It was a special night for St. Joseph, as it continues its drive for a first FCIAC championship in eight years. Read the game story here: Langston leads St. Joseph past Harding
Bolstered by the packed, sold out gymnasium, highlighted by the an overflowing student crowd directing their chants at the arch-rival sitting on the other side of the floor made for an electric atmosphere
There were plenty of heroes, like little-used reserve Matt Marconi, who came in for injured sub— Matt Delmonte —and made two big shots as St. Joseph made its comeback from a 14-point deficit.
But nobody was a bigger hero than sophomore Greg Langston , who’s been great since coming back from the football knee injury that kept him from playing his freshman year.
While Langston has averaged over 15 points per game, this was his breakout. He scored 23 of 26 points in the second half (13 in the fourth quarter) as St. Joseph came back from a 14-point third quarter deficit to win 76-74.
He took two charges down the stretch, the second against Harding’s Johnny Stovall with the game tied at 74 with 34 seconds left. That set up his game-winner, a beautiful reverse, baseline layup past two Harding defenders with 10 seconds left.
“It’ll be the first of many,” senior captain Nick Gerrity said of Langston’s performance.
And so St. Joseph kept pace with Trinity Catholic in what is shaping up to be a tremendous race for first place in the FCIAC. They play the second to last week of the regular season.
Of course, when asked about whether this game would be a springboard, St. Joseph coach Vito Montelli said maybe, “But they’d better not sleep on Stamford, or they’ll in for a surprise.”
Where’s Charlie?
It just didn’t feel like a true Harding-St. Joseph game without Harding coach Charlie Bentley in the house. On Tuesday, Bridgeport Superintendent’s Chief of Staff Bob Henry said, “Nothing’s changed,” in regard to Bentley’s suspension for allegedly slapping a Harding freshman two weeks ago.
While no official news has been forthcoming since, there appears to be signs that Bentley has been absolved of any wrongdoing.
Lesha Powell , the mother of the Harding freshman, Troy Williamson , said on Monday via email that she was disappointed by the outcome of the police investigation into her charges of assault, but didn’t provide any information.
“Mr. Bentley has won again,” she said in a statement. “Where there were no witnesses in the beginning, now there are two. I am very upset at the outcome, but not surprised. Mr. Bentley has a strong support system.”
Powell did not return a phone call seeking further comment. Neither did Bentley. Asked about Bentley’s status after the loss to St. Joseph, interim coach Marvin Gray had no comment. We were left with very little to go on for an official story.
When Bentley was first suspended, there were rumors that he would be out at least two weeks. One estimate placed his suspension until the end of January. As of Wednesday, however, he remains suspended indefinitely.
No timeouts?
Now, I can barely chart the game scoring by myself. So I leave keeping track of timeouts to the professionals. St. Joseph’s book afterward said that Harding played the final 10 seconds and took its final shot with a full timeout in its pocket.
“What were they holding onto it for?” a fan asked. “The next game.”
Yet, Harding coach Marvin Gray said he had none left — and was told he didn’t have one by scorekeepers.
Not that it really mattered. Loquan Mendenhall’s final shot, thought a high-percentage 3-pointer, was as close as it gets to going in.
A scary moment
It was pretty hot and stuffy in St. Joseph’s gym Tuesday night and it almost became dangerously so for at least one woman. Just as St. Joseph took a time out at the height of Harding’s 16-2 run that put them ahead by 14 points, there came frantic calls of “911!” from the stands.
An elderly woman, apparently overcome by the heat of St. Joseph’s sold out gym, had fainted. Everything appeared to be OK. She was smiling while being escorted down from the stands to applause.
St. Joseph’s administrators quickly had students and fans open the windows in the upper reaches of the stands, which helped considerably.
SPB
Hey Sean,
Didn’t go last nite, unfortunately, but a buddy of mine did and said it was pretty exciting. He also said that the St. Joe’s bench, players and coaches, were out of control and it appeared to him that Vito had no control of his bench. What is your thoughts on those comments as I wasn’t there and got that info 2nd hand?
I didn’t notice anything like that. Where was he sitting?
I was at the game, and it was definitely a game that should not have been missed. Jack M., I’m interested in what your friend was saying. I don’t even understand how anyone could tear their attention away from the action on the court?
I was at the game and he did not have control of his bench.
I will have to ask him where he was siting but he mentioned the ass’t coaches were off the bench most of the game and the players on the bench were out of control. Maybe SJ could elaborate since he was there and agreed w/ my comments. AgAin, I was not there so I am just relaying what I was told.
Sean, his friend clearly had his eyes directed at the game and yes, this game was excellent. But what kind of comment is that where how could he just not pay attention tno the game? Come on, this is High School Basketball, its not just the game. There is alot more going on that catches people’s eyes sometimes.
While SJ is having a good streak…..lets all remember where the good basketball in Connecticut is…… Fairfield Connecticut, Alumni Hall…home of the FP Jesuits…… Tavonne Reid is considered the top point guard in the state, getting letters from schools lilke Marquette, Saint Joes and Uconn, UCLA, UNC, Duke, and Memphis to name a few. They have seen him play on the AAU circut and his is by far the most entertaining and most underrated player in the state. Whether it is his behind the back passes, or first rate ball handeling, college coaches such as Roy Williams and Coach K drool over this five star prospect. What happened to SJ’s golden boy Nick Gerrity when they faced off in the summer league….. Gerrity was held to 2 points.
SJ basketball has and always will be on its A game. And it looks to me, Coach Montelli, always has control of his bench.
Tavonne Reid, though an all state caliber PG is no where near elite D1 level…get a clue…FF-Prep is a good team in a very very down SCC…Gerrity gets the edge due to his height and leadership ability (Reid has sat this year due to suspension)
I have to say something about this. I am neither a Prep or SJ fan but I have seen both Tavonne Reid and Nick Gerrity play. I even saw them play against one another and each time they play Tavonne out shines Nick. I think that Tavonne Reid is a very underrated player and even though he is smaller then Nick Gerrity he does things that Nick Gerrity cannot do. Do not get me wrong Nick is a good player but talent wise Tavonne is way ahead of him. Tavonne has heart and he goes at everyone he plays no matter what. He single handedly beat Xavier the other night. The kid got suspened for falling asleep in class give him a break!
I agree with you Tim.
I will have to say that Tavonne Reid is better then Nick Gerrity. tavonne Reid is the most underrated player in the state of Connecticut.
sinlge handedly, Reid beat a good Xaiver team.
They are scheduled to play Hillhouse in the first round, the same hillhouse team that lost to Xaiver twice. Fairfield Prep has nothing to lose so dont be surprised if some Reid magic is in the air next Tuesday night.
In my opinion, these 2 are the best point gaurds in the state, both with their pros and cons. If I had to give the edge to one, it would be Reid. If he was maybe 3 or 4 inches taller he could go anywhere he wanted. His ball handling skills are simply unbelievble. I saw the two teams play over summer in the playoffs where SJ was the 1 seed and Prep the 8. Prep won by 10, mainly due to Rob Harrigan and Gerrity both being held to 2 pts.Reid took over that game. His shot is certainly better than Gerrity’s, he is just unable to make some of the passes Gerrity does because of his lack of size, but nonetheless i’ve still seen him make some crazy passes. Im suprised by the dissapointing season Prep has had so far, but after beating Xavier, maybe they still have a little spark and could give Hillhouse a game on tuesday
I have to go with Reid also but I cannot wait to see them play together in the senior allstar game!!
Tavonne Reid lead prep to a victory over the two time defending chamions Hillhouse with 21 points. He played wonderful. You have to give this kid credit.
Tavonne played outstanding against Hillhouse to give Prep a three point victory. his two clutch free throws with 20 seconds left to put Prep up one was key to their victory.
Point guard of the year
T. Reid
Anyone who things Reid can hold a candle to Gerrity doesn’t have a clue about basketball. Reid is a ball hog whop only passes when he has to. His teammates hate him. Count the number of shots Reid takes he takes 2x or 3x’s more than Gerrity per game.
Reid played AAU on one of our Golden Eagles teams
for 5 games so I can attest no one looked at him then.