By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Damon Miraud (Elizabeth, N.J.) scored six of his game-high 20 in the opening moments, and the Monroe Community College Tribunes went on to defeat the Medaille JV Mavericks, 100-56 in the first round of the Third Annual Murph Shapiro Tournament, Saturday night on Monagan Court.
Miraud went the length of floor after a defensive rebound for his first bucket of the night. The sophomore forward netted back-to-back buckets as Monroe opened an early 18-point bulge. Miraud tapped in his own miss and took a feed from teammate Izaha Jackson (Elizabeth, N.J.) on the break for a layup and a 22-4 Monroe advantage.
The Tribunes never looked back.
Shaleik Ulysse (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored six straight as the Tribunes kept their double-digit lead into the locker room.
Ulysse drove baseline for a layup and 33-18 MCC advantage. The freshman forward took a Dykweil Bryan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) dump off for two. Ulysse made it a 37-20 game with a steal and dunk in the open floor.
“We were playing how we practice,” Bryan noted. “Not trying to play down to our competition. That’s really it.”
Limited to eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Miraud tallied ten points early as the Tribs pushed their advantage coming out of the locker room.
“The two fouls got me in trouble early,” Miraud said. “Coach just told me to go out there and have fun in the second half and clear that first half out of the way and continue playing hard.”
Miraud finished a Bryan feed. He converted a putback and transition and took a shovel pass from Jackson for a layup and a 65-36 lead midway through the second half.
“It felt good to get things going,” Miraud stated.
Bryan, one of five Tribunes in double figures, finished with 15 points and a game-high nine assists with five steals and just two turnovers.
“I’m just trying to play to my strengths,” Bryan commented. “Trying to get my teammates involved. Not trying to do too much. Let the game come to me.”
Bryan led an effort in which the Tribunes collected 27 helpers on 43 made field goals.
“Dada craves assists,” Miraud stated. “That’s all he talks about in practice. When he gets into a game, his goal is to get 10 assists. When we get the ball, we just try to convert for him.”
Darwin Trotman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with 16 points. The sophomore guard tallied eight points in the opening moments. After a steal, Trotman went end-to-end and sliced through the defense for a dunk. He took a lead from Bryan into the open court for another slam. Ulysse sent Trotman ahead of the defense for another deuce. Romaine Thomas (Bronx, N.Y.) set up his teammate with an alley oop for an emphatic flush and a 14-2 lead.
ShaQuan Bretoux (Bridgeport, CT) added 13 points on five-of-seven shooting.
Despite connecting on just five of 30 shots from behind the arc, the Tribunes finished 43-of-78 from the floor.
Miraud and Davis grabbed 10 rebounds apiece, and Monroe had a 46-29 advantage on the boards.
Monroe converted 22 Medaille turnovers into 33 points. The Tribunes scored 12 second-chance points to five for the Mavericks.
Devon Camel (Buffalo, N.Y.) led the Mavericks with 15 points on five of seven shooting. Colin Gemerek (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) chipped in with 13.
The Tribunes will play Mercyhurst NE in Sunday’s final. A 3 p.m. tipoff is scheduled. Mercyhurst NE defeated Jamestown Community College to advance. Monroe swept the season series with their Region 3 rival a year ago.
Leave a Reply