By Paul Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY – A quartet of Tribunes tallied double figures as the Monroe Community College Men’s Basketball (14-5/3-0) team easily defeated the Jamestown Community College Jayhawks (6-8/0-1), 96-57 in Western New York Athletic Conference action on George Monagan Court, Thursday night.
Marcus Gooding (Brooklyn, NY/ Franklin Delano Roosevelt) connected five times behind the arc to lead the Tribunes with 15 points.
Damon Miraud (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) added 12 on 5 of 8 shooting while Dykweil Bryan (Brooklyn, NY/Queens Academy) and Anthony Hemingway (Brooklyn, NY/NIA School) each scored 10.
Gooding consistently found the measure from the deep corner.
“I was just trying to find the open spots,” Gooding said. “My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball. All I have to do is make the shots. They make it easy for me.”
The sophomore guard drilled a pair of treys late in the first half as the Tribunes pulled away. His second 3-pointer on an inbound play gave the Black and Gold a 41-2o advantage.
“Coach does a great job giving us all confidence,” Gooding added. “Everybody gets a chance to do what they got to do. You see it in the end result.”
“When he sees zone, he knows what his role is,” said Monroe head coach Jerry Burns. “As long as he understands his role, he’ll be okay.”
Bryan closed the half with a drive in traffic and a putback of his own attempt.
“They were playing 2-3 zone,” Bryan explained. “Ball fake, move the ball, find the gaps – it’s my position on the team to find the open shots for my teammates.”
“He’s playing with so much higher of a confidence level,” Burns said of his point guard. “What he’s really done a good job of is that he’s hit the weight room. He’s gotten a lot stronger. Now he’s able to finish a little bit more.”
Monroe opened on an 8-0 run and never looked back. Manny Joseph (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) scored four in those opening moments as MCC set the tone.
The 6-2 freshman guard scored on a runner off the glass. Bryan used a ball fake to get in the lane for a layup, and Joseph capped the run with a rebound and putback.
“The ball fake opened it up,” Bryan said. “It gave me a little space to work.”
Tashawn Desir (Brooklyn, NY/ NIA School) pushed Monroe to its first double-digit lead of the night with a steal and layup.
Hemingway scored four in a 9-2 run as MCC stretched its advantage to 20 at 38-18.
Despite struggling from long range the Tribunes led 44-24 at the half.
“It kinda reminded me of the first half down at Mercyhurst North East,” Burns said. “The score was different, but when I looked at the stats, they were pretty much the same. We were 4 of 16 from the three. Down at Mercyhurst we were 3 of 16. But I wasn’t worried because they were all good shots.”
TJ Davis (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) scored six as Monroe opened the second stanza on an 8-2 run to all but put away the game.
“The guy I am most impressed with is TJ,” Burns stated. “His energy level is high.”
Elijah Tillman (Garnersville, NY/North Rockland) and Isaiah Davis (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) each had eight. Tillman led the Tribs with eight rebounds.
TJ Davis and Desir each chipped in six. In all, 13 Tribs contributed to the scoring.
Bryan dished out a game-high four assists with just one turnover.
Monroe outrebounded Jamestown, 47-39.
Tyreek Jewell (Bronx, NY/Leadership & Public Service) paced the Jayhawks with a game-high 33 points and 16 rebounds.
Monroe has won seven straight. The Tribunes host Genesee Community College (15-2/1-0) on Saturday. The Cougars have won 14 straight. Ervin Mitchell leads GCC with 24.5 points and 9 rebounds a game.
A 3 p.m. tip time is scheduled on George Monagan Court.
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