WELCOME TO THE BC RADIO NETWORK

ORADELL---Bergen Catholic turned up the pressure on Paramus Catholic late in the game, and trimmed a 9 point deficit down to 1 point, but the Crusaders could never fully find a way to pull past the Paladins on Wednesday night in Oradell. Paramus Catholic prevailed (60-57), and snapped BC's 3 game winning streak in the process.

Another slow start to the game saw the Crusaders fall behind 8-0 half way through the 1st quarter, but BC would not only rally back to tie the game, but actually took the lead after the opening quarter.  Both teams would be tied at 23-23 at halftime, but then the Paladins began to pull away from the Crusaders thanks to solid foul shooting and their ability to break the BC full court press.  Facing a 9 point deficit at several points in the final quarter, BC once again mounted a spirited rally thanks to the tremendous play of Chucky Wingate as the offensive and defensive catalyst. BC eventually pulled to within 58-57 with less than 20 seconds in the game and were forced to foul to stop the clock.  PC cooly drained their free throws and withstood several three point attempts from the Crusaders late in the game to preserve the big road victory.

Richie DeLuca and Chucky Wingate each led the way for the Crusaders with 11 points each while Nadi Beciri chipped in 10 points as well.  BC will now wait to find out their fate on Thursday night on where they will be seeded in the Bergen Jamboree.

PC     13     10     17     20     (60)

BC     14       9     12     22     (57)

DL

ORADELL---Rich DeLuca could not get into his normal shooting rhythm all game long, as he connected only on 2 three point attempts against DePaul.  He had been open, his shots looked pure, but they never found the bottom of the net...until his final shot which counted the most.  With his team desperate for a win, and less than 3 seconds left in the game, DeLuca picked up a loose ball, took a shot well behind the 3 point line at the buzzer, and insanity soon followed.  DeLuca's buzzer beater gave the Crusaders an amazing 56-54 victory over previously undefeated DePaul Catholic, and in the process snapped BC's 4 game losing streak.

For yet another game, BC comfortably led throughout the contest, enjoying double digit leads in the second half, only to see turnovers and missed foul shots bring their opponent back into the game.  What once was an 11 point led faded away into a 4th quarter deficit, and left the Crusaders scrambling for a solution.  With a 2 point lead late in the game, DePaul nailed a clutch 3 pointer with only 10 seconds left to take a 54-53 lead, and left Crusader fans dreading the worse.  BC had been down this road too many times before in this young season, and the Scarlet & Gold rarely have found a way to win.

After calling a timeout following DePaul's basket, BC nearly threw the inbounds pass away before PJ Reed was able to gain control.  Reed then attempted to cross mid court, but lost control of the ball, and it looked like DePaul would ice the game off another Crusader turnover.  But at the last second DeLuca picked up the ball and began to dribble towards the rim with less than 5 seconds on the clock.  With a host of defenders darting out at him, DeLuca fired his shot, never fully setting his feet from straight away, and hoped...

As the ball sailed through the net before time expired and the neon lights of the backboard lit up like the Las Vegas strip, DeLuca had taken the 800 pound gorilla off of his back and the ones placed square on his team's shoulders. Finally fate had smiled down on the Crusaders, and the young team's nervousness and frustrations turned into jubilation in the form of a dog pile at center court.  

This game, this shot, this moment will be remembered for a long time in BC basketball history.

DP      6     18      16     14    (54)

BC     12    21      11     12    (56)

DL

ORADELL---When it rains it pours, and right now the Bergen Catholic Crusaders must feel like they're in the middle of a hurricane.  BC lead for seemingly the entire game against a talented Hackensack team, but could not find a way late in the game to put the visiting Comets away. After rallying to force overtime, Hackensack outscored BC 8-3 in OT to earn the hard fought road victory in Oradell, and extended BC's losing streak to 4 games.

The Crusaders were led by the scoring efforts of PJ Reed, who scored a season high 22 points in the loss.  John Tsimis added 12 points, while Rich DeLuca chipped in 11 points.  Turnovers and missed foul shots again proved to doom BC's chances at a win, as the the Crusaders shot 1/5 at the free throw line in overtime and threw away a lot of passes due to Hackensack's swarming defense. BC will not have any time to lick their wounds, as they prepare to host undefeated DePaul Catholic on Thursday night at Hoehl Gymnasium.

HACK      17    10    16    17     8       (68)

BC           20    11    15    14     3       (63)

DL

Bergen Catholic is in the midst of a 3 game losing streak, and returns home for a brief 2-game homestand that will have a big impact on the rest of the season for the Crusaders.  Tonight BC hosts a Hackensack (5-3) team that has dropped their last 2 games of the season, before hosting undefeated DePaul Catholic (8-0) on Thursday night in Hoehl Gymnasium.  

Coach Billy Armstrong's young team has faced a difficult schedule early on in their 2011-2012 campaign, and will look to re-awaken their offense at home.  BC has averaged 55 points in their past 3 loses, and have been plagued by turnovers.  Leading scorer Rich DeLuca is a 3-point specialist, who has connected on 24 three pointers already this season, and is averaging just under 13 points a game.  BC will look to other players to help shoulder the load against a Comet team that has lost twice to Teaneck, and recently lost by 3 points at Don Bosco Prep.

Fans can listen live to the game at 7 pm, and can visit the brand new Athletics page at  www.bergencatholic.org to download the free game notes, roster, schedule, & stats for the BC hoops season.

DL

ORADELL---Bergen Catholic trailed most of the game against a senior-laden Don Bosco Prep squad, but fought throughout and eventually grabbed a slim 1 point lead in the final quarter, but the Crusaders could not find a way to win the game thanks to their terrible foul shooting, and their inability to keep Don Bosco Prep off the offensive glass.  The Ironmen prevailed in the Big North United Division game at Hoehl Gymnasium 67-54.

BC fell behind early in the game, and fought back to trail by only 3 points at the halftime break.  As soon as the third quarter began, Bosco again went on a sustained run that brough their lead back to double digits, and had the offensively-challenged Crusaders looking for a spark.  BC senior Rich DeLuca provided the scoring, connecting on a game-high 17 points that kept the Crusaders in the game and eventually gave BC the lead in the 4th quarter.  But as much as BC's defense was stalling Bosco's offense down at points in the game, BC could never capitalize on their free opportunites at the charity stripe.  The Crusaders attempted 29 foul shots on the night, yet were only successful 10 times in the game, a putrid 35%. Coupled with their inability to keep Bosco off the offensive glass, BC could not find ways to make a big play when it mattered most in the 4th quarter.

Despite the loss, BC fans can take solice in the fact that the undermanned Crusaders went nose-to-nose with one of the best teams in the county, and that if they can make at least 70% of their foul shots they would have been in position to win the game.  It's back to the drawing board for Coach Armstrong's group, and BC will hop on a plane and head down to Orlando following Christmas to compete in a national tournament where they hope to correct the mistakes they made against Bosco.

DBP     23     11     15     18     (67)

BC       18     13     14      9      (54)

ORADELL--Billy Armstrong picked up his first-ever varsity coaching victory in his debut on Friday night at Hoehl Gymnasium, as his team powered past Passaic 77-40 thanks in part to tenacious full court pressure and a deep bench that wore down their opponents in the 2nd half.  The game gave a large crowd a brief look at the style of play that will be indicative of how the Crusaders will play under Armstrong, with high energy and effort being at the heart of the offense and defense.

The young Crusader team came out visibly nervous in the opening minutes of the game, turning the ball over consistently, while Passaic also found ways to break the BC pressure with quick passes that led to several easy layups and gave the Indians an early lead.  But once BC was able to get the butterflies out, the home side settled down and began to effectively generate tremendous full-court pressure, and their offense took advantage off Passaic's mistakes.

Senior Chucky Wingate was the energy player off the bench for the Scarlet & Gold, scoring 9 of his 10 points in the 1st half alone, while playing exceptional help defense, drawing 2 charges that seemed to give BC the momentum in the game. Junior PJ Reed also came off the bench to lead the Crusaders in scoring with 14 points, while seemingly gliding to the rim for easy layups on several occassions.  BC by 17 at halftime, and then saw their lead balloon to over 30 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters thanks to an active defense that was also staunch in the hlaf-court.

The Crusaders will certainly need to improve their ball handling in their upcoming games against Paramus Catholic and Don Bosco Prep, as BC accounted for more than 20 turnovers on the evening, but that was to be expected from a young squad excited on opening night, and operating in a new system based on high tempo.  It was a great start to the Billy Armstrong coaching era, and left fans excited for the near future because of the style of play and the energized efforts displayed by all 15 of the varsity players who saw action on Friday night in Oradell.

PAS     10     12     11     7     (40)

BC      18      21     21    17    (77)   

DL

Congratulations go out to Billy Armstrong '94 on being named the fourth varsity basketball coach in Bergen Catholic history.  Billy was the exceptional point guard on 1994 Crusader team that captured a county and state championship and recently has been the JV head coach and led his team to a county championship and a 21-1 overall record this winter. 

                                                                                                                                             Congrats again to Billy, his wife Lauren, and the rest of the Armstrong family.  Be sure to click the link to the Hoop Dreamz website on our sponsors page in order to have your son or daughter to learn from BC's new head coach this summer on the court. 

                                                                                                                                            DL

I would like to send out my best wishes to Coach Joe Dionisio, after his recent announcement of his resignation as Bergen Catholic's varsity basketball coach due to personal reasons.  Coach Dionisio was a tremendous supporter of the BC Radio Network, helping me to forge a broadcasting partnership with the BC Basketball program the past two seasons.  I am also grateful for his own generosity as a personal sponsor of the BC broadcasts.  His dedication to the Crusader basketball program will always be remembered from his time as team captain and head coach, and I wish him and his family the very best in the future.  Thank you Coach Dionisio. 

                                                                                                                                            DL

ORADELL--After losing to St. Joe's for close to a decade, the Bergen Catholic Crusaders finally managed to find a way to defeat the visiting Green Knights on the basketball court with an impressive 62-45 victory on senior night at Hoel Gymnasium.  The BC win snapped a 14 game win streak that SJR enjoyed over the Crusaders dating back to BC's last win over their Montvale rivals on February 26, 2003.  BC was led by the incredible long-distance shooting of senior Steve Ferreri, who connected on seven three-pointers and paced BC's scoring with 25 points on the evening.  Fellow seniors Phil Ubriaco (12 points), Mark Richards (11 points) and Eric Flanagan (10 points) rounded out the scoring in the BC triumph. 

                                                                                                                           BC ends their home slate of games having played their best basketball of the season, winning 9 of their last 11 games and finishing their regular season with 7 straight victories at home in Oradell.  The Crusaders have one remaining regular season game on the road against Old Tappan on February 24th before playing in a state playoff game at Paramus Catholic on March 1st. 

                                                                                                                 Congratulations to the BC seniors on a great season at home, and best of luck to the entire team as they head on the road for the remainder of the year! 

                                                                                                                           BC       16      15      14      17       62

SJR       9       11       8       17       45

                                                                                                                           DL

ORADELL-- Bergen Catholic showed no signs of a hangover from Monday's win over archrival Don Bosco Prep, and won their second game in as many days by blowing out Passaic 77-54 at Hoel Gymnasium on Tuesday night.  The Crusaders were once again led by the scoring efforts of seniors Mark Richards (16 points) and Eric Flanagan (18 points) and ran out to a big lead early in the first quarter and never looked back.  Flanagan got all of his points from behind the three point line, connecting on 6 three's in the game on only 8 attempts. 

                                                                                                                           BC dominated Passaic thanks in part to their half-court defense that forced the Indians to shot from the perimeter the entire night.  Passaic eventually got a lot of points based on offensive rebounds off missed shots.  BC was sensational in transition, getting several easy buckets and was efficient in their half-court motion offense with crisp passing leading to open jump shots.  The Crusaders swept their two games with Passaic this season after winning the season opener at Passaic back in December (62-39).   

                                                                                                                          The Crusaders will look to close out their home slate this season with a win on senior night against St. Joe's on Thursday night. 

                                                                                                                           BC       22     20     15     20     77

PAS      7      16     14     17     54

                                                                                                                           DL