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Trenton Catholic Academy (Hamilton, NJ), 12-27-11
Game 2011-12 #055 Liberty (Bethlehem, PA) 50 Octorara Area (Altgeld,
PA) 37
This game had a pretty sluggish
start, with Octorara leading 4-2 with 3:15 left in the first
quarter. Liberty's players were oddly reluctant to shoot,
repeatedly passing in situations in which they looked to be open.
In the second quarter, Liberty scored on putbacks in two
consecutive possessions and ended the first half on an 8-0 run. I
thought that Octorara was bolstered on both defense and on the
boards in the first half when 6' 7" junior Anthony Dinorscia came
off the bench.
Liberty continued to crash the offensive board in the third
quarter to good effect. A putback by 6' 3" Liberty sophomore
Deshawn Oyeniyi gave his team a 17-16 lead (their first since
2-0). He was fouled on the play and missed his free throw try,
but 6' 7" Liberty junior Greg Noack grabbed the rebound and put it
in the hole, and Liberty was up, 19-16. After an Octorara field
goal, Oyeniyi made a free throw, then he scored inside, as Liberty
began to attack in close, giving the team from Bethlehem a 24-18
lead. As Octorara's interior defense weakened, Liberty surged.
With 1:23 left in the third quarter, a putback by 6' 3" Liberty
junior Joel Torres gave his squad the biggest lead for either team
to that point, 30-23. Interestingly, Octorara had occasionally
trapped in both half court and full court with consistent success,
but they stopped trapping as much as they fell behind. The
outcome might have been different had they dialed up the defensive
pressure more frequently.
Octorara opened the fourth quarter with a baseline drive by 6' 3"
senior Dequan Newton, cutting Liberty's lead to 30-27. After 5'
9" Liberty junior Chevron Williams made a couple of free throws,
Octorara's Charles Cooper, a 5' 11" junior, made a three, cutting
Liberty's lead to 32-30. The teams exchanged a free throw each,
then Liberty's Noack scored on a three point play on a turnaround
jumper, putting his team up, 36-31. After a Noack free throw,
Octorara's Newton made a baseline jumper, Octorara successfully
trapped, and Newton scored on a drive to make it 37-35, Liberty.
That was as close as Octorara got, as a three by Liberty's
Williams and scores inside by his teammates, Noack and Oyeniyi,
sealed the win.
For the winners, Noack had 20 points and eight rebounds, and his
teammates, Williams and Oyeniyi, each netted 10. For Octorara, 6'
3" senior James Brown scored a dozen points, Newton had 11, and
Cooper had 10.
Octorara Area 8 5 12 12-37
Liberty 5 8 17 20-50
Game 2011-12 #057 Math, Civics and Sciences Charter
(Philadelphia) 65 Trenton Central (Trenton, NJ) 65
This game featured a strong second half comeback by the much
taller MCS squad against the quick and determined Trenton team,
coached by former professional player Greg Grant. MCS is the
defending PIAA Class A state champion, and, when I've seen them
earlier this year, they thrived when a game resembled playground
ball. In Trenton, they encountered a pressing team with great
teamwork and obvious enthusiasm that grabbed steals and forced
turnovers.
MCS only led once in the first half, at 4-2. Otherwise,
well-coached Trenton anticipated MCS passes, doubled down on the
ball, on scored on fast break after fast break. Late in the first
quarter 6' 4" Trenton senior Terry Taylor stole the ball to launch
a rare 5 on 0 fast break, giving his team a 20-12 lead. In the
second quarter, Trenton went up by eight points again, 24-16, on a
breakaway layup by 5' 8" senior Jabree Jackson. That was to be
their high watermark, as MCS Coach Dan Jackson made an important
adjustment to his team's attack late in the second quarter that
eventually turned the tide in the game. Rather than playng in a
pure playground style, MCS spread the court somewhat to make it
difficult for Trenton defenders to double the ball and to open
driving lanes. 6' MCS junior point guard Abraham Massaley
controlled the ball, similar to the way that Phil Ford did when
the University of North Carolina developed the four corner
offense. MCS didn't spread the court that much, but they spread
it enough to overcome Trenton's defensive pressure.
MCS drew closer early in the second half, and two breakaway drives
on consecutive possession by 6' 4" MCS sophomore Malik Starkes
tied the game at 38. Trenton regained the lead, 40-38, on a hook
by Taylor on an inbounds play, but MCS tied it at 40 on a layup by
5' 11" junior Maurice Stevens. After Trenton regained the lead at
42-40, MCS's Starkes went on a 10-0 scoring run of his own.
First, Massaley hit Starkes with a pass inside for a hoop in
close, followed by a Starkes putback, followed by a Starkes fast
break layup, after which Starkes took the ball coast-to-coast for
a score, and then Starkes scored on another layup, all of which
bracketed misses and turnovers by Trenton. After Starkes scoring
run was finished, MCS led 50-42, going into the fourth quarter.
MCS had begun to dominate both boards in the third quarter.
Trenton scored some hoops late in the game, and the contest was
not as close as the final score suggests.
For the winners, Starkes scored 14 points, Massaley had a dozen,
and two players each netted 10: 6' 7" junior Quadir Welton and 6'
6" junior Jeremiah Worthem. For Trenton, Jackson scored 14
points, and Taylor had 13.
Trenton Central 20 9 13 15-57
Math, Civics and Sciences Charter 14 10 26 15-65
thanks to
Dave Burman
"the voice of Lewistown radio sports"
105.5 WCHX