Pascack Hills, St. Joseph winners at Bergen Jamboree by Greg Mattura of The Record
ALLENDALE – Every point was precious, and Pascack Hills’ Nick Guillemain treated each shot with great care each time he stepped to the foul line.
The Cowboys squeezed out a 39-33 victory over Ramapo in Saturday’s Round of 16 of the Bergen County Jamboree boys basketball tournament, and critical to their survival was Guillemain making all 10 of his free throws.
The All-Bergen senior guard stayed focused and sank his last two free throws – and finished with a game-high 19 points – with six seconds left, even as his Cowboys’ student section was screaming in celebration over the not-yet-secure victory at Northern Highlands.
“They were just getting happy, and it was a crazy environment,” Guillemain said.
The on-court environment was methodical and physical as 11th-seeded Ramapo sought to slow the pace against No. 6 Pascack Hills. Defense dominated, with Pascack Hills held to 31 percent shooting from the field (11-for-35), and Ramapo shooting just 30 percent (10-for-33).
“Ramapo is probably one of the best defensive teams we’ve played,” Guillemain said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but they really shut us down.”
Guillemain was difficult to shut down. He scored all nine of Pascack Hills’ first-quarter points to keep the score tied after eight minutes. Senior Michael Murphy picked up the slack in the second quarter by scoring seven of his 15 points to provide Pascack Hills (15-2) with a 20-19 halftime lead.
Pascack Hills, tied at 24 after three quarters, created a little breathing room early in the fourth with an 8-1 run for a 32-25 lead. Senior Jason Shill hit a three-pointer, Guillemain hit a runner in the lane, and Murphy drove baseline and converted a tough-angle banker.
Ramapo (9-10) kept battling. The Green Raiders came as close as 35-33, on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard KC Hunt (team-high 11 points). Guillemain answered by making two free throws with 19 seconds left to boost the lead to 37-33.
“Once I hit the first few free throws,” said Guillemain, who earned early trips to the line with strong drives to the basket, “you know you kind of get in a rhythm, and then from there I just hit the rest of them.”
“We got away with it there,” Pascack Hills coach Kevin Kirkby said. “We didn’t play very well. “[Ramapo] kind of turned it into a slowdown, smash-mouth type of basketball game. They were very physical with us. We like to try and score in the 60s.”
ST. JOSEPH 63, NORTHERN HIGHLANDS 40: Defending champion St. Joseph had to go long stretches without All-North Jersey senior guard Chauncey Hawkins, saddled with foul trouble, and managed without him.
Green Knights senior forward Joseph Radi scored a game-high 21 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the third to boost the lead to 38-25. Senior forward Isaac Hippolyte scored 10, including a trey in the third. With Hawkins on the bench with three fouls, senior guard Isiah Charles hit a trey just before the halftime buzzer to provide No. 3 St. Joseph (17-3) with a 28-21 lead.
“I’m proud of the way our kids played without Chauncey,” St. Joseph coach Mike Doherty said. “It certainly is something we believe they can do, and it’s something that we prefer not to do.”
Junior guard Ryan Starr gave No. 14 Northern Highlands (8-9) something to cheer about, scoring 16 points, including seven in the first quarter to keep the hosts within 16-13.