Seven different players scored during the first quarter as the Aquinas Li’l Irish jumped to a double-digit advantage on their way to a 68-40 victory over the Webster-Schroeder Warriors in the Section Five Class AA opening round.
Senior Jalen Pickett netted eight of his game-high 21 points over the first eight minutes of play to pace the reigning AA champions to a 23-11 lead. Pickett’s 3-pointer at the 3:46 mark made it a 14-4 game. A pair of Eric Carter free throws three minutes later followed by a Pickett layup gave the Li’l Irish a 14-point advantage at 23-9.
Fellow senior Jason Hawkes handed out three of his game-high five assists and added two points over the first eight minutes of play.
Sincere Alston, Kidtrell Blocker and Graycen Carter all added field goals in the first quarter while Luke Putnam hit one of two three pointers on the night.
Aquinas led 34-27 at half and 49-37 after the third quarter before putting the game away with an 11-3 run to start the final stanza.
The Li’l Irish converted 19 Schroeder turnovers into a 20-6 advantage in points off mishandles. Hawkes collected three steals. Alston and Eric Carter added two thefts apiece.
Hawkes registered a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds, and the Li’l Irish outrebounded the Warriors 37-36.
Aaron Way scored four of his team-high 12 points, and Schroeder outscored AQ 16-11 in the second quarter. Nate Hardy converted a pair of free throws with :38 remaining in the half to pull the Warriors within seven at 34-27. Schroeder had a chance to cut further into the lead but could not connect on a three-point attempt.
Nate Hardy added eight points and seven rebounds for Schroeder. Clay Dwyer chipped in six points and seven rebounds.
Aquinas limited Schroeder to 1-of-12 from behind the three-point arc.
AQ’s Eric Carter finished with 10 points. Graycen Carter, Hiramil Hernandez and Putnam scored six apiece.
Aquinas outscored Schroeder in the paint, 32-24.
The fourth-seeded Li’l Irish advanced to Saturday’s quarter-final where they will host No. 5-seed Bishop Kearney. The two teams have combined to win 21 sectional titles. The Li’l Irish have won the last two AA crowns including a year ago when they took the state championship before advancing to the Federation final.
Bishop Kearney took the 2013 AA1 championship its third straight Section Five crown. The Kings went on to win the 2013 state title.
A 5 pm start time is scheduled Saturday at Wegman-Napier Complex at Aquinas.
AQUINAS 68, WEBSTER SCHROEDER 40
WEBSTER SCHROEDER (5-16)
Aaron Way 4-10 3-4 12; Nate Hardy 3-7 2-2 8; Josh Simons 2-8 2-2 6; Clay
Dwyer 2-7 2-2 6; Malachi Duvall 2-5 0-0 4; Chris McKrell 2-6 0-0 4; Caleb
Punter 0-0 0-2 0; Kyle Norton 0-2 0-0 0; Connor Bisaillon 0-2 0-0 0; Karise
Leonard 0-3 0-0 0; Ben Mauro 0-1 0-0 0; Micah Duvall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-51
9-12 40.
AQUINAS (15-6)
Jalen Pickett 7-15 6-8 21; Jason Hawkes 5-10 0-2 10; Eric Carter 3-6 4-6 10;
Hiramil Hernandez 2-2 0-0 6; Graycen Carter 3-4 0-1 6; Luke Putnam 2-6 0-0
6; Ruben Torres 1-7 2-2 5; Kidtrell Blocker 1-4 0-0 2; Sincere Alston 1-2
0-2 2; Sam Kelly 0-0 0-0 0; Marc DiGirolamo 0-1 0-0 0; Rodre Lewis 0-0 0-0
0; Jimar Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0; Anthony Flegler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 12-21
68.
Webster Schroeder…………. 11 16 10 3 – 40
Aquinas………………….. 23 11 15 19 – 68
3-point goals–Webster Schroeder 1-12 (Aaron Way 1-6; Josh Simons 0-3; Clay
Dwyer 0-2; Malachi Duvall 0-1), Aquinas 6-20 (Hiramil Hernandez 2-2; Luke
Putnam 2-5; Ruben Torres 1-5; Jalen Pickett 1-4; Kidtrell Blocker 0-1; Marc
DiGirolamo 0-1; Jason Hawkes 0-2). Fouled out–Webster Schroeder-Malachi
Duvall, Aquinas-None. Rebounds–Webster Schroeder 36 (Clay Dwyer 7; Nate
Hardy 7), Aquinas 37 (Jason Hawkes 13). Assists–Webster Schroeder 3 (Micah
Duvall 1; Karise Leonard 1; Chris McKrell 1), Aquinas 15 (Jason Hawkes 5).
Total fouls–Webster Schroeder 20, Aquinas 14. Technical fouls–Webster
Schroeder-None, Aquinas-None. A-500
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