SENIOR LED NO. 10 DON BOSCO PREP DOWNS NO. 9 ST. JOE'S IN BERGEN JAMBOREE SEMIS

The last two seasons there were always two common denominators when it came to Don Bosco Prep basketball. It was going to have a strong senior class and it was going to win championships. In 2016-17 it was Charlie Bagin, Manley Dorme, Chris Lovisolo and Chris Paul that led Bosco to Bergen County Jamboree and Non-Public A championships. Last season, it was Michael Concannon, Marcellus Earlington, Ronald Harper and Matt Herasme leading the way as Bosco repeated as county and state champs. This year, seniors Victor Konopka, Kyle Maurer, Owen McGlashan, Patrick O'Gorman and Devan Sharma are the ones leading the way for the top-seeded Ironmen, ranked No. 10 in the NJ.com Top 20. They did it again Sunday as Don Bosco Prep posted a 51-45 win over fourth-seeded St. Joseph (Mont.), ranked ninth in the state, in the Bergen County Jamboree semifinals at FDU's Rothman Center. Bosco is now in position to win the first tournament championship on its list. Waiting for it in the final will be second-seeded Bergen Catholic, ranked fourth in the state. The finale will be Friday, Feb. 22 at the Rothman Center at 7 p.m. Bosco has beaten Bergen Catholic in the last two finals. "Our whole team is very excited," Konopka, an Army recruit, said. "It's always a great experience playing against Bergen Catholic. We're going to work hard this whole week and be ready to go Friday." All five of Bosco's seniors played big rolls in Sunday's win over St. Joe's. Konopka and Maurer shared game-high honors with 17 points apiece. Konopka also grabbed eight rebounds. McGlashan finished with eight points and eight boards. Five of those rebounds came in the fourth quarter to help Bosco close the door. "Owen is so important to our team," Konopka said. "A lot of people don't give him credit, but he's one of our best defenders. He contains the ball so well. He stays in front of his man. He has such a long wingspan and gets so many rebounds." Sharma did a great job at the point guard position with fellow guard Myles Ruth nursing an injured hand. O'Gorman played key minutes at the guard position coming off the bench, while Maurer was lights out from three. "We know that Myles is a tremendous player and a tremendous part of our team," Maurer said. "He'll be back for us, but me and all the guards have to step up and we know that. Devan has done an incredible job stepping up." This season Bosco found itself in two tight games during regular-season play. The first time around Konopka scored at the buzzer to secure a win and the second time St. Joe's won in overtime. Sunday, it was a little relieving for Don Bosco to have a four-point lead heading into the final minute. "It was nice to be able to not sweat out a last shot," Don Bosco Prep coach Kevin Diverio said. "It did basically go down to the last minute though. I'm just happy for the kids. This means so much to them. They have a lot of pride. They want to continue on." Dyree Rogers led St. Joe's with 14 points, while Danny Lans had 11 points.

SENIOR LED NO. 10 DON BOSCO PREP DOWNS NO. 9 ST. JOE'S IN BERGEN JAMBOREE SEMIS

Photo Credit: Scott Faytok