Pats’ win over CBA is historic BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer Freehold Township 65, Christian Brothers Academy 55. Chisel that score in granite. Etch it in your memory. For the first time ever — repeat, ever — a boys basketball team from the Freehold Regional District has beaten perennial state powerhouse CBA. The Colts, who can draw their talent from anywhere in the Shore area and even beyond, have been the evil empire and Darth Vader rolled into one for District teams. It was an automatic two losses, no matter how good teams were, for any District team playing against the Colts in A North. That is no longer the case anymore. Manny Ubilla’s 40 points crushed CBA’s aura of invincibility forever. Notre Dame’s upset of Bill Walton’s unbeatable UCLA Bruins pales in comparison to what this means for the Freehold District. When Brian Golub’s Patriots slayed the mythical dragon that has been the CBA Colts, it wasn’t just about the 2003-04 Patriots — it was about history. It was about laying to rest the demons that had haunted not only Freehold Township, but all of the boys basketball teams from the Freehold Regional District who had gone before them. All of the past, present and future teams shared in the significance of the triumph. This one was for Manalapan and Ed Zucker, who had taken the Colts into double overtime in Lincroft before falling. It was for the Freehold Borough Colonials, who were stopped by CBA in the Shore Conference Tournament. It was for Freehold Township’s own team with Mike Dermer at the point, that had CBA by two with 4 seconds left in the game only to have CBA tie it at the buzzer and win in overtime in Freehold Township. Last year, the Pats took the Colts to overtime before succumbing once again. Those great escapes by the Colts over outstanding Freehold-area teams only served to reinforce the notion that no public school from the area would ever beat CBA in a basketball game. Even on their worst days, the Colts always seemed to have an advantage. If the great area teams that had featured all-state forward Zucker, who went on to a fine career at Rutgers, or that had future NBA player Tim Perry of Freehold Borough couldn’t beat CBA, who could? It was a heavy weight for any team to bear. It turns out Ubilla and the Patriots could. This was no fluke. No lucky bounce nor a case of CBA letting a big lead slip away. The Pats led 16-7 after one period and 27-15 at the half. The Colts were on notice that Township was very serious and that they’d better bring their A game to the second half. Golub was well aware of that. "I told the kids that it was the best half I’d ever seen them play," he said. "Then I reminded them that CBA wasn’t going to go away. They were going to make a run." The Colts did, scoring the first five points of the second half to get back into the game. There was a sense of déjà vu, but Ubilla and Brad Brach responded with huge baskets, and the Colts were in the hole by double figures again. "We answered every run," Golub said. "Our kids needed to step up, and they did." History wasn’t raising its daunting head on this Patriot team. Many District teams before them had gone into the game thinking they had a chance to beat the Colts and tried pushing them to the limit, but just couldn’t get over the hump. This team of Ubilla, Walter and Marcus Roberson, and Brach went out and fin­ished the job. They did not leave any doors open for the Colts to run through. When CBA was reduced to fouling in the hopes of getting back into the game late in the fourth quarter, they could only watch helplessly as Ubilla twisted the dagger, going 13-for-14 from the foul line. There would be no late comeback this time. No grasping victory from the jaws of defeat. The de­termination not to become the first CBA team to lose to Freehold Township wasn’t enough on this night. Freehold Township was the better team. Despite Freehold Township’s domi­nance from the tip-off (a 13-3 run to start the game), Golub was not comfortable un­til the very end. "Even when we were up 14, I was thinking, ‘It’s CBA,’ " he recalled. "I felt secure when there was 1:19 left and we were up 12. I thought, ‘Wow, it’s going to happen.’ " And did it ever. "It was a great feeling, I think I broke Dave Warner’s (the assistant coach) ribs I was so happy," Golub said. "I wish it for every one of my district colleagues. "There were hundreds in the gym go­ing crazy," he added. "It was mayhem. CBA showed class. They took their medicine well, to their credit. Coach Wicelinski congratulated me and all of their players shook our hands." Freehold Township put the bogey to rest once and for all on Jan. 20 when, thanks to Manny Ubilla, the Patriots overcame history to beat CBA. The psychological edge that CBA had once enjoyed is no longer there. The Dis­trict knows it and the Colts know it. They will lose again to an area team, and it’s all because, on a winter night in Freehold Township, the Patriots were able to do what no one before them had ever done — beat CBA.