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UPrep avenges earlier loss with win over Aquinas

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UPrep head coach Jerice Crouch (center) embraces seniors Alex Webb (21) and Keone Manigault (5) after the Griffins 55-50 victory over Aquinas on Saturday. (Photo: Paul Gotham)

By PAUL GOTHAM

CHILI, N.Y. — Chick-fil-A? Or Five Guys? Those are the choices.

At least that’s how UPrep’s Gavin White sees it.

Chicken-sandwich meal, regular with lemonade if it’s the former. Bacon cheeseburger for the latter.

Either way, UPrep head coach Jerice Crouch will foot the bill.

And it will be worth every cent.

White took a pair of first-quarter charges to help UPrep set the tone on the defensive end of the floor, and the Griffins went on to beat Aquinas, 55-50 in a matchup of Section V Class AAA contenders, Saturday at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan University.

“We just wanted to come out here, get after it and make them work,” Crouch said. “That’s a good team (Aquinas). They (UPrep) are starting to figure it out.”

A 16-4 run to close the first quarter gave UPrep an eight-point lead, and the Griffins did not trail for the remainder of the contest.

“I don’t think we’ve beaten them since 2019,” Crouch said. “Hats off to these guys for stepping up and handling business today.”

Keone Manigault and Alex Webb finished with a double-double apiece while Jermelle Cotton had double-figure points in the win.

The trio scored on consecutive possessions in the first quarter to give UPrep the lead.

Webb’s bucket tied the game at seven. Manigault slipped behind the defense and finished with an open-court slam for a 9-7 lead. Cotton hit his first of two triples in the opening eight minutes, and UPrep was off and running. The junior guard’s second trey capped the first stanza with a 19-11 UPrep lead.

“We always talk about playing good basketball in February,” Crouch said. “As long as we continue to trend up, I like our chances.”

UPrep’s defense held Aquinas (averaging 74.3 points per game) to a season-low output on the offensive end. The Griffins forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, disrupted the Li’l Irish offense throughout the the contest and held AQ to five points over the first seven-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.

“We just knew we had to stop their big man, Chris (Leysath),” White said. “He’s dominant in the paint. We had to keep him off the boards. We had to stop Mackie (Terry) from shooting threes. Today, he hit a couple. We just had to crash the boards, get rebounds and push it up the floor.”

Aquinas took a 68-65 decision when the two teams met earlier in the season.

“Congratulations to UPrep on a great victory,” said AQ head coach Jeff LaFave whose squad fell to 15-3 after a second straight loss. “This was a wake-up call for us. We need to get back to doing the things that make us successful. The things that make us more unified as a team and less as individuals attacking the game.”

UPrep’s defensive influence started in those opening minutes when Cotton took one charge and White two of his own.

“Taking charges is one of the things that we talk about,” Crouch said. “It’s an art. Taking charges is an art.

“Every six charges and they get a meal out of me. Jermelle already got one. I owe Gavin one after today.”

A week ago, UPrep (8-7) lost to Greece Athena (16-0/No. 1 NYSSWA Class AA), the only unbeaten team remaining in Section V, 62-60. It was a game that UPrep led by seven with four minutes to go. It ended up being a fifth single-digit and third single-possession loss of the season.

“We had a tough one last week where we blew one late in the game,” Crouch said. “For the most part, a lot of our losses are games where we let the lead slip away late. It wasn’t there yet. All week, we worked on situational basketball.”

On Saturday, the Griffins didn’t flinch when Mackie Terry hit a pair of late 3-pointers to pull Aquinas within two at 49-47 and three at 53-50.

Cotton sank a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining to seal the game.

“This whole week we were working on different situations,” White said. “If we are up by four with 40 seconds left, what do we do? That’s what showed up today.”

Manigault had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Webb finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Cotton accounted for 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Mackie led Aquinas with 16 points. Christian McCullough had 12.

UPrep hosts McQuaid Jesuit on Monday for its first of five remaining regular season games.

Aquinas has the week off from games before hosting Bishop Kearney on February 13th.

AQUINAS
Jadeir Breedlove 0 0-6 0, Trent Buttles 3 0-2 7, Christian McCullough 3 5-6 12, Mackie Terry 6 0-0 16, Derrion Battle 1 0-0 3, Micah Anderson 2 2-2 6, Chris Leysath 2 2-2 6 TOTALS 17 9-18 — 50

UPREP
Ja’yvion Sampson 0 1-2 1, Gregory Bodine 1 0-0 3, Damari Davis 0 0-0 0, Gavin White 2 3-6 7, Keone Manigault 6 0-0 12, Percy Robinson 1 0-0 3, Quentin Nowden 3 0-0 6, Jermelle Cotton 3 2-2 10, Alex Webb 6 1-2 13, Cai’ryn Jessie 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 22 7-12 — 55

AQUINAS 11 14 17 8 — 50
UPREP 19 14 12 10 — 55

3-point goals AQUINAS 7 (Buttles 1, McCullough 1, Terry 4, Battle 1); UPREP 4 (Bodine 1, Robinson 1, Cotton 2).

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