St. Anthony, St. Benedict's, St. Patrick Win; Lincoln Loses First Game; Echenique Update

Friday was a good day for the Hurley family and Kevin Boyle.

Bob Hurley's St. Anthony Friars routed La Cueva (New Mexico) 84-34 in the T-Mobile Shootout at The Pit at the University of New Mexico. The tournament, televised live on Versus, continues Saturday with St. Anthony playing Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) in the championship.

The Friars (5-0), ranked No. 1 in the ZAGSBLOG Top 10, feature six seniors committed to Division I programs: Mike Rosario (Rutgers), Travon Woodall (Pitt), Tyshawn Taylor(Marquette), Jio Fontan and Alberto Estwick (Fordham) and A.J. Rogers (St. Joseph) and a junior, Dominic Cheek, who is being heavily wooed by Villanova and North Carolina.

Click here for Rosario's ESPN2 interview about his decision to choose Rutgers. Speaking of air time, Hurley says that actors William Hurt, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson have been sent copies of Adrian Wojarnowski's wonderful book "Miracle of St. Anthony" and could potentially play Coach Hurley in the movie.

In Waxhaw, N.C., Danny Hurley, Bob's son, kept his St. Benedict's team undefeated with a 57-43 semifinal win over Derrick Favors and South Atlanta. Louisville-bound PF Samardo Samuels battled an ankle injury sustained Thursday night and finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Greg Echenique, the junior who recently picked up an offer from Duke, was impressive in shooting 7-of-8 from the field for 16 points. Favors picked up two early fouls and finished with 16 points and 11 boards.

St. Ben's, No. 2 in the ZAGSBLOG Top 10, won't meet Lincoln in the final because Lance Stephenson and Co. lost to Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), 57-55. Stephenson finished with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and six turnovers.

St. Ben's and Lincoln will meet in an independent game Jan. 25 in New Jersey in what should be a thriller.

In Houston, St. Patrick, the two-time defending Tournament of Champions winners and the No.3 team in the ZAGSBLOG Top 10, knocked off Madison (Texas), 79-67, in the Houston versus The Nation Showcase behind 22 points from Kansas-bound F Quintrell Thomas. Check out video highlights of the game here. Don't forget to check out Dexter Strickland and St. Pat's Saturday night at 9 on ESPNU.

ECHENIQUE, ST. BEN'S RECRUITING UPDATE

Speaking of Echenique, this seems as good a place as any to provide the latest update on his recruiting.

Danny Hurley says Florida is trying "like hell" to get back in the mix with the 6-9 Venezuelan native.

"College guys make decisions during July a lot of times on kids," he said. "It's like I tell a lot of parents and kids, don't evaulate a kid until junior year of high school. Sometimes kids get on the wrong team in a camp or don't get into a camp. Guys make mistakes in recruiting.

"Florida did that with Gregory and now is scrambling to get back in because they undervalued his ability during July. They've offered and they're scratching like hell to get back in the mix."

Among the schools in the mix for Echenique are Duke, Maryland, Miami, Villanova, Rutgers, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Penn and Memphis, Hurley said.

"He's still open," Hurley said. "He's thinking about a lot of different places right now. He'll know more as the season winds down."

Both Hurley and Rivals recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer also sing the praises of St. Ben's guard Tamir Jackson of Paterson, who dropped 29 on Oak Hill in a recent televised game. We're happy for Jackson, but it looks like he needs to be more consistent instead of hitting for 29 in one game and then 7 the next.

"He's got a lot of people talking about him," Hurley said. "He if concentrates on playing the way he's playing, he's going to play himself into a good situation, and in his case he's showing a lot of people that he's a high-major guard."

As for Tristan Thompson, the super-long, athletic 6-8 sophomore, Hurley said: "He likes everybody, and everybody likes him."