By Paul Gotham
BATAVIA, NY — Anyone looking for a losing streak from the Monroe Community College men’s basketball will have to wait another day. One game after a disappointing road loss, Monroe wasted little time getting started on another winning streak.
The Tribunes struck early and often in a convincing road win.
John Velez-Rivera (Bayamon, PR / Seneca Valley) paced a relentless MCC offense as the Tribunes defeated the Genesee Community College Cougars, 106-58 in WNYAC action Tuesday night.
Velez-Rivera led a lethal attack from long range as Monroe strung together a series of runs to take a commanding lead into halftime. The sophomore forward, who came into the game with six threes and 38 points on the season, tallied seven times from long range to lead the Tribs with 23 points.
Velez-Rivera nailed three straight treys as the Tribunes pulled away. The sophomore connected twice along the baseline from the left corner. Ta-Quan Zimmerman (Waterbury, CT / Holy Cross) found Velez-Rivera open at the foul-line extended for the trifecta, a 42-19 lead and a Genesee timeout.
But there was no stopping the Tribunes on this night.
“We started attacking inside-out, getting dribble penetration, but we knocked down all the threes,” commented Monroe head coach Jerry Burns. “You do that well from the three, it’s going to shoot them out of the zone.”
Zimmerman used a baseline drop step in the paint for the deuce and a free throw later completed the traditional three-point play. One possession later, Tashawn Desir (Brooklyn, NY / Nia Prep) led Zimmerman on the break for a layup. Zimmerman capped the half with a rebound and putback and a 54-29 lead.
“As a team it was a great way to bounce back,” Zimmerman said. “It really shows a lot about us and how hard we work. We came out and played hard. We actually looked like a championship caliber team today.”
Monroe opened the game on 8-0 tear.
Arnold Fripp, Jr. (Brooklyn, NY / Brooklyn Collegiate) connected along the baseline. Greg Williams (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton) initiated the parade of threes when Edward Hector (Atlanta, GA / Creekside) hit him on the left wing for a catch-and-shoot version.
Kenny Johnson (Philadelphia, PA / Abington Friends) made it 8-0 when Hector got into the lane and kicked it out for the open three-ball.
Edward Blackwell kept the Cougars with six points. His two free throws made it a 15-9 game.
The Tribs rattled off 13 straight at that point to all but put the game out of reach.
“Our pressure wore them down,” Burns noted. “That got us some easy baskets. Got us out in transition.”
Velez-Rivera started his night with a rebound and putback. Dallas Gary (Buffalo, NY / East) drained a triple when Desir found him open in the right corner with a diagonal pass over the Genesee zone. Zimmerman stretched the lead to 22-9 with a layup after McNair grabbed a long rebound on the defensive end and lead pass into the open court.
Velez-Rivera pushed the lead to 19 with his first two three-balls of the night. Zimmerman found him on the baseline for the second and a 28-9 advantage.
“It was his night and he deserves,” Burns said of the performance by Velez-Rivera. “He’s spent a lot of time sitting on the bench. He’s handled it really well. I knew they were going to zone us. We just needed to get another shooter out there. He stepped up.”
“He lit it up tonight,” Zimmerman said of his teammate. “That made them come out of the zone. Once they come out of the zone, it’s pretty hard to defend us.”
The Tribs connected on 10-of-21 from long range before the break.
The Black and Gold left no doubt starting the second stanza on a 9-2 run. Velez-Rivera picked up where he left off with another trey. He connected on his second of the half for a 66-31 bulge. In between his bookends, Fripp, Jr. finished at the rim. Johnson finished a layup and Williams hit a pair of charity tosses.
Monroe hit 55.9 percent (38-of-68) from the floor including 45.5 percent (15-of-33) behind the arc while holding the Cougars to 39.3 percent (22-of-56) for the game.
Desir led Tribs with eight rebounds as Monroe took a 41-28 decision on the glass. The 5-8 point guard also dished out three assists without a turnover.
Zimmerman added 18 on eight-of-nine shooting.
McNair added 13 while Williams and Jahvari Josiah (Brooklyn, NY/Beach Channel) each chipped in 11.
Blackwell led Genesee with 18. Terryl Coombs added 16.
Monroe fell 68-66 to SUNY Delhi on Saturday. Monroe improved to 15-2 on the season. The Tribunes are ranked sixth in the most recent NJCAA D2 poll. Monroe hosts Mercyhurst North East Thursday night. Tip time is 8 p.m. on George Monagan Court.
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