Seton Hall Prep Takes Title
by Ray Floriani
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – It was unfortunate, but someone had to come out on the short end. Seton Hall Prep and St. Pat’s met in a classic battle at Continental Airlines Arena. At stake was the New Jersey Boys Tournament of Champions title. In the end, Seton hall prevailed 63-60.
The game began with many wondering if it would be a rout like two years ago. In that contest, St. Pat’s controlled from tap to buzzer in totaling dismantling a strong Camden Catholic squad. In Thursday night’s game the Celtics jumped out to a 19-6 first quarter lead. “We rushed things on offense,” Seton Hall coach Bob Farrell said. “That gave them some run offs (transition baskets). Once we ran our offense better, the run offs stopped and we settled down..”
A crucial juncture came in the second quarter. St. Pat’s was enjoying a fifteen-point lead. Seton Hall’s senior center Brandon Costner then hit two three-pointers. Those treys by the 6-9 Costner, who is as comfortable on the perimeter as in the lane, got the lead into single digits. More importantly, it energized the Pirates and increased their confidence. At the half the Pat’s lead was seven, but you could sense the momentum had already began to swing.
At halftime there were no major adjustments for Seton Hall. “Coach (Farrell) just told the team to run our offense as we normally do, be patient,” Prep assistant Marty Berman said. “And box out,” he added. “God they (St. Pat’s) are so big.”
A crucial adjustment was made by Farrell during the first half. A concern was St. Pat’s 6-9 center Derrick Caracter. “A lot of teams used a matchup zone against him (Caracter) earlier in the tournament,” Farrell said. “Once we got in more of a halfcourt game we could see where Caracter set up and how they got the ball to him.” To counteract, Farrell had one of his guards, Chris Andrews, double down on Character when he caught the ball in the low post. Several times the double team stripped Character of the ball. On other occasions it forced him to work for his team-high 23 points. It left the perimeter open but St. Pat’s couldn’t capitalize. “Fish (Corey fisher) has hit the outside shot through the tournament,” St. Pat’s coach Kevin Boyle said. “Tonight he was off (3 of 16 from the floor). If he hits just three three-pointers we could be having a different conversation now.”
Over the course of the final half, fans at the arena were treated to outstanding performances by the two teams’ respective big men. Costner lured Caracter outside with his outside shooting, then at the opportune moment would use his skills to penetrate. Caracter, on the other end, gave Pat’s a strong low post presence, especially on the offensive boards. In the end result, the game that came down to the final minute was decided simply because Seton Hall made plays in the clutch.
“We really haven’t had close games this year,” Boyle said. “We have either won handily or been beaten pretty good ourselves. We are young and not having close games hurt. We didn’t react well at the end.”
Costner led all scorers with a 31-point effort.
“He’s a McDonald’s All-American,” Boyle said. “And he certainly showed why tonight.”
Seton Hall finished the season 30-1 while St. Pat’s wound up 28-5. Seton Hall’s lone loss was a three-point setback to East Hall (Georgia) in the finals of the Red Cross Rotary Roundball Classic.
Game Notes
- Tony Costner’s rooting interests were in two places, East Rutherford and College Station, Texas. Tony is the father of Seton Hall Prep star Brandon Costner. In the early Eighties Tony had an outstanding career at St. Joe’s who happened to be playing Texas A&M in the NIT quarterfinals. “Yes, I’ll be keeping an eye on the scoreboard,” the elder Costner said smiling before the TOC final. “I went down (to St. Joe’s) for the Holy Cross game and I think they can win it tonight.” Costner was a bit disappointed the Hawks did not get an NCAA bid. “The Atlantic Ten was a bit down this year,” he said, “but off their performance last year and finishing runner-up in the (A-10) tournament, I thought that could get them in.” By the end of the night, Tony Costner exited Continental Airlines Arena happy on both counts. Brandon and his Seton Hall teammates captured the TOC and St. Joe’s defeated Texas A&M and will be headed to New York.
- Marcus Toney-El was in attendance and made his way down to courtside to congratulate Bob Farrell after the finals. Toney-El played for Farrell at Seton Hall Prep prior to heading to Seton Hall University, where he was a major part of that celebrated recruiting class that included Andre Barrett and Eddie Griffin.
- Bob Farrell is truly one of the outstanding high school coaches not only in New Jersey, but America. Still, the veteran mentor is willing to listen to input.
“I was out to dinner with Tyrone Barley (who played for Farrell) when he was at St. Joe’s last year. He said jokingly that I probably lost the TOC final in 2000 against Camden. What he meant was we ran them a little hard the day before the game. This time I went easier on running the day before the final. I wanted them to have fresh legs the second half and they did. St. Pat’s might have expected us to fold but we didn’t.” - The crowd was rather sparse at the arena. A late afternoon snow storm in the area made some roads slick and probably accounted for a less-than-expected turn out.
- Savor the moment: Seton Hall Prep fans and players were still gathered in the Arena lobby nearly an hour past the final buzzer. They snapped pictures and exchanged pleasantries. Each Seton Hall player that came up from the escalator leading to the lobby was greeted with thunderous applause. Fans and players of the victorious Pirates were in no hurry to exit the facility. And who could blame them.
