By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A cold virus slowed Monroe Community College head men’s basketball coach, Jerry Burns. His team picked up the slack.
Dykweil Bryan (Boys and Girls) and Darwin Trotman (John Jay) led a prolific offensive attack as the No. 7 Monroe Community College Tribunes easily defeated the No. 20 Mercyhurst NE Saints, 114-75 in NJCAA Region 3 action on Monogan Court Saturday afternoon.
Bryan finished with 17 points for the afternoon on 7-of-11 shooting while handing out a game-high six assists.
“He played well, Burns said. “He has to do that on a consistent basis. He is the elite point guard in our league. That’s expected of him.”
After scoring six points and handing out four assists in the first half, Bryan put 11 more on the scoreboard and dished two more helpers in the first eight minutes of the second half as Monroe ran away from the Saints.
“It’s just my teammates giving me confidence day in and day out,” Bryan said. “They are always telling me to stay aggressive. That’s really it. The team goes as I go, so I’m just trying to stay aggressive.”
Bryan was part of an overall effort which saw the Tribunes hand out 25 assists on 43 made field goals while committing just nine turnovers.
“Coach told us ‘everybody from 1 to 12 can make a play,’” Bryan explained. “We just tried to utilize that and move the ball. If you feel like you can make a play, just make the play. The results were on the floor out here today.”
Bryan led Isaiah Davis (Elizabeth) for a layup to start the second stanza. The 6-0 guard scored back-to-back baskets before finishing again at the rim. He found Trotman in transition with an alley oop forcing Mercyhurst to take a timeout with 16:24 to go. Monroe led 67-35.
“It was the perfect storm,” Burns commented. “We played well. They did not play well. They’re a better basketball team than that. I’ve seen them play. Unfortunately those things can happen. They were very much out of synch.”
The 23-year coach also pointed to his team’s play over the week. Monroe erased a halftime deficit Tuesday night and went on to beat Erie CC, 63-62. Thursday, the Tribs used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to beat Jamestown CC, 88-75.
“When we played at Jamestown the other night, I told our guys the last minutes of that game we finally had played good basketball. Today, it carried over.
“Those two games,” Burns joked. “That’s the reason why I’m feeling this way.”
Damon Miraud (Elizabeth) opened the game with a pair of baskets. He fed Trotman to finish a three-versus-two break for an early 6-3 Monroe advantage. Tuesday night at Erie, Miraud drew the task of slowing ECC’s top scorer, Yusuf Yakubu. Saturday, the sophomore forward needed just 18 minutes to score six points, grab a game-high eight rebounds, hand out five assists along with one block and two steals.
“All season we haven’t been playing our best basketball,” Miraud said. “Tonight it seemed like we played our best first half. Lately, the last couple games we’ve been playing just straight second half basketball and starting off sluggish. I believe that’s coming from traveling, getting off the bus after two hours. Tonight proved it. A home game got us energized. We took it from there and played as a team.”
Denzel Banks (East Orange) came off the bench and sparked a 12-0 run midway through the first half. The freshman grabbed an offensive rebound and finished off the glass. Bryan went the length of the floor for a layup. Romaine Thomas (Evander Childs) nailed a 3-pointer. Banks scored in the open floor, and Omar Williams (Benjamin N. Cardozo) hit a trey from the left corner. MCC led 21-14.
The Tribunes did not trail again in the game.
Banks and Trotman scored 17 apiece.
ShaQuan Bretoux (Central) netted a career-high 16 on 5-of-6 shooting including 4-of-4 from behind the arc.
Davis scored nine and had two of Monroe’s eight blocks.
MCC scored on 7 of its final 10 possessions of the first half and the first nine in the second. A stretch which the black and gold took command outscoring the Saints 39-19.
The Tribs dominated the boards, 54-35 and converted 17 offensive rebounds into a 24-13 advantage in second-chance points.
Monroe outscored Mercyhurst NE in points off turnovers (13-6), points in the paint (58-24) and bench points (57-38).
Monroe finished the game shooting 43-of-78 (55.1 percent) from the floor.
Justin Vaughan (Body of Christ) led Mercyhurst (15-7/3-3) with 22 points. The Saints host Genesee CC next Saturday.
Monroe (16-2/6-0) travels to Genesee on Wednesday. A 7:30 p.m. tip off is scheduled. MCC has won seven straight.
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