Don Bosco “lights out” with 59 point first half by Greg Mattura of The Record
HACKENSACK – Marcellus Earlington had the shooter’s fever in the first half and it seemed to spread to almost every Don Bosco teammate.
Earlington and the Ironmen shot their way to a sizzling 59-point first half against Randolph at Saturday’s Mel Henderson Memorial boys basketball showcase at Hackensack and parlayed it into an 89-50 victory.
“I just thought we came out with great energy and shot the lights out,” Ironmen coach Kevin Diverio said. “It makes it a lot easier when you shoot like that.”
Don Bosco, No. 2 in The Record Top 25, shot 9-for-11 on three-pointers in the first half. Earlington, a muscular, 6-foot-5 junior forward, made all three of his treys over the first two quarters.
“We’re a very streaky team,” said Earlington, who finished with a game-high 26 points, “so when somebody makes a couple of threes, everybody starts making threes.”
Earlington was among five to contribute at least one trey in the first half to help Don Bosco (12-1) build a 59-30 lead. Senior guard Charlie Bagin hit a trio of treys in the first quarter and scored 11. Junior reserve guard Matt Herasme (15 points), senior forward Chris Lovisolo and junior reserve guard Michael Concannon each contributed one trey in the first half.
“We could walk out there right now with no one playing us,” Diverio said, “and we wouldn’t shoot 9-for-11.”
ST. JOSEPH 63, EASTSIDE 50: The No. 3 Green Knights executed the ideal game plan to neutralize the No. 4 Ghosts: a stellar man-to-man defense that provided plenty of help and limited fast breaks, and a patient offense that controlled the tempo.
Senior guard Chauncey Hawkins scored 17, shooting 8-for-9 from the foul line in the fourth to keep St. Joseph (11-3) in control. Senior forwards Joe Radi and Isaac Hippolyte scored 15 apiece while providing plenty of interior defense to keep Eastside (10-3) from going on any extended runs.
“We’re an experienced team, so we know when a team goes on a 4-0 run that we have to slow down the pace, get what we want to get, and get a good shot whether it goes in or not,” Radi said. “We just try not to rush it.”
“I thought our kids had great intensity to begin the game,” said St. Joseph coach Mike Doherty, whose team led at halftime, 35-21. “I was most pleased that our kids responded a little better to the physical play of two good teams going at it.”
DWIGHT-ENGLEWOOD 61, ST. PETER’S 50: The Bulldogs’ speed trumped the Marauders’ size and forced the Jersey City school to sit 6-foot-11 senior brothers Ryan and Parker Omslaer in the fourth to go with a smaller lineup.
Dwight-Englewood (13-1) received 16 points apiece from sophomores Tyson Etienne and Jordan McKoy. The Bulldogs’ zone defense was quick to the ball and helped overcome the size disadvantage, and also compensated for a few too many forced shots on offense.
“We’ve got to exercise patience, play our game and we can compete with anybody,” Dwight-Englewood coach Bob Rudolph said. “We’ve got some skilled players, and they can shoot the ball. It’s just that at the right time, we have to play the right way.”
HACKENSACK 73, EAST ORANGE CAMPUS 58: The Comets were slow and out of sync in the first half and led 29-27, then pulled away in the third quarter. Junior guard Atiba Taylor scored 16 of his team-high 27 points after intermission, including 11 in the fourth, for Hackensack (10-4).
“I’m always worried about events like this, because we’re spending so much time trying to run the event that we didn’t put enough time into getting our team ready,” said Comets coach Aaron Taylor. “We came out a little sluggish in the first half, were able to bounce back and play more of our style of basketball in the second half.”