Port Richmond Downs Notre Dame at Buc Classic

One of the most respected Christmas tournaments in the Garden State tipped off on Wednesday with the Buc Classic at Red Bank Regional HS. For years, schools from across the state and Northeast have come together for one of the region's premier holiday showcases. Today, GSBR took in the contest between Port Richmond from Staten Island and Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s 6’0” senior guard JP Merluse came out the gate hot, scoring the first 7 Irish points and giving them a 7-2 lead midway through the first. The ND lead was aided by some sloppy ball handling by the Port Richmond guards which gave him easy turnovers and buckets in transition. Merluse added a triple to make it 10-2 with 2:45 to go in the quarter, continuing his hot shooting start to the tournament. The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the quarter but it was the Irish, powered by Merluse with a 14-8 lead. 6'4" forward Xavier Cardona led Port Richmond with half a dozen in the opening quarter.

Merluse kept right on chugging along to start the second, hitting a corner triple to extend the Irish lead to 17-8. Notre Dame went through a cold spell that let Port Richmond claw the lead to under 5 with under a minute to go in the half, but Merluse found another bucket to keep the lead at a comfortable 7 for the Irish going to the lockers at 30-23. Merluse led all scorers with 15 at the break, while Cardona paced the Staten Island side with 11.

The third quarter got started on a Jovanni Lozada layup for Port Richmond and another pair of buckets a minute later for Cardona made it 31-29 and the game was on. The lead would stay at a possession for Notre Dame until the quarter drew to a close, but for every punch that Merluse threw, Cardona had an answer. The two continued their impressive play through the end of the quarter, with Cardona hitting a pair of free throws to tie it at 37-37 after three.

The fourth quarter was a cagey battle with both teams trading possessions and hard fought baskets. The defining moment came when Cardona went coast to coast to give PR a 46-43 lead with 1:00 to play on a nice individual effort.

Coming out of a timeout ND missed a jumper, fouled PR and Nunez hit a pair to put PR up 48-43. After a layup by Merluse, ND called time. On the ensuing inbounds play, Nunez mishandled the inbounds, giving ND the ball back down 48-45 with 7.3 seconds to go. Merluse had a look just before the buzzer but the shot did not fall and Port Richmond held on to win 48-45.

Case Agency Player Of The Game

Xavier Cardona, Port Richmond(NYC)

A Big Apple Player who delivered a Big Apple Performance, the physical 6'4" senior forward got the job done on both ends this afternoon to lead Port Richmond to the semifinals of the Buc Classic. Confident getting to the rim and a smart player who knows how to use his size and physicality to his advantage at both ends. He was patient with the ball in his hands and was able to involve his teammates. Finished with 24 on the afternoon.

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