St. Patricks trims St. Benedicts

#1 St. Patrick's edged St. Benedict's 63 - 59 tonight in double overtime before a large crowd at the RexPlex in Elizabeth. The contest was close throughout. Sloppy in the first half, St. Pat's up 23 - 17 at intermission, but intense all the way through. In the second half the quality of play started to catch up to the intensity, ultimately creating the classic it was. 6'6" St. Benedict's Jr. Eric Hazard buried a trey with :34 seconds left to force overtime. 6'3" St. Benedict's Jr. Art Bowers buried a runner with 4 seconds left to tie the game at 54 and create a second overtime. St. Pat's went up 6 in the second extra session and held on.

6'8" Siena bound Sr. Paul Williams led the winners with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Paul scored 5 in the second overtime. 6'5" Sr. Mawel Soler had a real solid floor game with 12 points and 6 assists. 6'10" Jr. Grant Billmeier contributed 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Art Bowers paced Benedict's with 14 points, 6'8" So. Stanley Branch just missed a double/double with 9 points and 9 boards. 6'0" Jr. Bashir Mason scored 8 points, dished 10 assists, and had 4 steals.

St. Pat's improves to 13 - 3, while St. Benedict's falls to 12 - 6.

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