For the first time in his 28-year career, St. Rose Boys Basketball Coach Dennis Devaney on Thursday got the best of Christian Brothers Academy with a last-second shot from his senior guard Mark Kukoda, sealing a 47-46 victory.
Kukoda made an off-balance, double-clutch shot from the free-throw line as time expired, lifting the St. Rose boys basketball team to the win at CBA Thursday.
The win is the first for St. Rose over the Colts in the 28-year tenure of head coach Denis Devaney, who went 0-11 against CBA over the last 27 seasons.
Find out what's happening in Manasquan-Belmarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
St. Rose trailed the entire game before Kukoda’s shot dropped in as the final buzzer sounded. CBA led by as many as 16 points in the first half and led 32-17 heading into the second half before the Purple Roses rallied.
"I wanted to get squared toward the basket as much as I could before I let it go and then I was just hoping it would go in," Kukoda said. "It hit the rim first and I was like, 'Oh no,' but then it bounced in, and I started jumping up and down."
Find out what's happening in Manasquan-Belmarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Junior reserve Mike Paterno pulled St. Rose even with CBA at 45 with a three-pointer from the right corner with 13 seconds left, the first time the game was tied since the opening tip. Paterno played only 16 seconds in the game, but his shot kept the Purple Roses alive.
"I've told him (Paterno), he's one of the best shooters I've ever seen," Devaney said. "In practice, he's unbelievable. He'll hit 25 and 27-footers like they're nothing. One time, he hit 16 out of 19 (three-pointers) and they were long threes."
Kukoda finished with 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Kukoda sat out for most of the second quarter with two fouls.
Junior guards Connor Leddy and Jim Rockstedt each scored 11 points and sophomore Dan Borner added nine. Leddy scored eight of his points in the second quarter and also hit a three in the fourth quarter to cut the CBA lead to 44-42 with just under two minutes to play.
St. Rose has defeated two teams from the Shore Conference Class A North in the last three nights, with a 55-52 win over second-place Freehold Township on Tuesday to go with Thursday’s win over third-place CBA.
