By Paul Casey Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY — On a night when the lead and victory hung just out of reach, the Monroe Community College Tribunes came up short.
Andre Armstrong (Queens, NY/Notre Dame Prep) scored a game-high 21, but the Tribunes fell to the Erie Community College Kats 70-65 in WNYAC action on George Monagan Court.
Using a variety of defenses, Erie disrupted Monroe’s rhythm and forced 20 Tribune turnovers. The loss was the second consecutive for the Black and Gold.
“We keep coming up short,” Armstrong said. “It wasn’t the defense. We just made minor mistakes. We keep doing that. We keep playing hard. It’s the mental part of the game we aren’t clicking on.”
Trailing by seven five minutes into the second stanza, the Tribs rallied to take the lead.
Armstrong and Isaiah Jefferson (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo East) executed a two-on-one with Jefferson hitting a left-handed layup. After a half-court trap created a steal, Kenny Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Abington Friends) found Algeron Torrance (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran) for a reverse lay up. MCC trailed 45-42.
Armstrong connected on back-to-back threes to give Monroe a brief edge at 48-47.
Erie answered back.
Yandell Denis (Brooklyn, NY/Xavierian) drove across the lane for a bucket. Eyimofee Edukugho (Warri, Nigeria/Our Savior New American) hit a pair of free throws, and the Kats led 49-48.
Jahvari Josiah (Brooklyn, NY/Beach Channel) nailed a trey to give the Tribs their final lead of the night at 51-49.
Inside the four-minute mark, Sam Hattin (Hamilton, ONT/Our Savior) stretched the lead to seven at 65-58 with a jumper outside the lane.
The Tribs scratched their way back. Torrance hit a pair of free throws. Armstrong added one. Torrance made it a two-point game with less than a minute remaining, but the Tribunes could not finish.
Via the three-point shot Monroe stayed with Erie for the first half.
Johnson gave the Tribs an 11-5 advantage when he connected from the baseline. The ball started on the right side of the floor. Jefferson hit Armstrong at the top of the key with a pass. Armstrong kept the ball moving to Johnson in the corner for the bucket.
Armstrong stretched the lead with back-to-back treys early in the shot clock, and MCC led 17-11.
Hattin came off the bench and sparked a 13-4 run for Erie. After connecting on a baseline jumper, Hattin connected from behind the arc. Anthony Mason (Brooklyn, NY/Bedford Academy) went under the rim and finished on the other side. When the Monroe full court press broke down, Mason took advantage with a lay up. Hattin tied the score hitting one of two from the free throw line. One possession later, Hattin cashed in twice from the stripe, and Erie led 22-20.
Josiah helped the Black and Gold recapture the lead with a trio of treys late in the first half. The freshman took a pass from Marcus Feagin (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) and found the measure from the baseline. On the next trip, Mike Wilson (Philadelphia, PA/Rise Prep) found Josiah early in the shot clock for the trifecta. Armstrong led Josiah the next time, and MCC led 29-26.
Travaughn Gordon (Akron, OH/Garfield) scored twice as the Kats took a 34-29 lead into halftime.
Armstrong hit 7-15 from the floor including 5-of-10 behind the arc. Jahvarai added 13 and Jefferson chipped in 11. Feagin grabbed nine rebounds.
Mattin led the Kats with 18. Uchechi Ogbonna (Westbury, NY/Hicksville) notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.
The Tribunes had 18 assists on 24 field goals. Erie outrebounded Monroe 42-28.
Monroe falls to 11-10 and 2-3 in conference action. The Tribs travel to Genesee Community College Thursday night. An 8PMtipoff is scheduled.
Leave a Reply