By PAUL GOTHAM
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — One day after after he poured in 40 points, Tournament MVP Reggie Smith, Jr. had 34 more in him and led the Brighton Bruins past host Eastridge, 70-60 in the championship of the 2023 Al Masino Tip Off tournament, on Saturday.
Smith connected 11 times from the floor including once from long range and converted 11 of 12 free throws on the night.
“He’s been our focal point for three years now,” Brighton head coach David Tisa said of the senior forward. “To watch him grow from a post player two years ago to now being able to score from wherever gives us a lot of options.
“Our game plan is always to try get him the ball in the right spots.”
Smith beat the halftime horn with a 3-pointer as part of an 11-point second-quarter effort to help the Bruins to a 13-point lead heading into the locker room. Less than five minutes of game time later, that advantage was reduced to four.
Smith responded and finished a bucket in the lane to end the third stanza then connected twice from the free throw line to open the fourth for a double-digit Brighton lead.
The Bruins did not allow Eastridge within seven for the remainder of the contest.
Reggie Smith, Jr. finishes in traffic. @bruins_hoops 50-43 heading to the fourth. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/6JqKcXvPPm
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 2, 2023
“You got to weather the storm and stay calm in those situations,” Tisa said. “We knew we could have a good possession if we get the ball to Reggie in a good spot where he can create, that’s what ended up happening.”
Grady Hopkin and Abram Levy helped balance the floor when they both found the range from long distance and hit a 3-pointer apiece in the fourth quarter.
“The guys responded beautifully to the game plan,” Tisa said. “It’s what we had to do. If the team we’re playing is late on closing out, we have the shooters.”
Grady Hopkin buries a catch-and-shoot triple, gives @bruins_hoops a double-digit lead at 57-46. pic.twitter.com/ezSdFML0v0
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 2, 2023
Brighton opened the tournament with a 77-54 victory over Rochester Academy on Friday.
“We played two athletic teams back-to-back which gets us ready for the athletic teams we play the rest of our season. That’s why this tournament was a good fit for us as far as styles go.”
All-Tournament selection, Aksel Stanat accounted for 13 points in the win. Hopkin had nine and Levy eight. JT Snyder scored four and Tom Welker rounded out the Brighton offense with two points.
Eastridge’s Jalonie Pittman scored 10 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter when the Lancers started to extend their defense. Pittman hit a three then found the bottom of the net on back-to-back possessions. He connected twice from the free throw line and his bucket coming out of a timeout made it a 44-40 game.
“We knew the press was coming at some point,” Tisa said. “We spent time walking through it last night, talking them through what was coming and being able to handle the pressure. They did a beautiful job of it.”
Marquis Tubbs added 14 points for Eastridge. Brailon Johnson had 10 points. Ty Kunzer-Borrelli (4), Alexander Simmons (4), Zavieair Williamson (2) and Brennen Russo (1) also scored for Eastridge.
Jalonie Pittman with the back down and @EastridgeHoops is within four at 44-40. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/fLIrWhFBeW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 2, 2023
The win was especially satisfying for Tisa, a teacher at Eastridge for the past 24 years. The seventh-year Brighton coach has brought his teams to the tournament on two other occasions and came away with losses before Saturday’s championship.
“I have never in my life won a championship in anything. Any sport I’ve played, any team I’ve coached, I’ve never won a championship. So for us, for me a little extra motivation to get it done today.”
Al Masino, a former coach, teacher and principal of Eastridge, was a 2002 Section V Basketball inductee as a player, coach and official. Masino led East High to a sectional title in 1946. He went on to play at Canisius College (now Canisius University) before continuing his career in the ABL and NBA with the Rochester Royals and Syracuse Nationals. He was part of the 1953-54 Nationals team that reached the NBA finals.
He was named to the Section V Diamond Anniversary “Top 50 All Time” list. He coached Eastridge for 16 season and led the Lancers to the 1964 Class AA championship and a 1967 league title. Masino passed away in 2006. The Tip-Off tournament in his honor has been in existence since 2012.
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