By Joseph Manniello
For Holy Cross men’s basketball players and Queens natives Jave Meade and Kevin Hamilton, 2003 could not have ended on a higher note.
Despite the Crusaders’ 56-54 loss to Manhattan in the opening round of the 73rd annual Holiday Festival Sunday, each had the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of friends and family at Madison Square Garden — a place the Crusaders had not played at since 1986.
Meade, a Queensbridge native, and Hamilton from Queens Village shared some words prior to the holiday festivities.
“We had a couple of discussions before the game,” Hamilton, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard said. “Playing at the Garden … playing in front of our families and all our friends. We were looking forward to it.”
And so was Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, who admitted after Sunday’s loss that he had Meade and Hamilton in mind when HC originally scheduled this tournament during the off-season.
“Oh yeah, anytime you can get the guys back to play in the New York area and certainly Madison Square Garden,” said the former Pittsburgh coach. “It’s something that we want to reward our New York guys with.”
Unlike his backcourt mate, Meade once had the opportunity to run up and down the Garden floor as a standout at Christ the King.
“It felt good,” said the 6-foot-1 Meade, who scored 10 points in 39 minutes and is now just 84 assists shy of moving into first place all-time in the Patriot League after dishing out four against the Jaspers. “I wanted to cherish this moment coming back. I played once before here in high school and it was a different feeling. It felt good, but too bad we couldn’t win.”
The CK product registered no steals Sunday, but his 206 career thefts are a school record, breaking the 204 mark set by Dwight Pernell (1987-90).
“He’s an extension of the coach on the floor,” Willard said of Meade, the lone senior on the team and Patriot League preseason Player of the Year. “He’s such a great kid. He’s really a student of the game.”
Hamilton, who averaged 15.6 points and six assists per game at Archbishop Molloy, said he was “very excited,” when he first heard the good news of playing at MSG over the summer when Willard called him. With the anticipation and dreams finally turning into reality, Hamilton said he came out “a little antsy.”
“It was a great feeling,” he said of stepping on the famed hardwood for the first time. “I actually had to sit down … and soak in the atmosphere a little bit. It’s a great experience.”
The Crusaders used a strong defensive effort to hold the Jaspers to just 34 percent shooting for the game and were able to control the scoreboard for nearly the entire 40 minutes.
But when Hamilton, who had eight points, five rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes, fouled out with just under four minutes remaining, Manhattan was able to pull out a two-point victory, stealing a win from the Crusaders.
“It was a big blow. There’s no question about it,” Willard said when asked what it was like losing Hamilton in the final minutes. “Kevin’s a very good defensive player who has done a great job for us and losing him down the stretch certainly hurt us.”
Reach contributing writer Joseph Maniello by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
