By Paul Gotham
ROCHESTER, NY – As it has been so many times in the past, it was defense which carried the Monroe Community College men’s basketball team to a victory. On Saturday, it took an early adjustment backed by a strong individual effort.
Jayquan Ashley (Brooklyn, NY) notched his first career double-double as the No. 13 Monroe Community College Tribunes defeated No. 16 North Virginia Community College, 77-75 in the opening round of the 22nd Annual Pete Pavia Memorial Tournament at George Monagan Court.
The 6-8 sophomore netted a team-high 15 points to go with a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the Tribunes to their second straight win and fourth in their last five.
“He needs to be doing that on a consistent basis,” said Monroe head coach Jerry Burns. “He’s a very difficult kid to match up with because he’s 6-8, and he can shoot it and he can defend and he can rebound. Tonight his length really helped us out.”
Eight of Ashley’s 11 first-half points came on rebound and putback situations.
“Coach has been telling me that I’m a great offensive rebounder,” Ashley said. “I have to get on the boards more. I told him I would do that.”
Ashley’s effort coupled with impressive defense keyed the victory. The Tribunes held Northern Virginia (NOVA) more than 10 points under the season average. But it took an early adjustment. Less than four minutes into the contest NOVA took a seven-point lead when they connected on four 3-pointers.
“They were beating us on dribble penetration early on,” Burns explained. “They were getting in the lane and kicking out to guys who could shoot it.”
After a timeout at the 17:30 mark of the first half, the Tribunes took NOVA out of its flow. From there, Monroe’s offense found its rhythm.
Anthony Hemingway (Brooklyn, NY) sparked a decisive 14-0 run midway through the first half. The sophomore guard set up Devin Coleman (Bridgeport, CT) and Justin Vaughan (Raleigh, NC) for back-to-back 3-pointers triggering a Northern Virginia timeout with 8:26 to go in the half and MCC leading 22-19.
“We were just getting out on the break,” Hemingway said. “I just got to find the shooters from there. Justin is one of our better shooters. Dev is one of our better shooters. My game is getting to the basket. If I can’t get to the point where I can score, the best option is to kick it out to the open guy. That’s all day – kick and drive.”
Elijah Tillman (Garnerville, NY) finished in the lane with a drop step. Hemingway hit one of two free throws before drilling his own trey. Ashley made it an 11-point game when he converted one of his five putbacks for a 30-19 lead.
“This win means a lot,” Ashley stated of the win over a nationally ranked team. “I don’t care about stats. All I care about is my team winning.”
NOVA outscored MCC 11-4 late in the game to cut the deficit to three.
“I truly felt that we were 15 to 18 points better than them,” Burns said. “I don’t think we played that well.”
NOVA eventually cut the lead to one. With a chance to tie the game a Korey Williams (Chicago, IL) runner at the buzzer rimmed out.
“It’s good to grind those wins out,” Burns noted. “We missed a ton of free throws. We missed some easy layups. Those are the games that make you better as the year goes on because you’re finding a way to grind it out.”
Chris Archie (Dumfries, VA) scored in the lane. Curtis Lovitt (Dale City, VA) used an up and under to finish. After Mortimer Berchie (Leesburg, VA) hit one of two free throws, Lovitt went with a spin dribble in the lane to get to the rim and score. NOVA trailed 70-67 with two minutes remaining in the game.
Hemingway finished with 13 points. Vaughan added 14 on 4-of-7 shooting behind the arc. Michael Kelly Jr. (Bronx, NY) chipped in with 10 points.
Ashley dished out a game-high five assists.
Lovitt led NOVA with 28 points. Williams added 22, and Berchie had 15. Chris Archie (Dumfries, VA) grabbed 13 rebounds.
NOVA outscored MCC 20-15 in second-chance points. The visitors also held a 9-8 advantage on points off turnovers.
Monroe’s bench outscored their counterparts, 23-2.
The Tribunes move on to play No. 6 Cincinnati State and Technical CC. A 4 p.m. tip time is scheduled on Sunday. The two teams met on November 29th. MCC won that game 60-57.
Northern Virginia used a long-range attack to jump to an early lead. Mortimer Berchie (Leesburg, VA) made it 13-6 game with a catch-and-shoot trey. Chris Archie (Dumfries, VA) kept the lead at seven with another NOVA 3-ball. Northern Virginia entered the game averaging 5.8 makes behind the arc a game. They connected six times behind the arc in the first half.
The tournament is dedicated to Pete Pavia’s memory, the longtime Division I basketball official from Rochester. Pavia died at age 54 in 1992 from cancer.
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