CONFIDENT FREEMANTLE LEADS BERGEN CATHOLIC PAST NO. 9 DON BOSCO IN SECTIONAL SEMIS

The seconds ticked down to the start of the North Jersey, Non-Public A semifinal at Bergen Catholic on Saturday night. The pregame music had stopped and both Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep retreated to their respective benches. The voice of the game's announcer overtook the gym, "The winner of this game will go on to play in the North Jersey, Non-Public A final on Wednesday." Bergen Catholic senior forward Zachary Freemantle turned to senior guard Jayson Earle and said, "It's going to be us." Earle nodded his head and smiled. The two seniors certainly did their part to make that happen and combined for 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead top-seeded Bergen Catholic, No. 4 in the NJ.com Top 20, over fourth-seeded Don Bosco Prep, ranked ninth in the state, 69-52, in the sectional semifinal. "I knew that we were going to win this game," Freemantle said. "We're the better team. I knew that we were going to win after we won last round and they won last round. I knew that were going to win." The victory was a complete team effort for Bergen Catholic. Four players finished scoring figures. Junior guard Raejon Figures scored a team-high 16 points, while Earle had 15, Freemantle had 12 and senior point guard Doug Edert had 11 points. Bergen Catholic's ball movement was the key to the victory and six different players recorded an assist in the way. "We all play unselfish," Figures said. "We've been playing like this all year. On any night somebody can be the guy for us. We've been proving that. It's just going to keep happening." Don Bosco Prep was without star senior forward Victor Konopka, who was nursing an injury, but did return junior point guard Myles Ruth, who led the team with 14 points. Despite the big piece missing, Don Bosco Prep hung with Bergen Catholic in the first quarter and the two sides entered the break tied 18-18. Things changed quickly in the second quarter. Bergen Catholic pulled ahead 28-22 with a 8-2 run and then went on a 9-2 run to pull ahead 37-26 at the half. From there it never trailed and didn't let Bosco come closer than nine points of its lead in the second half. "It seems like every game we get off to slow starts," Freemantle said. "The games always look close after the first quarter, but we knew that we would get on them. We knew they were going to get tired and we got going." The victory clinched Bergen Catholic's spot in the North Jersey, Non-Public A final, where it will face second-seeded St. Joseph (Mont.), ranked 10th in the state, at 6 p.m. at Franklin on Wednesday night. Bergen Catholic defeated St. Joe's twice this season. It won 63-48 on Jan. 10 and 56-52 on Jan. 31. "We just have to keep doing what we're doing," Figures said. "We have to keep practicing hard and playing hard. Then we'll come out on top."

CONFIDENT FREEMANTLE LEADS BERGEN CATHOLIC PAST NO. 9 DON BOSCO IN SECTIONAL SEMIS

Photo Credit: Steve Hockstein