from the get-go. He scored seven points in the first quarter, capped by a drive that he turned into a three-point play to give Don Bosco (22-1) its first lead, 14-12.
“We’re better when he’s aggressive, and when he asserts his will into the game, we’re a better team,” Diverio said of Paul. “He came out aggressive today, going to the basket, and it paid dividends for us.”
Don Bosco never trailed after Paul’s three-point play. The Ironmen led after the first quarter, 14-12, and led at halftime, 30-26. Paul and Earlington scored 11 points apiece in the first half. They led entering the fourth quarter, 42-41.
St. Joseph (20-5) twice tied the score in the second half but couldn’t take the lead. The Green Knights tied it at 41 late in the third quarter on a three-pointer by senior guard Chauncey Hawkins (team-high 22 points). Early in the fourth, they tied it at 48 on a trey from senior forward Joseph Radi (11 points).
“Unfortunately, for most of the game, [Don Bosco] was able to get those little spurts to get them that breathing room,” Doherty said. “So when we got our runs, it was just to catch them, or get within one possession, so that’s just a little too much to overcome.”
It’s tough to overcome any team that makes its last 16 free throws and shoots 91 percent from the foul line
DON BOSCO 67, ST. JOSEPH 57
St. Joseph 12 – 14 – 15 – 16 — 57
Don Bosco 14 – 16 – 12 – 25 — 67
St. Joseph: Smith Vilbert 3-3-9, Justin Sykes 0-0-0, Steve Foster 2-0-4, Chauncey Hawkins 9-1-22, Isaac Hippolyte 4-3-11, Joseph Radi 3-2-11, Isiah Charles 0-0-0. Totals: 21-9-57.
Don Bosco: Chris Paul 6-13-26, Manley Dorme 2-1-5, Charlie Bagin 1-6-8, Matt Herasme 0-0-0, Marcellus Earlington 5-4-15, Chris Lovisolo 2-0-4, Ronald Harper 2-5-9. Totals: 18-29-67.
Three-point goals: (SJ) Hawkins 3, Radi 3; (DB) Paul, Earlington