St. Anthony’s Romps to Above The Rim Championship

Tournament officials boasted about having three top-20 teams at the Above The Rim Hoopwear Classic not knowing that the championship game would make a mockery of those who predict national high school top 20s.

No. 7 Jersey City St. Anthony’s ran away from No. 2 New York St. Raymond’s, 83-65, in Saturday night’s final at Torrey Pines High School.

It was over in the second quarter when St. Anthony’s went on a 14-point run.

It wasn’t St. Anthony’s offense, however, so much as its defense that keyed the run.

“St. Anthony’s just came out and played great defense,” said Gary De Cesare, St. Raymond’s coach. “They just shut down all the passing lanes.”

Perhaps most impressive was the play of Rodrick Rhodes, who stayed on Orlando Antigua all night. Antigua, it should be noted, was the only guy in the tournament program singled out with a full-page blowout trumpeting him as one of the best high school players in the country.

Rhodes held Antigua to 18 points, his lowest output in the tournament. Further, Rhodes held Antigua to only three points in the second half.

“Antigua is a very fine basketball player,” said Bob Hurley, St. Anthony’s coach. “But Rodrick is a great basketball player and he’s only a junior. Wait to see what he does next year.”

While Rhodes found success on defense, Danny Hurley, the coach’s son, found it on offense. He provided eight points during the second-quarter run and finished with 28 overall.

And seemingly each time St. Raymond’s appeared on the verge of putting its own string of baskets together, Hurley was there to bury a three-pointer.

He did it with two minutes left in the first quarter after St. Raymond’s had dropped in five unanswered points to make it 18-15, St. Anthony’s.

He did it again with three minutes to go in the half to give St. Anthony’s its largest lead of the game, 47-23.

And he did it once again in the third quarter after St. Raymond’s had slowly whittled the margin to 13. Hurley’s three-pointer made it 59-43.

“When (opponents) make a run, he always seems to come up with a jumper that breaks their momentum,” Bob Hurley said.

Hurley said he was genuinely proud of his team, and to prove it he decided to give them a break today.

“I’m so proud of you,” he told his players afterward, “All you’re going to have to do tomorrow is lift.”

Maybe Bob Hurley should do something extra special for the referees, too. They sent St. Anthony’s to the line 12 times during the fateful second quarter while St. Raymond’s aimed only three free throws.

When asked about the disparity, De Cesare said, “No comment.”

Bob Hurley wouldn’t give credit to the referees as much as he did to his own players for drawing all the fouls.

“We have been significantly getting more free throws than our opponents all year,” he said. “And I think that’s because of our relentless play. We’re in great shape and I think we wear our opponents.

In the third-place game:

Miami Senior 96, New York Monsignor McClancy 79--Four Miami players reached double figures. Steve Edwards led the way with 19 points.

In consolation games:

Deep Creek (Va.) 94, Lincoln 77--Both Keaton Hyman and John Nixon scored 20 points for Deep Creek, which had three other players in double figures. Berry Randle led Lincoln with 33 and Hosa Baker added 14.

Camden (N.J.) 114, Valhalla 78--Camden had three players over 20 points: Art Crowder, 23; Vernel Sturdivant, 27; and Greg Barr, 30. Mike Nalu led Valhalla with 34. Teammates Mark Dillon and Cole Deneen each had 15.

Payson (Utah) 84, Las Vegas (Nev.) Bonanza 81 (OT)--Bryan Nielson led Payson with 30 points and teammate Phil Degraffenried added 21 points, making nine of 11 floor shots.