LONG BRANCH – Although it had been a while since they were in a tight game in the fourth quarter against a Shore Conference opponent, it was not hard for the Christian Brothers Academy basketball players to draw on their experience in a close game because it was a shocking, last-second loss in the Shore Conference Tournament that has been ingrained in their minds for a little more than a year now.

Sunday against No. 7 Neptune, the No. 2 Colts exorcised some SCT demons by holding off a late rally by the Scarlet Fliers to secure a 50-47 quarterfinal win and a spot in the SCT semifinals for the first time since winning the tournament in 2010.

CBA sophomore Pat Andree (41) battles Neptune's Oshane Curate for the ball during CBA's hard-fought win over Neptune Sunday. (Photo by Bill Normile)
CBA sophomore Pat Andree (41) battles Neptune's Oshane Curate for the ball during CBA's hard-fought win over Neptune Sunday. (Photo by Bill Normile)
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“Even though we haven’t been in a lot of close games, games like this are what we’ve been working for and preparing for,” CBA senior Chima Ekekeugbor said. “When we were in the huddle, (junior) Jack Laffey was telling us, ‘This is why we do all that work in practice. We want to play in the clutch moments.’”

Two of CBA’s last three SCT losses were heartbreakers, most recently a loss to 24-seeded Matawan at the buzzer on the Colts home floor in last year’s round of 16. The Colts lost a lopsided game at Lakewood in the 2012 round of 16, preceded by a loss to No. 8 Point Beach in the quarterfinals as a No. 1 seed in 2011.

The loss to Matawan last year has been weighing on the minds of each returning varsity player throughout the offseason and even during a dominant 2013-14 season within the conference. CBA had not won any game by fewer than 11 points while going unbeaten against the conference this season, and of its four losses (all out of conference), only one was decided by fewer than 12 points. CBA lost to West Orange, 46-45, on a last-second shot at a showcase prior to Christmas.

“We may not have many close games to learn from, but we were all here for the Matawan game last year and honestly, that’s the game that was on our minds every day of the offseason and in the preseason,” CBA sophomore Pat Andree said. “That still sticks with us and this whole year has been dedicated to making sure we don’t get outworked, and we don’t leave anything on the court.”

Despite the lack of close games to draw from this season and dealing with some anxious moments on Sunday, CBA exercised enough composure to keep Neptune at bay each time the Fliers drew close. Although Neptune came within a basket of CBA on two occasions late in the fourth quarter, the Colts led from the opening possession and never so much as let Neptune tie the game.

CBA led Neptune by as many as 12 in the second half and nine in the fourth quarter. The Colts led 45-37 with less than four minutes to play when Neptune intensified its full-court pressure and battled to within 45-43.

Neptune senior Shakeem Richardson stole the ball and drove for a potential game-tying score, but as CBA junior Jack Laffey stepped in to take the charge, Richardson was called for an offensive foul as he dumped off a pass underneath.

Neptune had only one more possession with a chance to tie the game and it came on the last possession of the game. After Cameron Calderon came up with a critical steal with 13 seconds left, senior Myles Mooney missed a 3-pointer from the left wing, but the ball went out of bounds off of CBA to give Neptune one last chance with 3.6 seconds left.

Mooney again got the ball in a similar position and once again, his attempt came up short, this time as he was fading away from the basket.

“I was very pleased with the effort our kids gave,” Neptune coach Ken O’Donnell said. “We were giving up a lot of size and when you play a team that’s bigger than you and can shoot the three like CBA can, it’s never an easy thing. I thought we did a decent job staying with our assignments when we were in our zone and when we put the press on, our kids worked their tails off.”

Neptune’s full-court press forced eight CBA turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, but the Colts broke the press for two critical scores following the charge call on Richardson. On each play, Ekekeugbor found Andree for a lay-up, the first of which was a three-point play that put CBA ahead, 48-43. Mooney hit a jumper to cut the CBA lead back to 48-45, but Andree again got behind the defense and scored off a pass ahead from Ekekeugbor.

 

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“We face pressure every day in practice and there’s nothing we haven’t seen during the regular season,” Andree said. “Neptune is definitely one of the most athletic teams we’ve played and that makes their pressure tough, but it’s the same game and we’re still attacking it like we attack any other pressure. When we executed, we were able to handle it.”

Andree finished with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, while Ekekeugbor had seven points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Senior Evan Gordinier also scored 10 points off the bench for the Colts.

 

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Mooney and Richardson combined to score 39 of Neptune’s 47 points, with no other Scarlet Flier tallying more than two. Mooney led Neptune with 20 points and Richardson added 19, including four 3-pointers, to go with five assists and five steals.

 

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CBA will play No. 3 Lakewood, 44-28 winners over host Long Branch, in Wednesday’s semifinal at Brick Memorial. The Colts are looking to reach the SCT final for the first time since winning the 2010 tournament and will have to overcome the defending champion to do so.

“Last year was disappointing and getting back to the top of the Shore Conference is one of our main goals this year,” Ekekeugbor said. “It’s good to know we are bringing CBA back this year and now we just want to keep it going.”

 

Box Score

CBA 50, Neptune 47

1

2

3

4

F

Neptune (13-8)

9

7

16

15

47

CBA (16-4)

16

8

15

11

50

 

Neptune (47): Cameron Calderon 0 1-2 1, Shakeem Richardson 5 5-6 19, Marque Ellington 1 0-0 2, Kerry Kirkwood 0 0-0 0, Myles Mooney 8 2-4 20, Diondre Dunn 0 1-2 1, Sean McMillan 1 0-0 2, Lamar Ford 0 0-0 0, Oshane Curate 0 2-2 2. Totals: 15 11-16 47

Three-pointers: Richardson 4, Mooney 2

CBA (50): Rob Kennedy 1 0-2 2, Louie Pillari 2 1-2 6, Pat Andree 7 5-6 21, Chima Ekekeugbor 2 3-4 7, Jack Laffey 1 0-0 2, Evan Gordinier 2 4-4 10, Shaun Belbey 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 13-18 50

Three-pointers: Pillari, Andree 2, Gordinier 2

Fouled Out: Kennedy

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