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12/19 - 12:00 AM Boys Basketball Final Linden 61 Patrick School 69
UNION — Patrick School and Linden met Friday in the same gym that hosted the two squads in the Union County Tournament final last March. And just like in the last meeting, the Celtics walked off the court victorious.
Marcus McClary scored 19 points and Jamir Harris had 18 as Patrick School, No. 4 in the NJ.com Preseason Top 20, got out to a big lead and held off a late run from No. 5 Linden en route to a 69-61 victory as both teams opened the season at Kean University.
Rakym Felder had 14 points for Patrick School while Nicholas Richards patrolled the paint and grabbed countless rebounds while also altering and blocking shots.
Patrick School rode a hot start to a seven-point lead after the first quarter and built on that to make it 36-18 at halftime. McClary had 11 of his 19 points in the second quarter, in which Patrick School outscored Linden, 21-10. While the Celtic offense was thriving, its defense made sure the defending Group 4 champion Tigers couldn't fight back. Patrick School held Linden to only three first-half field goals.
Linden's offense struggled in the first half, but still managed to get to the free throw line regularly. Once there, the shooting woes continued — the Tigers missed 11 free throws before halftime.
Otis Livingston and Joshua Carter both had 12 points to lead Linden, while James Julius had 10 points. Coach Phil Colicchio's squad fought back in the second half, playing Patrick School even in the third quarter before a 29-19 run in the fourth period that made it a single-point game.
Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.