There was a different oxygen for the two teams entering Bogota Savings Bank Center, on Friday for the Bergen County Jamboree. The St. Mary Gaels were a couple of steps from the peak of the mountain, as they came into this game winners of their last 16 matchups.
Their reward? The number one ranked high school basketball team in the state, the Bergen Catholic Crusaders, who were the reigning champs looking to go back-to-back in the county championships.
The first quarter started off with what the fans knew best. Merrick Olkowski, the 6-foot-7 senior, took the zero off the board for the Gaels as he scored the first basket of the game with an impressive spinning hook shot. After the first made field goal, it would be a scrappy endeavor for both teams who both had to deal with some physicality.
Four-star recruit Julius Avent got the Crusaders out of their stint, hitting a top of the key three with 5:30 to go. Bridgie (Brandon) McMillan contributed to the run with a steal and lay-in. That wasn’t it however, Jaden Brown capped off the Crusaders 9-0 run to force a timeout from St. Mary head coach Brian Gaccione with the score being 9-2.
Merrick Olkowski put St. Mary within six points after spotting up for a right wing three. The Gaels’ offense was struggling as their leading scorer Matthew Kennedy missed from everywhere even from two feet away. Bergen Catholic showed no remorse to end the quarter, going on a 6-0 run.
The second quarter was familiar action as McMillan knocked down a three pointer with 6:12 remaining to boost the score to 24-10 Crusaders. Sean Forbes then feathered in another layup for Bergen Catholic. Lead guard for the Gael’s Jake Ellis scored his first and team’s first points of the quarter getting a tough layup to count with 3:20 to go.
Matt Kennedy of St. Mary also got on the board with a contested mid-range to cut the lead to 32-14. Julius Avent then rose up and brought down the rim with a baseline dunk. Bergen Catholic’s sixth man Jahlil Owusu then tried to one up Avent with his own pair of emphatic dunks to end the half with the score being 44-19 Bergen Catholic lead.
After the break, Kennedy found his stroke knocking down a couple early threes. Bergen Catholic wouldn’t give in however, getting whatever they wanted on both sides of the ball.
In the fourth quarter, the bigs off the bench for Bergen, Owen Wucherpfennig and Kieran Quinn held the lead by collecting all the missed shots and floating in put-back layups. Ilan Santos earned himself more minutes for his future as he contributed to the Gaels with multiple contested layups. Both coaches would let the reserves play it out to end the Bergen County Championship with Bergen Catholic dominating 81-55.
Bergen Catholic now stands alone with the most county championships at 13 total. The Crusaders tasting familiar gold now look to battle in the state playoffs coming up with a record of 25-3. St. Mary sit at 23-4 with no reason to pout as they also head into states as one of the top teams.
