Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Stingy Li’l Irish hold off Bishop Timon

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By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jalen Pickett turned in a double-double, and the Aquinas Li’l Irish defense resembled its stifling self of the past.

Pickett netted a team-high 18 points and handed out a game-high 11 assists as Aquinas took a double-digit lead into halftime and went on to defeat Bishop Timon (VI), 65-56 in non-league action at the Wegman-Napier Complex, Wednesday night.

“We really needed to get back on track,” Pickett said. “We needed to get some confidence and to come out with more energy. So this was a very important win.”

The senior guard scored 13 first-half points and dished out six of his assists, but it was clear from early on that the Li’l Irish defense would dictate the tempo of the game.

After allowing baskets on three of the first four possessions of the game, AQ limited Timon to one field goal over its next 12 possessions.

“Over the last couple of games we started letting people go to their strong hand a lot,” Pickett explained. “The emphasis was forcing people to go to their off hand, pack the paint and make people shoot contested shots. We were trying to get back to the old Aquinas defense.”

The defensive intensity forced 12 first-half turnovers while limiting Timon to points on 11 possessions. More importantly, the Li’l Irish held Timon’s leading scorer, Joe Harrison III to eight points during the first 16 minutes of play.

“Sticking to our cues,” first-year coach John McCauley said. “We knew they had some guys who could get to the basket. We knew they had a guy who could shoot. Our defensive mindset was to make them uncomfortable and to do the opposite of what they wanted.

“We wanted to make the shooter drive to his right. We wanted to keep everybody else out of the paint. I thought we did a great job of that. Forcing 12 turnovers against a quality team is not easy. Those guys are really good.”

Six different Li’l Irish tallied points in the second quarter as Aquinas outscored Timon by five.

Kidtrell Blocker use an upfake to get in the lane for a layup. Eric Carter fed Jason Hawkes for two of his 11 points on the night. Pickett drove the lane for a deuce, and Ruben Torres came off the bench to drill a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the left wing for a 23-12 Aquinas advantage. Sincere Alston hit a jump hook in the lane for the 34-24 score at the break.

Torres combined with Luke Putnam to connect on five of 10 shots from long range on the night.

“We’ve had problems scoring all year,” Pickett stated. “That’s because people have been really keying in on Jason and me. When we have other guys making plays it opens up the floor to do other things, share the ball and get open shots.”

Putnam nailed back-to-back treys midway through the third quarter to push the AQ advantage to 15 at 47-32.

“When I’m hitting shots, it’s making it easier for Jalen and Jason to drive and kick out and find other guys,” Putnam noted. “It just makes the flow of the game easier. Opens up the floor for everyone else.”

“We just need the threat,” McCauley said of his team’s ability to hit the three ball. “Luke’s been playing well the last few games. His confidence is back. He was sick for a while, but his confidence is back. He’s hitting shots now.”

Torres hit a three to start the fourth stanza and gave AQ its largest lead of the night at 56-37. Alston produced back-to-back buckets to keep the advantage at 19, and Hawkes scored on a runner in the lane for a 62-43 lead with under five minutes to go.

McCauley cleared his bench soon after that.

“To hold that team down really gives us confidence going forward,” McCauley said.

Putnam finished with nine points on the night. Graycen Carter and Alston chipped in eight points apiece. Torres had six.

Hawkes collected seven rebounds and three assists.

The Li’l Irish finished with 18 helpers on 25 made field goals.

Aquinas outscored Timon in the paint (30-20), on second-chance points (14-5), and points off turnovers (14-11). The AQ bench outscored its counterparts, 19-5.

Timon’s Harrison led all scorers with 24. The senior guard finished the night shooting 8 of 13 including 4 of 8 behind the arc. Davion Warren scored 18.

Aquinas improved to 12-5 on the season. The Li’l Irish host Canisius (VI) next Tuesday and McQuaid two days later.

Aquinas fell to Bishop Ludden (III), 55-53 on Monday. Pickett tied the game with a late three before Mika Adams-Woods hit the game winner with :03 remaining.

Bishop Timon, ranked No. 20 NYS Class A fell to 14-5. Timon knocked off then No. 1 NYS Class Park School, 59-58 on February 3rd.

AQUINAS 65, BISHOP TIMON 56
BISHOP TIMON (14-5)
Joe Harrison III 8-13 4-4 24; Davion Warren 7-14 3-4 18; Juston Johnson 2-4
3-3 7; Adrian Baugh 1-5 0-0 3; Master Radford 1-1 0-0 2; Alero World 1-1 0-0
2; Jayon renfro 0-0 0-0 0; Tim Payne 0-2 0-0 0; Joey Rozeski 0-2 0-0 0;
Jaurney Boyland 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-44 10-11 56.
AQUINAS (12-5)
Jalen Pickett 6-16 3-4 18; Jason Hawkes 5-14 0-1 11; Luke Putnam 3-6 0-0 9;
Sincere Alston 3-3 2-2 8; Graycen Carter 4-4 0-0 8; Ruben Torres 2-4 0-0 6;
Kidtrell Blocker 1-3 0-0 2; Jimar Cunningham 1-1 0-0 2; Eric Carter 0-1 1-3
1; Sam Kelly 0-2 0-0 0; Marc DiGirolamo 0-1 0-0 0; Hiramil Hernandez 0-1 0-0
0; Anthony Flegler 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 6-10 65.
Bishop Timon……………… 9 15 13 19 – 56
Aquinas………………….. 14 20 19 12 – 65
3-point goals–Bishop Timon 6-19 (Joe Harrison III 4-8; Davion Warren 1-4;
Adrian Baugh 1-5; Joey Rozeski 0-2), Aquinas 9-22 (Luke Putnam 3-4; Jalen
Pickett 3-7; Ruben Torres 2-2; Jason Hawkes 1-6; Marc DiGirolamo 0-1;
Hiramil Hernandez 0-1; Anthony Flegler 0-1). Fouled out–Bishop Timon-None,
Aquinas-None. Rebounds–Bishop Timon 26 (Joe Harrison III 7), Aquinas 33
(Jason Hawkes 7; Jalen Pickett 7). Assists–Bishop Timon 10 (Juston Johnson
4; Davion Warren 4), Aquinas 18 (Jalen Pickett 11). Total fouls–Bishop
Timon 15, Aquinas 15. Technical fouls–Bishop Timon-TEAM, Aquinas-None.
A-400

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