Camden Catholic holds off Bishop Eustace

The field house at Bishop Eustace Prep had all but cleared out, and Eustace head coach Bob Falconiero stood near the emblem at center court with a look that betrayed his disappointment.

"We're really not looking for moral victories," Falconiero said. "We're looking for victories."

Eustace, ranked No. 5 in the Daily News South Jersey Top 10, couldn't hold on to a six-point third-quarter lead as No. 2 Camden Catholic beat the Crusaders, 53-50, last night in front of a packed house in an Olympic Conference contest. The Irish (10-1) used the patience that comes with five senior starters and 36-20 advantage in rebounds to begin a rough week that includes Eustace (8-2) and No. 9 Paul VI.

Sherad Cadogan scored a season-high 19 points for the Irish, as the teams noted that this game, because both are ranked, heightened the longstanding rivalry between the two Catholic schools located only a mile from each other.

"I just play to my strength," Cadogan said. "Play strong and physical and take it to the hole when I can. I just took the chances that I had.

"I give them a lot of credit. They knew how to play us. We worked hard and they worked hard. They were able to make three's and keep the game tight. That was a great atmosphere tonight."

"I thought it was a hard-played Parochial A basketball game," Catholic coach Jim Crawford said. "We tried some junk in the beginning [of the game], and it worked, but we wanted to go back to our usual game plan. You know, the things we do best, and it worked for us.

"I feel great that this was the third game in a row that we played in front of a capacity crowd. What's really great is to see the old Eustace/Catholic rivalry coming back."

From the outset, the game clearly had more juice to it than normal. Besides being hot in the gym, Eustace senior Pat Vasturia entered needing only two points to become the 12th boys' player in school history to surpass 1,000 points. A full house and two rabid fan bases were treated to an evenly played game.

Catholic held an 8-7 lead after one quarter, but the combination of Will Clements and Sho DaSilva, who entered at the start of the second quarter, gave the Crusaders a boost en route to a 21-17 lead with a little more than 3 minutes left in the half. Clements and DaSilva combined for eight points in the 14-9 run.

Catholic had an answer, and Anthony D'Orazio hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to pull the Irish within 26-24 at the half.

"I though about it before the game, but that was really secondary," said Vasturia, who didn't score his two points until 5:10 remained in the first half. "Before the game, it was really hot during warmups, and I think we had more to think about than those two points.

"This game really showed us what we can do. We know we could have won this game, and we just have to work harder from here on out."

Eustace managed only seven points in the third quarter and watched helplessly as the Irish turned a 33-29 deficit into a 38-33 lead at the end of three quarters, largely because of a renewed push to the basket. The final run was ignited by three fouls shots from Matt McElhatton with 2:57 left in the quarter that pulled the Irish within 33-32.

Eustace battled back in the fourth behind Clements, who scored a team-high 10 points.

Catholic maintained the lead throughout the fourth quarter. Free throws by Cadogan and Gerry Wixted put the Irish up by three with 3.5 seconds to play. Once a final desperation shot fell short, Catholic had its win.

"The old rivalry is back," said Wixted, who had 15 rebounds. "We wanted to play at our pace, and we did. It was a tough environment out there, but we're a tough, experienced team. We're only going to get stronger as the season goes on." *

Send e-mail to radanom@phillynews.com.