By Paul Gotham
JAMESTOWN, NY – Elijah Tillman (Garnerville, NY/ North Rockland) had the usual for his pre-game meal: a spicy Italian sub topped with banana peppers, lettuce, ranch dressing and Chipotle sauce.
Head coach Jerry Burns added a side of motivation.
Judging by results, the freshman center digested it well.
Tillman notched a career-high and paced a balanced attack as the Monroe Community College Men’s Basketball team (18-5/7-0) defeated the Jamestown Community College Jayhawks (7-12/0-5) 78-64 in Western New York Athletic Conference action, Thursday night.
Tillman netted 15 on 7 of 11 shooting for the night and had a hand in a pair of runs which salted away the Tribunes 11th straight victory. The 6’8” center did all his work in the paint grabbing a game-high nine rebounds including six on the offensive end which he converted into six second-chance points as he outplayed his counterpart, Ohndo Smith (New York, NY/Westside), who fared prominently in his most recent outing.
“Coach gave me a little article saying that he was the best in the conference,” Tillman said. “So I just kinda took it personal tonight. I just wanted try my best to do what I could do to help us out.”
Tillman dropped six as the Tribs jumped to an early 10-3 lead.
After Tashawn Desir (Brooklyn, NY/NIA School) connected on a catch-and-shoot three, Tillman scored the next three baskets, all with his efforts on the offensive glass.
“Against Niagara he scored 21, and the coach on the other team said ‘no one can cover him,’” Burns explained. “I took that, and I highlighted it and when we give out the sandwiches before we left, I put it in his sandwich box. He read that, and I think it just gave him that little bit of extra motivation.”
Tyreek Jewell (Bronx, NY/Leadership & Public Service) brought the Jayhawks back with a pair of baskets to knot the score at 12.
But that was it for Jamestown CC.
Monroe took command with an 18-7 run.
Anthony Hemingway (Brooklyn, NY/NIA School) and Andre McFarlane (Queens, NY/North Queens) both grabbed offensive boards and finished. Artice Jackson (Owings Mills, MD/Milford Mill) flushed a dunk. Marcus Gooding (Brooklyn, NY/Franklin Delano Roosevelt) knocked down a pull-up jumper. Desir and Jackson hit back-to-back treys, and Tillman capped the run on a text-book possession against the 2-3 zone.
“We knew we were going to see a lot of zone,” Burns stated. “We’ve been working on it in practice. It’s called puncturing the zone. With Elijah down on the block there, he creates so much havoc because you have to double down on him and that’s what they were doing. It just created a lot of open shots tonight for our guys.”
Monroe entered the ball to Tillman in the post who pivoted and went diagonal and opposite with a pass. The offense swung the ball around the perimeter. With Jamestown’s defense forced to chase, Manny Joseph (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) re-entered the rock to Tillman who used a drop step for a bucket and foul. One free throw later, Tillman completed the three-point play, and MCC led 30-19.
“Coach is always talking about sitting (in the post),” Tillman said. “Tonight I tried to seal them off the best I could. Tonight, I really sat most of the time.”
Desir extended the advantage with a bucket on the break, and Joseph hit a pull-up trey just before the end of the half for a 12-point lead.
“My teammates make it easy,” Joseph said. “Just got to do the right thing, attack the gaps, and let my teammates do the rest.”
Monroe picked right up where they off scoring the first seven of the second half and eventually stretching the advantage to 20.
Tillman scored the first basket of the stanza on a dish off from T.J. Davis (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool). On the next possession, Davis scored on a drive from the wing. Desir connected from long range, and the Tribs were off and running.
Moments later Desir drilled another bomb, and MCC led 52-31.
“We get the same shots just about every game,” Desir noted. “It’s a point of just making them. Getting ‘Big E’ involved created the inside-out game, and they gets us going. We get a better flow like that.”
The Tribunes pushed the advantage.
Hemingway contributed to three straight baskets. The freshman guard, known more as a defensive stopper, sliced through the teeth of the zone with a pair of drives. He caught the ball at the foul line, used a slight upfake to get the defense in the air and with a dribble attacked the rim. On the next trip, Hemingway went baseline for two. Finally, he fed McFarlane with a high-low pass for a deuce.
“The defense is a given,” Burns said Hemingway. “He’s always going to play the best player on the opposing team. The thing I like about him, and I wish he would understand it, is I foresee him as one of the top players in our Region. When he plays the way he can play, he is… In the second half he played like one of the top players.”
MCC eventually took its largest when Gooding nailed back-to-back treys.
“At first my shot wasn’t falling,” Gooding said. “I was trying to get closer to the rim and try to hit my teammates when they are open. They did a good job of making me look good.”
For the second game in a row Monroe hit more than half their shots going 31-of-60 (51.7 percent) from the floor including 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) behind the arc.
“Our guys were chomping at the bit when they knew they were going to see zone,” Burns said. “We know what we need to do against it, and that’s what we did.”
Desir added 14 points for the Tribs.
Hemingway had 11 and Gooding chipped in 10.
Monroe’s effort overshawdowed those of JCC shooting guard, Jewell who was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000th career point at Jamestown. He celebrated with a 36-point effort. The sophomore guard drilled four consecutive threes late in the game . He also dished out six assists.
Jabar Williams added 10.
The Tribunes get a week off before hosting Mercyhurst NE on Saturday, February 8th. A 3 p.m. tip time is scheduled on George Monagan Court.
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