By Paul Casey Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY — What started slowly, finished with a flurry.
Isaiah Jefferson (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo East) and Algeron Torrance (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran) paced the attack as the Monroe Community College Tribunes defeated the Alfred State Pioneers 62-39 in WNYAC action on George Monogan Court, Tuesday night.
Inside and out, Jefferson and Torrance scored 20 straight Tribune points as the Black and Gold took a commanding 18-point lead midway through the second half.
Torrance started it with a traditional three-point play. Next trip down the floor, he corralled an Andre Armstrong (Queens, NY/ Notre Dame Prep) three-point attempt and hit the putback. On the next possession Kenny Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/ Abington Friends) fed the post, and Torrance went under the rim for a reverse layup. After an Alfred timeout, Torrance connected on another second chance opportunity. By the time he grabbed a loose ball in the lane and scored, MCC led 32-19.
Jefferson took over from there hitting back-to-back threes in transition The first coming off a pass from Armstrong. Then Johnson found Jefferson with a diagonal pass from left to right for a 37-20 lead.
The lead bulged to 20 at 44-24 when Johnson grabbed a defensive rebound and raced the length of the court for a lay up.
The Tribs never looked back.
Jefferson scored eight as MCC took charge midway through the first half.
The freshman forward followed Jahvari Josiah (Brooklyn, NY/ Beach Channel) in transition, grabbed an offensive rebound and connected on the putback.
After an Alfred timeout, Armstrong used a skip pass on the perimeter, and Jefferson hit a catch-and-shoot three. Jefferson gave the Tribs a 15-5 lead with a drive from outside the arc. He went behind the back with the dribble before changing direction in the lane using the glass for the basket.
Armstrong and Mike Wilson (Philadelphia, PA/Rise Prep) both connected on threes early to give the Black and Gold an 8-2 advantage.
Alfred closed within seven late in the half. . Keenan Brown (Utica, NY/Thomas Proctor) hit a catch-and-shoot three. DaQuan Allen (Brooklyn, NY/ Boys & Girls) drove baseline, and the Pioneers trailed 17-10.
Combining a 2-3 zone with a patient offense, the Pioneers slowed Monroe. The Tribunes which entered play averaging 75 points per game led 19-12 at the half.
“Defensively we played really well,” Monroe coach Jerry Burns said. “What did we give up, 12 points in a half? That could be a record. We just missed a lot of shots. It’s like everything else, when you make shots, your defense is better, the passing is better, the crowd is into it. When you shoot air balls, the life gets sucked out of them.”
The Tribs came into the game with a positive rebounding margin of 6.3. Monroe grabbed 28 boards in the first stanza to Alfred’s 11 en route to 54-22 advantage on the boards.
“We were just so much bigger than them,” Burns added.
Jefferson led all scorers with 19 on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor including 3-of-4 from the line.
Torrance followed with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Francis Obumneme also grabbed nine boards.
Johnson had a game-high eight assists.
Andre Phillips (Brooklyn, NY/Global Citizenship) came off the bench to score six points and grab two rebounds in 15 minutes.
“He did a good job,” Burns said of the performance by Phillips. “I just made up my mind we would give him a shot tonight.”
Patrick Parker (Queens, NY/ Hillcrest) paced the Pioneers with 18 points.
MCC improves to 10-8 with the win.
MCC hosts Mercyhurst Thursday night. An 8 pm tipoff is scheduled.
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