By PAUL GOTHAM
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Five players scored during a 16-5 run to close the first half, and the Northeast Panthers went on to defeat Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School (EMHCS), 74-53 in the opening round of the Al Masino Tip-Off Tournament at Eastridge High School.
Leading 19-16, Michael Cathey converted a rebound and putback to start the run then capped the spurt with another rebound and pass to Loren Thomas into the open court for a layup heading into the locker room at halftime. In between, Mikell Timmons drove baseline for a runner and hit a 3-pointer. Nah’zhear Beales connected from distance, and Rakear Knowles also scored to give the Panthers a commanding 35-21 advantage.
Michael Cathey grabs the rebound and finds Loren Thomas on the leak out for 2. Northeast closes the half on a 16-5 run for a 35-21 lead heading into the break. Cathey has 9 points. Jaivein Fell has 8. @EMHCSBasketball 9th grader Knekose Mack leads all scorers with 10. pic.twitter.com/9w4XwY8l9p
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 2, 2022
“I was really proud of them,” Northeast head coach Kyle Crandall said. “They fought through some adversity. They really made some adjustments to settle down. Part of that was just first-game jitters and getting through some of that emotion.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM RON ANDREWS HERE.
Cathey was one of four Panthers in double figures for the game. The sophomore forward finished with 15 points to go with 13 rebounds and five assists. Jaivein Fell paced the Northeast offense with 18 points. Monty Velletri added 13, and Mikell Timmons scored 10 points.
Mikell Timmons hits the baseline runner. pic.twitter.com/dleme5btJe
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 2, 2022
“One of the things as a coach when you look out and see the unselfish play that I saw tonight in game one, that’s something that is critical for our success,” Crandall noted. “As long as this team continues to be unselfish like that and hit the open guy we’ll be all right.”
Overall, the Panthers (1-0) finished with 18 assists on 31 made field goals.
“They seemed like they wanted to get that assist more than they wanted the basket. That’s something we’ve really been preaching and working on. I’m glad to see they were executing that.”
High-low action: Michael Cathey feeds Jaivein Fell for the hurt and harm. Northeast 19-12 early in second. pic.twitter.com/9RJLD3eYrW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 2, 2022
Northeast forced 10 turnovers in the first half and four more miscues in the third quarter that the Panthers were able to convert into offense at the other end of the floor.
Fell scored 10 in the third.
“We really want to be a strong defensive team,” Crandall stated. “Certainly, we were out of position at times but you can’t ask for more heart than what they gave today on the defensive end. As a coach, that’s what you want to see. You want to see maximum effort. When you get that maximum effort, then you can make some of the corrections down the road.”
Thomas had eight points in the contest. Glenn Wilson contributed three, and Jason Harris had two points.
Eugenio Maria’s Knekose Mack led all scorers with 20 points. Lavante Brown had 15. Seth Patterson (6), Miguel Chevere (5), Jayson Maldanado (5) and Eddy Bermudez (2) also scored for the Hornets (0-2).
Knekose Mack grabs the rebound and hits in the lane. @EMHCSBasketball pic.twitter.com/UAnD3FNpIl
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 3, 2022
Northeast will play Vertus Academy in Saturday’s championship game. A 5:15 p.m. tip off is scheduled at Eastridge High School.
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