VERONICA YANKOWSKI Neptune’s Taquan Dean can’t bear to watch the final moments of the Scarlet Fliers’ loss to St. Anthony’s in the Tournament of Champions final at the Continental Airlines Arena on Sunday.
Earlier this season, when the Neptune Scarlet Fliers knocked off top-ranked St. Anthony’s of Jersey City in what was a classic high school basketball game, Taquan Dean and Company sent a message to the rest of the state that they believed this was the season the Shore Conference basketball community has been waiting for.
The Fliers showed St. Anthony’s what everyone in the Shore already knew, that the Neptune boys’ basketball team was a dangerous team, capable of playing with anybody in the country, not just the state. With their win over legendary coach Bob Hurley’s team, they officially marked their place among the short list of contenders battling for the right to take on the perennial Tournament of Champion-favorite Friars.
Entering Sunday’s TOC final, Neptune knew it would need another inspired effort to knock off the nation’s second-ranked team, and prove that their win was not a fluke, but was a sign of things to come. They entered the game brimming with confidence, ready to shock everyone all over again, and provide their fans and themselves with the storybook ending they felt this season was destined for.
But from the opening tip, Hurley’s Friars (29-1) displayed the type of basketball we’ve come to expect from the eight-time TOC champs, and served notice that although Neptune’s season was one of great accomplishments, St. Anthony’s was still the measuring stick against which all other teams have to compare themselves.
In truth, Neptune was never really in the game. St. John’s-bound Elijah Ingram showed why he was one of the nation’s top recruits from the start, displaying the type of passing that have scouts predicting he’ll be NBA-ready after two years at St. John’s. Ingram, who torched Neptune for 18 points, was the catalyst, but not the only weapon. St. Anthony’s used balanced scoring to open up an early lead, and the Scarlet Fliers simply never recovered.
After an 11-2 opening run, Neptune’s Jerome Hubbard hit a three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to six, but Ingram responded with a three of his own, and St. Anthony’s sent an early message to Neptune. There would be no fairy tale ending, just a familiar story line to the TOC final.
The Louisville-bound Dean did his best to keep his team in the game, taking over the point guard duties when the Friars concentrated on shutting down Neptune’s floor leader, Terrance Todd. Dean hit a couple of pull-up jumpers from the top of the key to keep the Fliers close, but another Ingram three at the buzzer gave the Friars a 19-11 lead after one.
Neptune appeared to have a slight size advantage entering the game, but that was wiped out quickly when senior center Robert Layton picked up two quick fouls and was forced to sit out the rest of the first half. His loss was apparent immediately, as St. Anthony’s dominated the boards, holding Neptune to one shot on each possession.
By the half, the lead had ballooned to 13, 37-24, although Neptune’s dynamic junior forward Marcus Alston was beginning to show signs of life. Alston scored three buckets in the second quarter, and was beginning to become more active underneath.
Once the third quarter started, St. Anthony’s got a pair of quick baskets to push the lead to 17, before Alston scored on a tip-in. Ingram then buried another jumper, before fouling Todd on the Fliers’ ensuing possession. Todd went to the foul line at the five-minute mark of the third period, the first time any Neptune player attempted a foul shot in the game.
Neptune managed to trade baskets through the rest of the third quarter, and found themselves down 48-34 after three. But St. Anthony’s refused to let up, and had built a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter, effectively taking the spirit out of a team that had survived on its heart all year long.
When it was over, it was the Friars taking their familiar spot at center court, with another TOC trophy in the air, while the Scarlet Fliers sat dejectedly on the side, coming to grips with a loss that none of them thought would come.
Todd and Alston finished with 10 points each, leading the way for Neptune, while Dean, in the final game of what has been a brilliant career at Neptune, finished with seven.
Their inspiring run at a TOC title came to an end with a loss to one of the most storied programs in the nation, but no Neptune players took solace in that.
"We never were in the game," Todd said.
"Getting this far and not finishing it up — that’s hard," Dean added.
But it was their coach, Ken O’Donnell, who had already put the loss in perspective, recognizing the tremendous challenge they took on in matching up with St. Anthony’s.
"They were just fantastic," he said. "There’s no reason for our team to feel any shame."
When the Neptune players look back on this season, they will have some vivid memories to cherish. They became the first boys’ team in Shore Conference history to reach the TOC finals. They won division, Shore Conference, state sectional and overall state titles. And they knocked off the No. 1 team in the state once, giving them their only loss of the year, and earned the silver medal in the TOC.
Coach O’Donnell was right. There’s no shame in losing to St. Anthony’s. The shame of it all is that this talented team, one of the best to ever come out of the Shore Conference, has officially run out of games to play.