By Paul Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY – Monroe Community College men’s basketball coach Jerry Burns went looking for energy from his team Thursday night. He found it in the form of his 5-9 point guard.
Tashawn Desir (Brooklyn, NY/Nia Prep) led five in double figures as the Monroe Tribunes (21-3/8-1) erased an early deficit and went on to defeat the Niagara County Community College Thunderwolves (16-7/7-2), 87-76 in WNYAC action on George Monagan Court.
Desir handed out four assists and scored seven before the break as the Tribs came back from an early eight-point hole.
“We’ve had a lot of big games that we were down, and we always come back,” Desir said. “When we get down, we don’t lose our poise. We stick together, and we just figure it out. We get some stops on defense. That’s basically where it comes from. Once you get a stop, you get back and you score.”
Desir converted four straight free throws and took an offensive charge to spark a 14-5 run as Monroe took its first lead of the game. After Desir cut the NCCC lead to three, Reuben Berry (Bronx, NY/Danbury) grabbed his own miss and finished at the rim.
Greg Williams (Cincinnati, OH) scored at the rim. Malcolm McNair (Jacksonville, FL/Samuel L. Wolfson) gave Monroe its first advantage when Williams led him for a trey.
“That’s how we played up in Erie,” Burns said when asked about his team’s change in energy level. “We just looked like we were behind by a step. We didn’t have that sense of urgency. As we got going after the first five minutes, we were getting out into the passing lanes, got a couple of easy layups, and we shot the ball relatively well.”
Jonathan Velez-Rivera (Bayamon, PR/Seneca Valley) gave Monroe a lift off the bench in the first half. The 6-4 forward nailed three threes in the first half.
“He was the guy who sparked us,” Burns said when asked about Velez-Rivera. “I was yelling and screaming and trying to create some emotion. I really felt him coming in and banging three threes, that kind of lifted us.”
Arnold Fripp, Jr. (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Collegiate) connected on a baby hook in the lane for a 28-26 MCC edge. The 6-7 forward hit a pair of one-and-one free throws for MCC’s largest lead of the half at 33-29.
Desir found McNair for a trifecta to close the half. The shifty point guard drove baseline along the left side and found McNair with a diagonal pass for a catch-and-shoot trey and the 37-34 halftime score.
“The last couple of games he started playing real hard,” Burns said of Desir. “Which we need him to do all the time.”
Monroe scored the first six of the second stanza and never looked back.
Ta-Quan Zimmerman (Waterbury, CT/Waterbury) penetrated the lane and dished to Fripp, Jr. for the lay in and Monroe’s first double-digit lead, 58-48. Fripp, Jr. finished with 15 points on six-of-14 shooting field from the field. His three late in the game stretched the Monroe advantage to 83-64.
“He started out real slow,” Burns explained. “At the end, he finally got it going. He missed a couple of easy chippies that he usually makes, but he did get it going at the end. He’s such a difficult match because they had the big kid trying to defend him. We ran a lot of ball screens with him. We spread them out, and he comes and he shows, and he can handle the basketball. That three that he hit with the shot clock winding down was huge.”
The win comes after the Tribs fell to Erie, 92-81 on Saturday.
“You’re trying to get every win that you can,” Burns noted. “I think it’s important that they realize that there’s a goal that we need to get to. It’s done one game at a time. That last game is over with. There’s nothing you can do about that. You just got to focus in on this game.”
Desir finished with 16 hitting 10 of 12 from the free throw line.
McNair added 12 going four-of-10 behind the arc. Williams and Zimmerman chipped in 10 apiece.
Monroe had 17 assists on 28 field goals. Desir and Johnson had six dimes each.
Niagara County sprinted to an early lead. Jordan Street (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) opened the scoring when he combined on a delayed pick and roll with Isaiah Johnson (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Collegiate). Jon Marsh (Bronx, NY/Impact Academy) nailed a pull-up three from the right wing. Johnson converted a lay up in the open court, before Marsh connected for another three in transition giving NCCC a 10-2 and bringing on a Monroe timeout less than five minutes into the game.
“They’ve got a good team,” Burns said.
Marsh led all scorers with 30.
“He’s an excellent player,” Burns commented.
Street finished with nine points and six rebounds. He had 23 points and 16 rebounds in NCCC’s 91-88 victory over Erie CC Tuesday night. The Kats had won 15 in a row and were ranked No. 9 nationally.
Niagara County hosts Jamestown CC next Tuesday.
Monroe travels to Alfred State Saturday night. The Tribs have a rematch with Erie CC one week later on Monagan Court. MCC travels to NCCC on February 23rd.
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