Roselle Catholic and St. Patrick’s will meet for a fourth time this season on Saturday afternoon — and one team’s season will come to an end while the other will remain in position to win the Tournament of Champions.
The New Jersey parochial powerhouses are set to face off for the second time in eight days in the New Jersey Non-Public B South semifinals at 4 p.m. at Rahway High School.
Coached by former Rutgers coach Mike Rice, St. Pat’s has won two of the three meetings this season, including last Saturday’s thrilling 58-54 double-overtime victory in the Union County championship game.
Roselle Catholic has won two of the last three Tournament of Champions titles, while St. Pat’s has won five overall.
“Any game in the state tournament is significant, but it is hard to escape the fact that this one has a little extra juice,” St. Pat’s co-coach Chris Chavannes said. “This is a conference rival that we just played in an extremely emotional double-overtime county final. While it is our fourth time playing them, our recent history with them in the states takes this to another level. Even though we have won three of the past four county titles, the program has not won a state sectional title since 2011. RC has beaten us two of the past three years in the states. Also, we did not get a chance to compete last year. Given all that, we have been looking toward this game all season. It was an explicitly discussed goal: to get past RC in the states. Both the team and I have great respect for Roselle Catholic and Coach Boff, but I also have tremendous confidence in my team and staff.”
“Obviously, it’s a big game because we are in a tournament situation,” RC coach Dave Boff told SNY.tv. “But every game now is a win-or-go-home scenario, so this one is no different than the one we won last night and whoever wins [Saturday] will have an equally important game next week.”
The Lions (20-7), who feature Naz Reid, Matt Bullock, Nate Pierre-Louis and Andre Rafus, advanced Thursday with a 69-44 victory over Ranney.
The Celtics, who are led by Bryce Aiken, Jamir Harris, Cyril Langevine and Nick Richards, routed Holy Spirit, 62-30.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, whose 2011 team lost to St. Anthony’s in the North Non-Public B final which was then the unofficial national championship game, will be on hand to support his old team. Kidd-Gilchrist’s season with the Charlotte Hornets is done due to injury.
“Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who will be at the game again on Saturday, was here on Tuesday night and delivered a very compelling speech after the game,” Chavannes said. “He spoke about how despite all of his accomplishments, including an NCAA title [with Kentucky] and being drafted No. 2 overall, the one thing that haunts him the most is that he did not win his final high school game.
“He talked to the team about not taking anything for grant in life and in basketball, and about controlling what you can control, such as defending and rebounding. Later that night, I continued the conversation with Mike about the 2011 game for about an hour. It shows how significant the high school basketball experience is, even for those that go on to the highest level, and even as the years pass. Most importantly, Mike’s presence and speech connects this team to the legacy of St. Pat’s that came before them, and reminds them of the legacy they are trying to pass forward to the future of the program.”
The winner of Saturday’s game will face the Mater Dei-Gill St. Bernard’s winner in the Non Public-B South title game, which is set for Tuesday at Jackson Liberty High School
Bob Hurley and St. Anthony’s, meantime, improved to 26-0 with an 87-20 victory over Eastern Christian and remains the favorite to win the Non-Public North B crown.
In the Non-Public B state title game, St. Anthony’s could face the Roselle Catholic-St. Pat’s winner on March 12 in Toms River. The winner would advance to the TOC.
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