An Exciting Game Against New Jersey’s Number Two Team

For the second time this month, the St. Pat’s Celtics were able to withstand a strong effort from Blair Academy and earned a 68-63 victory in Blairstown. The end of the rematch was similar to that of the initial contest, with the Celtics converting every one of their free throws in the final minute. Unlike the first game, however, St. Pat’s played a more well-rounded team game. Led by Paul Williams with 18 points and 4 rebounds and Mawel Solar with 16 points and 5 rebounds, the visitors established an inside presence to counter Blair’s sensational juniors Luol Deng and Charlie Villanueva. Jason Patterson scored 14 points, and Robert Hines, Desmond Sanders, and Assad Shaakir were tough off the bench for the winners. St. Patrick’s had six players with over three rebounds while the Bucs only had three, taking away a large number of second chances from Blair. Deng and Villanueva were not quiet though, registering 21 and 20 points and 13 and 7 rebounds respectively. However, their teammates were not able to match their scoring in the first contest, which ultimately proved to be the difference. Despite a great deal of noise from the crowd, St. Pat’s kept the Bucs at bay in the final minute as Solar drained all four of his foul shots. The closest Blair came was 66-63 after a Villanueva three-pointer with 7.6 seconds remaining. The Celtics never trailed after the first quarter, and used an 11-0 run midway through the second period to push the lead to 33-22. New Jersey’s No. 2 team improves to 12-3 and looks to make a jump in the national rankings, while Blair falls to 11-6. The best hope for Blair is that the close games played now will pay dividends in the postseason.

Return to 2001-2002 Table of Contents

return to top