BY PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Any game plan that Jeff LaFave had for his Aquinas Li’l Irish heading into Tuesday’s Class AA semi-final needed re-focusing after a little more than six minutes of game action.
That’s how much time it took for Edison Tech’s Marcqell Freeman to establish that the rim looked a lot larger than usual to him on this night.
Freeman scored Edison’s first 13 points of the game including three 3-pointers – the second of which qualified as a heat check from at least 30 feet out as the shot clock expired. The net could have melted when the orange globe ripped through the twine.
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“I got a ton of props to Marcqell,” LaFave said after his Li’l Irish advanced to the Class AA championship game with an 84-66 victory. “He was killing us. He almost broke up the plans to go to Gates (site of the Class AA championship). I’ll tell you that.”
Freeman connected on five treys in the contest as part of a 26-point game-high effort. All of that offensive production occurred in the first three quarters of the game.
There’s the rim we all see. And there’s the rim (which is clearly very large to him) that Marcqell Freeman sees tonight. That’s Freeman’s fourth trey of the night. pic.twitter.com/RCO5gJDCdx
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2022
“We started sending two people on him to at least get the ball out of his hands and make it really hard for him to get it back,” LaFave explained. “It seemed to really take them out of rhythm. That was probably the difference in the game.”
Freeman’s final three-point effort of the night came with 2 minutes and 51 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard sliced through the lane for an and-one. Free throw converted, and Edison had cut its deficit to three at 45-42.
Less than five minutes of game time later, Aquinas had a double-digit lead and did not allow Edison any closer.
And-one from Marcqell Freeman cuts the deficit to 3, but Rob McCullough and Mason Blackwood convert back-to-back putbacks. @AQ_Basketball 49-42 late in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/tWvI6SjPJg
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2022
“We specifically talked at halftime about using our size and athleticism and attacking the rack,” LaFave explained. “We said ‘we don’t need to shoot any threes. We’ll wait ‘til later in the game when you just get wide open ones when they’re comfortable.’ ”
Putback and-one from Jordan Jordan and the @AQ_Basketball lead is 13 at 69-56 with 5:47 on the clock. pic.twitter.com/Wef7YRmva3
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2022
Jordan Jordan put the halftime talk into action. The senior forward scored 11 of his career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.
The senior forward’s rebound, putback and-one gave AQ a commanding 69-56 advantage with 5 minutes and 47 seconds on the game clock.
“Let’s attack,” LaFave said of the Aquinas mindset in the second half. “Let’s use our athleticism and let’s try to get 3-point plays the old-fashioned way. That literally was our talk at halftime.”
Jordan and Mason Blackwood posted a double-double apiece. The pair both grabbed 12 rebounds. Blackwood scored 15 points.
Jordan finished the night shooting 8-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Robert McCullough added 15 points and a team-high six assists. Mykel White accounted for 10 points. Myles Blackwood (9), Jack Bleier (8) and Will Scanlon (6) rounded out the scoring for Aquinas.
Rob McCullough sets up Jordan Jordan for the and-one. Edison 15 Aquinas 15 pic.twitter.com/63mCsNxX0o
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 2, 2022
The second-seeded Li’l Irish (18-3) will face No. 8 Rush-Henrietta (11-12) in Saturday’s Class AA championship scheduled for a 6 PM tip-off at Gates-Chili. Aquinas is making its first trip to the finals since 2016 when the Li’l Irish went on to claim the NYS Class AA crown. LaFave coached Gates-Chili to the 2021 AA title.
Brandon Latson scored nine points for Edison (14-6). Fellow Inventors Tyler Bethea, Davijon Lipscomb and Edmari Binion added eight apiece. Mike Morgan accounted for seven. Edison was playing in the semi-finals for the first time since 2012.
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