Tribs continue to roll

By PAUL GOTHAM

NORTH EAST, Pa. — Isaiah Davis (Elizabeth) led five in double figures as the Monroe Community College Tribunes convincingly defeated the Mercyhurst NE Saints, 104-82 in WNYAC action, Thursday.

Davis finished with a game-high 18 points including five 3-pointers. The sophomore forward was part of an overall effort which saw Monroe connect 13 times from long range and shoot 36-of-64 (56.3 percent) for the night.

MCC handed out 21 assists on the night.

“Our guys played unselfish, and they played hard,” Monroe head coach Jerry Burns said. “We used the extra pass and found the open man.”

The Tribunes scored on 15 of their first 21 possessions of the second half to turn a five-point halftime edge into a 20-point bulge.

“We didn’t really make any adjustment,” Burns said. “Attacking was our main focus. They were sitting in that zone. Every team that we have played, has gone 95 percent zone…Tonight, was dribble penetration into the middle. Then there was a kick. It wasn’t settling.”

Coming out of the locker room, Dykweil Bryan (Boys and Girls) opened the scoring with a tear drop in the lane. Davis grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the floor for two and a quick Mercyhurst timeout.

It didn’t matter. The Tribunes continued from there.

Darwin Trotman (John Jay) drove the lane and finished in traffic with a scoop.

Damon Miraud (Elizabeth) scored in the lane on a play which represented MCC’s approach to the entire night. After three offensive rebounds by the Tribs, Miraud muscled the ball through a pair Mercyhurst defenders for a bucket.

“That I can attribute definitely to one thing,” Burns explained. “If you came into our practice yesterday, and you came into our practice Monday, we’ve implemented an old drill from a long time ago.”

Pitting one player against two in the lane, the drill encourages players to score while at a disadvantage.

“We haven’t done that yet this season,” Burns continued. “It’s called the NBA drill. It’s really helped a lot of our guys on working hard…I saw the results of that tonight.

Earlier in the possession, Miraud reached between a pair of opponents and tapped an offensive rebound to the perimeter.

“That’s what he does,” Burns said of Miraud. “That  effort, you don’t see it in the score book, but that’s the difference between winning games by two and winning games by 22. Those effort plays are so crucial. He happens to be the best one, I think, on the team as far as making those effort plays on a consistent basis.”

Davis followed with a pair of triples.

Romaine Thomas (Evander Childs) made it a 72-51 game with 11:11 remaining when he finished a rebound and putback. The sophomore converted the Tribs third offensive rebound in the sequence.

“You can get a rebound and miss, but you get a rebound or a second rebound, foul and score? Those take the wind out of an opponent’s sail.”

Moments later, Denzel Banks (East Orange) drilled a catch-and-shoot 3-ball from the left corner, and MCC led 76-56.

Izaha Jackson (Westside) conencted four times behind the arc and netted 16 to lead a Monroe bench which outscored their counterparts, 51-36. Thomas scored 13 off the pine, and Jamar Johnson (Bushwick) added 10.

“I really thought our bench were the ones who helped us win that game,” Burns stated. “Not one specific guy, just like the whole bench came in and played with energy. They were energetic with good body language. That’s what they did. They did a good job.”

Bryan scored 10 and handed out a game-high nine assists.

“He’s setting everything up and making everyone us of us better. That’s what he did tonight. He made everyone else play better.”

Davis grabbed six rebounds while Miraud corralled five as MCC outrebounded Mercyhurst 46-35.

With the win, Monroe improves to 19-3 overall and 9-0 in the WNYAC. The Tribs host Jamestown Community College, Saturday. A win and Monroe clinches the Region 3 title and the right to host the upcoming regionals.

GAME NOTE: Monroe traveled to North East aboard a Covered Wagons Tour coach driven by Marty Flickner. The Geneseo, New York native knows a thing or two about winning basketball teams. Flickner was at the wheel in 2014 when the University of Dayton Flyers advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Dayton started the tournament in Buffalo that year where Flickner picked up the team at the airport. As the story goes, Flickner drove the Flyers to the games and attended. UD won the games with Flickner in attendance. When they moved on to Nashville, security policy dictated the driver needed to stay with his bus. Without Flickner in the stands, the Flyers lost and the legend of Marty’s Magic Bus was started. You can read about it here. The Flyers are currently ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll and 17 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.