By: Joe Haemmerle '86
JANUARY 24 – CALDWELL, NJ – Saturday afternoon was the finale for the Big Jersey Basketball Showcase, highlighted by the match-up between two of the state's top-three teams. The state's #2-ranked Crusaders faced #3-ranked St. Peter's Prep in the Championship Game at Caldwell College after both teams emerged undefeated from their pool play.
The final 1:15 remaining found the Crusaders down 41-38. That's when junior guard
Alex Mazzella stole the basketball and made a diving save, turning it into a quick assist to
Jaden Brown who laid the ball in for to cut the Marauder lead to 41-40. Then, with 13.1 seconds, Brown hit a 12-foot jumper to give BC the lead 42-41. In the waning seconds, Mazzella found the ball in his hands again, this time inbounding the ball off the endline. He threw a bomb down the court to
Julius Avent, who laid the ball to put BC up three with under 9 seconds to play.
Like many championship games, opportunities arise for those who are prepared and that certainly was the case for BC's
Jahlil Owusu who knocked down eight of his ten points in the second quarter, helping BC to a 22-19 halftime lead.
The Marauders held the Crusaders to a single-digit third, however and grabbed a 6 point advantage 36-30 entering the fourth quarter. Game-high scorer
Jaden Brown scored 5 of his 13 points in the final period, including those two late buckets.
Julius Avent (8 points) including that finishing break-away lay-up and
Alex Mazzella hit a 3-pointer, BC's only bucket beyond the arc in the contest.
With the victory, the Crusaders snap a three-game losing streak to the Marauders in a series that dates back to March 3, 1962 when the Marauders eliminated BC from the state tournament at Lyndhurst HS 79-49. The Crusaders lead the all-time series between the two teams 12-8 (.600). In those 20 games, BC has outscored SPP 1229-1183 or an average score of 61.5-59.2.
| TEAMS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
FINAL |
| #3 SPP (13-3) |
13 |
6 |
17 |
6 |
42 |
| #2 BC (15-2) |
12 |
10 |
8 |
15 |
45 |
