By Jim Hintelmann
RED BANK – Although the season ended in a tough 67-63 double overtime setback to Bishop Eustace in the NJSIAA Non-Public South A quarterfinals, Red Bank Catholic assistant boys basketball coach Joe Nappo was still pleased with the season.
“The kids overcame a lot of adversity,” Nappo said. “They never gave up and we are looking forward to next season.”
Nappo took over the head-coaching job in January after new coach Jim Catalano became ill and had to miss the rest of the season. He is recovering and was present at Friday’s game. He should be returning next season.
The game on Friday, March 7, was a thriller during which RBC rallied from a 45-35 deficit with 3:30 remaining to tie the game at 47 on a 30-foot 3-pointer by sophomore Eddie Hahn with 40 seconds left.
The winning basket came with 35 seconds left in the second overtime when the Crusaders’ Isaiah Wingfield dropped in a trey from the right corner to give Bishop Eustace of Pennsauken a 64-63 lead.
Following a missed RBC shot, free throws by Brandon Cazan and Flo DaSilva clinched it. DaSilva, a 5-foot-11 point guard, was almost unstoppable with a 30-point effort and a solid floor game.
“We were concerned about his quickness,” Nappo said. “He really took over the game. Eustace also shot better from the outside then we expected and hurt us with free throws in the overtimes.”
RBC led most of the first half and had a 29-25 advantage at halftime, but the Crusaders rallied in the third quarter when RBC’s shooting went cold.
“They went into a trap and put a lot of pressure on us,” said Hahn, who led RBC with 18 points, including four 3-pointers.
RBC began its comeback in the fourth quarter when Hahn buried a pair of treys and Quenton Nelson added two foul shots to close the gap to 45-44 with a minute left. Nelson added 15 points for the Caseys.
Connor McLaughlin made two free throws for the Crusaders but Hahn followed with his long 3-pointer to tie the game.
A 3-pointer by Evan Madigan (11 points) in the first overtime put RBC in front, 55-53 with 1:10 remaining, but Cazan tied the game once more with two free throws and sent the game into the second overtime during which the Crusaders finally prevailed.
RBC still finished a fine season with a 19-6 record, its most wins since 2000.
The team will lose Nelson, its leading scorer and rebounder, who will be playing football at Notre Dame this fall but the other four starters will return for the 2014-15 campaign.
