By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Reggie Simmons wanted a four-quarter effort. For now, the Edison Tech head coach will have to accept 20 minutes against a national powerhouse.
Tyler Bethea and Davijon Lipscomb both finished in double digits, but it wasn’t enough as Edison fell to The Patrick School (Green) of New Jersey, 84-64 on day two of the “Tech Tip-Off” hosted at the Rochester City School District campus.
Bethea and Lipscomb scored four points apiece as the Inventors opened the game on a 12-0 run.
“That’s my Batman and Robin,” Simmons said of the senior (Bethea) and junior (Lipscomb) guards. “As they go, we go. If they’re not on, we’re going to struggle. They have to do a lot of things both offensively and defensively for us to be successful this season.”
Tyler Bethea grabs the board and leads Chris Taggart. @EDTechAthletics up early 8-0 @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/zpAb2uQods
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 26, 2022
Edison led by five at the end of the first quarter and six heading into the locker room at half.
Lipscomb’s layup early in the third quarter was part of a 6-0 spurt as the Inventors regained a double-digit advantage at 40-30.
Tyler Bethea block. Davijon Lipscomb gets ahead of the defense. @EDTechAthletics 40-30. pic.twitter.com/DKixCCv3fQ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 26, 2022
“We were playing great zone defense,” Simmons noted. “Everyone took care of their responsibility, and we ran out on them and got a lot of fast break points.”
The lead was short-lived.
Will Patterson scored eight of his 16 points in the third quarter as The Patrick School closed the frame on a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the game. Patterson’s rebound and putback pushed the advantage to double digits at 63-52 early in the fourth stanza.
Putback slam from Wil Patterson, and the Patrick School lead has grown to 75-61. pic.twitter.com/iyLsWRMnBP
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 26, 2022
“The big guy wore us out,” Simmons said of the 7-foot center. “With them getting into the paint, they just wore us out.”
Lipscomb shrugged off early foul trouble and finished with a game-high 24 points.
Bethea finished with 10 points and six assists in the loss. Chris Taggart added eight points for Edison while Isaiah Wonneberg had seven points. Danta Phommanirath (6), Derrick Lowery (2) and Jabari Johnson (2) also scored for Edison.
Keondre Dixie added 12 points for Patrick School along with Paul Oliviere (9), Rodney Tullis, Jr. (8) and Rajere Coloute (4).
“Initially, I didn’t know what I had with this team with losing three starters,” Simmons said of his team which stands at 1-1 after the first weekend of action. “Today, for three quarters we bonded together. The future of our season looks bright.”
Lipscomb finished with 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in Edison 79-48 win over International Prep (VI) on Friday. Bethea had 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in the win. Johnson added eight points and eight rebounds. Taggart connected five times from the floor including one 3-pointer for 11 points. Wonneberg also accounted for eight points. Phommanirath had six.
The Patrick School (Green) is part of a national program that has produced players such as Jamir Harris (Seton Hall) and Al-Amir Dawes (Seton Hall) along with NBA stars Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Bembry.
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