CARROLL LEAVES SCORING TO CONBOY, CARLIS

Jan 15, 1983

By TED SILARY, Daily News Sports Writer

  "I just caught myself. I was going to say that every big basket came from Rich or Manny . . . Geez, don't write that down."

  - Mike Brown

  You'll have to excuse Mike Brown for saying something yesterday that made him sound a shade on the dumb side.

  Like everyone else, he was merely dumbfounded after Archbishop Carroll clipped St. Joseph's Prep, 46-41, in Catholic League Southern Division basketball.

  Rich Conboy and Manny Carlis did more than score every big basket. What they did was combine to score all their team's points.

  Conboy , a senior guard, shot 10-for-20 from the field and 4-for-5 for 24 . Carlis, a junior forward-center, shot 9-for-15 and 4-for-6 for 22 . Four other players (including Mark Tassoni, who missed a one-and-one with 17 seconds left to clinch the freak occurrence) combined to shoot 0-for-12 from the floor and 0-for-2 from the line.

  "I didn't realize only two players scored until (assistant) Phil Eisenmann told me after the game," Brown said. "Believe me, that's not by design.

  "We don't kid these guys. They know we're not going to have five scorers. None of the other kids are told not to shoot, but they kind of take it upon themselves (not to look for points) because they realize that scoring's not their main role.

  "We would never want something like this to happen, though . . . I guess we would have been shut out if The Prep had played a triangle-and-two. "

  Instead, The Prep played almost exclusively man-to-man and Conboy , particularly in the second half, could have been charged with child abuse the way he mauled a variety of defenders.

  Conboy missed his first five shots of the half, making him 2-for-11, then went 8-for-9 the rest of the way, almost always taking his man to, or almost to, the basket.

  If the kid keeps this up, he'll ruin his image.

  "I know. People think of me as a jump-shooter," said Conboy , who scored 1,160 on the college boards and ranks in the top five percent of his class. ''But I think I can drive a little bit, too.

  "I'd much rather face man-to-man than zone. I like getting the ball out front and having a chance to do something with it because I feel that point guard is my best position. Until last year, when Coach Brown moved me because we needed scoring help, that was the position I'd always played.

  "My quickness hasn't been what I'd like it to be, but it's getting better. I pulled ligaments in my left ankle after last season and I was in a cast for a while. The ankle bothered me again at the start of this season. "

  It would appear, however, that nothing bothers Rich Conboy like a cold streak. On two occasions yesterday, he talked to himself following missed jumpers from the baseline.

  "Most perimeter shooters have a hard time finding the range every so often," Brown said. "Rich had a very hard time in the first half. Thank God he came around.

  "Rich is really intense. Sometimes, that's as bad as it is good because you make it that much tougher on yourself. Rich is his own worst critic. We've been trying to get him to relax. He's 100 percent better in that area and he still has some way to go. "

  "The cold streak wasn't getting to me that much," Rich said, smiling. "I felt I was taking good shots. They just weren't falling. If you get mad at yourself, you're only hurting the team.

  "What was I doing wrong? I wasn't jumping enough. I wasn't using my legs to help with the work of shooting the shot. I was all arms . . . at least I think that's what was happening. The reason (for cold streaks) changes each time a new one comes along. "

  In case you're wondering, the exploits of Conboy and Carlis (or is that the non-exploits of their teammates?) did not set any kind of national record.

  Nineteen years ago, in Birmingham, Ala., a pumpin' fool named Walter Garrett scored all of West End's points in a 97-54 win over Glenn Vocational.

  Somehow, we seem to think he knew what had happened after the game. Conboy , in contrast, did not.

  "We were? " Rich said, when he was told that he and Carlis were Carroll's only scorers. "That's weird. "

  ELSEWHERE: Brian Leahy poured 35 points as Kenrick overtimed Dougherty, 57-55. Kenrick's Lee Abernathy forced the OT with his only field goal . . . Wood edged Ryan, 49-48, as Sean Givnish (19) converted two one-and-ones in the final 0:21 . . . O'Hara (Mike Doyle 20) used a 25-14 fourth quarter to overtake West, 61-52 . . . Bonner (Rod Blake 20 points, 15 boards) clubbed St. James, 72-50 . . . Eric Ervin had 16 points and 16 rebounds as McDevitt melted Egan, 51-41 . . . La Salle numbed North, 55-45, behind Larry Guess (16) and Craig Conlin (15) . . . Roman (Dallas Comegys 18, Rob Lawton 16) topped Neumann, 82-61.

INTER-AC: Dolph Tokarczyk scored 22 points as Episcopal eased past Chestnut Hill, 67-51 . . . Penn Charter (Andy Vye 28) swamped Haverford School, 75-43 . . . Rick Maccarone (21) led Malvern over Germantown Academy, 52-43.