ROCHESTER — When it came down to it, Brien Walker was there for his team. Whether that team was on Staten Island or in Rochester.
The 6-foot-4 Monroe junior scored the final four points of Saturday’s Section V Class A championship, including the winning basket with 25 seconds remaining to lift the Red Jackets to a 49-47 win over Wayne at the Blue Cross Arena.
But when the sun dawned earlier Saturday morning, Walker was just more than 5 hours away in Staten Island. On Friday, he was part of Monroe’s 4×200 relay team competing at the indoor state championships. Walker helped the Red Jackets to an 11th-place finish in the event, then was up Saturday morning for a 6 a.m. car ride back to Rochester. He arrived home at noon and wasn’t just here for the 3 p.m. tipoff, he played a vital role.
“I was ready to go,” said Walker. “But I’ll sleep well tonight.”
Indeed, Walker and his Monroe teammates should all sleep well tonight and on Sunday, they’ll rise as champions. And they’ll sleep well because of how hard they worked for this championship. Monroe’s initial 11-5 lead after one quarter suggested it might be one of “those” games but Wayne is no stranger to this spotlight, or pressure.
The No. 3 seed Eagles (19-4) were playing for a third straight Section V title and after scoring just one field goal in the first quarter, the second was more to their liking. No. 4 Monroe (17-5) extended its lead to 16-7 early, but when Aiden Twist drained a 3-pointer from the wing, the Eagles were awake.
Twist’s bucket sparked a 13-2 run for Wayne that included another 3-pointer from him and one from Richie Miles. Another 3 from Malachi Kuhn put Wayne in control with a 27-18 halftime lead and it was a 33-18 lead early in the third before Monroe took its turn on offense. The Red Jackets went on a 14-0 run with six points from Walker to close the Wayne lead to 35-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
And by now, the success of Monroe was due to Walker’s discovery of how to handle the Wayne zone. With Wayne interior players thinking about avoiding foul trouble, Walker went to work to pound the ball low.
“We just attacked the middle,” he said. “And if the look wasn’t there, we kicked it out.”
Jordan Reis and John Hardy took care of the outside shooting in the fourth until Tah’Jier Jahnel Holmes made a free throw with 1:17 left to tie the game. Wayne took a 47-45 lead on two free throws from Jack Miles and an inside bucket by Walker tied the game again.
The Eagles turned the ball over with 46 seconds remaining, which gave Monroe another chance for another lead and Walker obliged with 25 seconds remaining. And even then, the game was not over until the final horn after Monroe missed a pair of free throws with 2.4 seconds left but Wayne’s desperation heave at the buzzer was off the mark.
It’s the first loss in a Section V final in six trips for Wayne.
“They rushed us a bit in the second half,” said Wayne coach Bill Thomson. “Got us out of our rhythm. We held them to 49 points so we were getting our defensive stops, but the offense wasn’t there.”
What is there for Monroe is another Section V block. After winning a Section V and state title in football last fall, the school now has some basketball hardware for display.
“It’s a testament that if you put the right people around our children and support them, and push them and give them higher expectations, the sky is the limit,” said Monroe coach Terrell Cunningham. “Everything about this school, the culture from the top down is top-notch.”
Walker led Monroe with 18 points, Reis scored 13 and Holmes added 11. For Wayne, Jack Miled scored 14 and Twist scored 12.
Class A All-Tournament team
Kaden Larsen-Porter (Geneva), Jack Miles (Wayne), Jordan Reis (Monroe), Richie Miles (Wayne), Tah’Jier Holmes (Monroe), Aidan Twist (Wayne). MVP: Richard Walker (Monroe).
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