BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Heeding the game plan of its Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, Sr.,
St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) outscored
Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) on points in the paint alone, reaching Saturday's SNY Invitational championship game with a 60-47 victory Friday night before 1,244 at Long Island University's Wellness and Recreation Athletic Center.
Myles Mack made sure to get
the ball down low.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
How dominant were the Friars down low? The No. 2 team in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 produced 50 of their points from close range, getting big performances from 6-foot-8 junior guard
Kyle Anderson (16 points, 10 boards, two blocks) and 6-4 junior forward
Jerome Frink (15 points in 24 minutes off the bench) to survive with an uneven, but balanced and blue-collared effort.
"We knew we were bigger than them inside. Coach Hurley stressed getting the ball inside," Anderson said. "Coach Hurley wanted to get the ball inside to me and Frink."
"We knew our big guys were more active than their big guys," said senior guard
Myles Mack, a Rutgers recruit who poured in 12 points.
Kyle Anderson had a double-double
to lead St. Anthony.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
After scoring the first six points, St. Anthony got uncharacteristically sloppy while West Virginia-bound senior guard
Jabarie Hinds put on a virtuosic performance, getting the Knights to within 19-16 with 4:44 left in the opening half.
Although Hinds finished with a game-high 22 points, no other Mount Vernon player scored more than five points as the Friars owned a 39-22 edge on the boards.
Also contributing to St. Anthony's control of the low post was 6-6 senior guard
Lucious Jones, whose 10 points and 11 boards gave Hurley's squad four double-digit scorers – and a championship-game date with
Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.), which defeated Rice by a 69-53 count thanks strong showings by junior forward
Jeffland Neverson (17 points, 7 rebounds) and seniors
Leroy Fludd (14 points, 10 boards) and
Malik Nichols (14 tallies).
