February 2009 | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

**Photos courtesy Doug Scancarella,

waynesports.com

PATERSON, N.J. – Could this be the year Paterson Catholic finally takes down St. Anthony?

Based upon the Cougars impressive performance in beating Paterson Kennedy 81-64 to win their second straight Passaic County championship Saturday at Wayne Valley High School, it looks like they could beat anyone on a given night.

“I think they can beat a St. Anthony,” Kennedy coach Jim Ring said. “They have the talent that they could get there [to the Tournament of Champions]. They’re very, very good. They’re the best team we’ve played all year. Case closed. No one’s even a close second.”

PATERSON, N.J. – Here at the Passaic County championship game between defending champion Paterson Catholic and No. 2 seed Kennedy. Seton Hall assistant Scott Adubato is on hand. The Pirates are recruiting Fuquan Edwin and Kyle Anderson from PC.

1:25 – It’s over. PC wins its second straight Passaic title, 81-64. Check back for quotes soon.

1:18 – IT’s all over except the Fat Lady. PC leads 81-59. Mack has 23, James 21 and Edwin 20 for the Cougars. Fordham-bound wing Lance Brown has just checked in for PC and promptly hit a 3-pointer from the wing. He had been out with a knee injury.

1:10 – PC is running away with it here at 70-54 midway through the fourth. Mack and James have 21 apiece and Edwin has 18.

1:02 – Myles Mack is on fire. The sophomore point guard just scored seven straight points and 11 of PC’s last 15 as the Cougars now lead 62-46 after three. He scored a bunch of points on transition baskets and one off a steal

**See the SNY video interview with Lance Stephenson here.

If you don’t think Maryland is serious about landing Lance Stephenson, consider this.

The Terps staff plans to watch Stephenson, a McDonald’s All-American, four or five more times this season as Lincoln pursues its record fourth straight PSAL championship and third consecutive New York State Federation crown.

Lincoln opens defense of its PSAL title on Tuesday.

Maryland head coach Gary Williams previously watched the 6-foot-5 Stephenson, ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2009 by Hoop Scoop and No. 9 by Rivals, when he dropped in a career-high 50 points on FDR in the Brooklyn Borough championships.

If you’re hoping to see the first round of the Big East Tournament on March 10, you’ll have to either get a ticket to Madison Square Garden or watch the games online.

The first-round games — which could potentially include a Rutgers-Seton Hall ‘Sopranos’-Style Showdown — won’t be shown on SNY, MSG or ESPNU.

ESPN will televise the last four days of the event, including Saturday night’s championship game.

ESPN owns all the rights to the tournament and a spokesman for The Worldwide Leader said “a combination of factors” is responsible for the games not being televised.

“It is a combination of factors,” Michael Humes said. “The format of the tournament was changed after we reached our agreement with the conference and these four games, and extra Tournament day, are in addition to content beyond what we committed to televise. Also, our main Championship Week networks are packed with other commitments.

ELIZABETH, N.J. — Like most younger siblings, Kevin Boyle idolized his older brother, Neil.

But it wasn’t until Neil passed away last weekend after a two-year battle with cancer that Kevin truly understood the impact his brother, 48, had on so many lives.

Thousands of people, including New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and all the members of the St. Patrick basketball program, attended the funeral on Wednesday to pay their last respects to Neil, a highly respected business agent with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 102.

Read the full story here.

Here are couple of other notes off the game itself:

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