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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.-- The St. Anthony High Friars of Jersey City tapped destiny on the shoulder Monday night at the Izod Center.

Just nine days after setting a national record for most boys basketball state championships, the Friars, top-ranked in the ESPN HIGH Elite 25 rankings, were back at work in the New Jersey State Tournament of Champions.

Sure the Friars drilled plucky Science Park of Newark 69-36 before 5,383 mainly maroon-clad fans.

But it didn't come easy; at least for one half.

Ask Coach Bob Hurley, who is on ballot for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"We made some adjustments at halftime," he said. "We had a few players out of synch and towards the end of the half we had an ineffective lineup on the floor. In the second half, we added more defensive pressure, threw a few zones at them to force them to shoot from the perimeter."

The Friars stretched a six-point halftime lead (34-26) to 49-31 after three quarters. Science Park, the Group 1 champions, scored eight points in the final 16 minutes, making 3 of 27 shots (11.1%) and misfiring on all 14 3-point field goals.

Hurley's mantra -- defense wins championships-- came to fruition.

With the victory, the 32-0 Friars cemented their spot at the top. They are the ESPN HIGH Elite 25 boys national champions after collecting their 10th TOC championship but first since 2004.

"This validates all the hard work in the weight room and on the court," Hurley said.

St. Anthony, which captured its 25th state title after winning the Non-Public B state championship over Trenton Catholic, 77-44, was never a shoo-in.

It took over the No. 1 spot earlier this month after starting the season at No. 6.

"We had a lot of doubters out there; they said we didn't play all the good teams but won all the games we had to," said Rutgers-bound guard Mike Rosario, who had 21 points and four rebounds in his final high school game.

Science Park Coach Milton Gaylord gave all the Friars could handle in the opening half.

"We held our own for the first half," he said. "We had a breakdown in the second half; I guess that wasn't too unexpected against the No. 1 team in the nation. I know the national rankings are subjective but you'll have no argument from me; they are No. 1."

St. Anthony is synonymous with basketball success and has rolled out legendary squads since Hurley took over in the early 1970s.

Most New Jersey basketball observers feel this team might be in the top-three of all-time St. Anthony clubs.

Here's a look at the two notable teams, both were unbeaten and won national championships:

• 1989. The TOC was created especially to showcase the Friars who were dubbed the "greatest team in state history." The team featured three future NBA players-- Terry Dehere (Seton Hall), Bobby Hurley (Duke) and Rodrick Rhodes (Kentucky and USC) -- who all played prominent roles on their college teams.

Jerry Walker, a bruising 6-7 power forward for Seton Hall, went on to All Big East honors.

Dan Hurley, who now coaches No. 2 St. Benedict's of (Newark), was a sophomore guard and later played at Seton Hall.

"We were well-rounded," Dan Hurley said. "We had an inside game with Jerry (Walker); a great floor leader in Bobby (Hurley) and a tremendous wing shooter (Terry Dehere).

"We were a unique team."

The Friars stopped nationally-ranked Elizabeth 65-62 in the inaugural TOC final. Luther Wright, a 7-2 center, starred for Elizabeth and later played at Seton Hall and briefly played in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.

¡ñ1996. Like so many St. Anthony teams, this version was guard driven. A trio of them, Delvon Arrington (Florida State), Anthony Perry (Georgetown) and Rashon Burno (DePaul) all had successful college careers. Forward Ajmal Basit went onto to play at Massachusetts before transferring to Delaware.

The Friars simply out-hustled teams, squeezing them with a full court, in-your-face man defense which left opponents grasping for air and searching for answers.

In the TOC final, Burno saved the day as St. Anthony edged Shawnee (Medford) 65-57 in overtime. Shawnee was led by 6-10 center Malik Allen (undrafted out of Villanova in 2000) who presently plays for the Dallas Mavericks.

This year's national championship countdown officially began on March 5 when the Friars defeated blood rivals No. 10 St. Patrick of Elizabeth 64-52 before 7,000 at the Rutgers Athletic Center in the Non-Public North B final.

Afterwards Bob Hurley admitted he and the coaching were "relieved," exorcizing the demons.

Three days later the Friars whacked Trenton Catholic for the Non-Public B title and then eliminated Immaculata of Somerville 76-41 in the TOC semifinals. Immaculata was the unexpected Non-Public A champion.

But in New Jersey basketball circles, the winner of the St. Anthony-St. Patrick (clearly the NJSIAA's top two ranked teams) matchup would go on to win the TOC.

History shows St. Anthony dominated the early years of the TOC, winning six of the first nine tournaments. The Friars dominated the mid-1990s, taking home the hardware for three consecutive years (1995-97).

Since the emergence of St. Patrick as a national power and one of few teams to challenge the Friars on an annual basis, the TOC has a different look.

A rivalry was forged.

St. Patrick, led by Al Harrington, a first-round NBA draft pick in 1998, legitimized their elite status in 1998 when it won the first of four TOC titles (the Celtics had won the last two in 2006 and '07).

So the tote board between the Non-Public B rivals is even at 4-4 since 1998 but this clearly was the Friars' year. Ten TOC crowns outdistance the rest combined.

When St. Anthony lost to St. Patrick in last year's Non-Public North B final, it was on a mission.

The seniors did not want the tag "never having won the big one." Translation: during the Bob Hurley Era (36 years) no senior class has went without winning a state championship or a TOC title since its inception.

"This is our accomplishment," Rosario said. "We don't want to be compared to other teams, we're our own team."

One thing is for sure, the Friars' seniors, six of whom signed with Division I programs (three each headed to Atlantic 10 and Big East schools), raised the bar for future teams.

"We beat everyone; I'll run with it," said guard Tyshawn Taylor, who signed with Marquette.

Fordham-bound point guard Jio Fontan: "The most important thing is we bonded. We matured and were able to absorb the criticism."

A.J. Rogers, a 6-6 forward headed to Saint Joseph's, perhaps the most stoic of the six, was direct.

"I never tried to outshine anyone; nobody did that on this team," he said.

Christopher Lawlor has covered high school sports for more than 20 years, most recently with USA TODAY, where he was the head preps writer responsible for national high school rankings in football, baseball and boys and girls basketball. He also for worked for Scholastic Coach magazine, where he ran the Gatorade national player of the year program for nine years. Lawlor, a New Jersey resident, grew up in Rochester, N.Y. and is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University.