By Paul Gotham
SANFORD, N.Y. – Jerry Burns gave his team a simple focus for Thursday night’s game: defensive energy.
The Monroe Community College men’s basketball team got the message.
Riding a relentless defensive effort the MCC Tribunes (20-5/9-0) moved within one triumph of clinching the Western New York Athletic Conference regular-season title winning for the 13th consecutive time a 69-62 victory over the No. 7 Niagara County Community College Thunderwolves (21-4/5-3).
Niagara County came into the night’s action averaging 92 points a game. Monroe held them to the their lowest output of the season.
“They’re a good offensive team, Burns said. “But you got to get them out of their rhythm.”
The Thunderwolves averaged 20 assists and 15.6 turnovers prior to Thursday. Against the Tribunes NCCC dished out just 11 helpers and committed 17 miscues.
“That defensive energy was there on every possession,” Burns added. “Every possession’s got to be important. You got to try and get a stop every time. You just can’t let them get something simple. That’s what our goal was on the defensive end. Every possession was difficult for them I thought.”
With the defense holding Niagara County in check, Anthony Hemingway (Brooklyn, N.Y./NIA School) led three in double figures. The freshman forward netted a career and game-high 18 on 7 of 12 shooting including 2 of 4 behind the three-point arc.
Hemingway scored seven straight midway through the first half as MCC took the lead and never trailed again in the game.
“He’s a dominant player both on offense and defense,” Burns stated. “It’s because of how hard he plays. On the offensive end, he can really attack the basket.”
With Monroe trailing by four, Hemingway cut to the low block on a baseline out-of-bounds play, caught a Tashawn Desir (Brooklyn, N.Y./NIA School) pass and finished at the rim. It was the first of two inbound plays which Hemingway converted.
“It’s important for our team to score easy buckets like that,” Hemingway explained. “If we get easy opportunities to score like that, we definitely have to take advantage.”
Hemingway knotted the score at 11 with a drive from the top of the key. After Chuka Ikpeze (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) answered for Niagara County on a pull-up jumper from the free throw line, Hemingway drilled a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer off an inbound for a 14-13 Monroe advantage.
“I took good shots and was aggressive,” Hemingway said. “But it was mostly my teammates. They got me involved and gave me confidence.”
Monroe stretched the lead to six on a Marcus Gooding (Brooklyn, N.Y./Franklin Delano Roosevelt) three in transition, and an Andre McFarlane (Queens, N.Y./North Queens) turnaround jumper in the lane.
The Tribunes took a 28-23 edge in the locker room.
The Tribs scored nine straight to take their largest lead of the night with 10:22 remaining in the game.
Manny Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) converted a rebound and putback. Desir scored on a drive from the top with less than five seconds on the shot clock. McFarlane hit one of two from the free throw line. Hemingway scored in traffic, and Desir finished a two on one break with a layup.
Monroe led 47-34.
Desir scored 14 of his 16 points after the break and added a game-high nine assists.
“Being a sophomore and understanding the responsibility of running our offense on every possession is not an easy thing,” Burns said of Desir. “Especially to do it the right way under those circumstances.”
But Niagara County showed some fight.
Sheldon Zablotny (Erie, PA) hit a three and followed with a steal and layup to trim the lead to four four at 54-50 with less than seven minutes remaining.
Eli Jones (Fairport, N.Y/Fairport) cut the lead to one with a baseline jumper and pulled the Thunderwolves even at 56 with a pair of free throws
Elijah Tillman (Garnersville, N.Y./North Rockland) put Monroe ahead for good with two from the charity stripe. The freshman center scored all ten of his points in the second stanza.
“He got in foul trouble early, so he was out of the mix a little bit,” Burns said of Tillman. “But the maturity level, the growth he has had has been tremendous, and it makes it a lot easier to believe in him.”
Monroe’s bench outscored their counterparts 28-9. Nine different Tribunes logged double-digit minutes, and ten Tribs figured in the scoring column.
Monroe held a 36-26 advantage on points in the paint.
The Black and Gold outrebounded Niagara 48-42 including 21 offensive rebounds which led to a 16-13 edge in second-chance points.
Artice Jackson (Owings Mills, MD/Milford Mill Academy) blocked a game-high three shots.
Jones paced Niagara with a double-double as he netted 17 and pulled down 10 rebounds. Zablotny added 16. Gjaimeir Stanford (Wilmington, DE) chipped 15.
Monroe now holds a three-game advantage in the standings with three games to go. The Sub-Regional Matchups take place on February 25th.
The Black and Gold defeated Niagara County CC, 87-76 on January 25th.
The Tribunes host Erie Community College on Saturday afternoon. A 3 p.m. tip time is slated on George Monagan Court.
Paul Gotham is the founder, owner, editor and lead writer at Pickin’ Splinters. Paul is the Communications and Media Director of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He is a contributor at USA Today and member of the USBWA. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PickinSplinters.
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