February 25, 2010

Prep comes alive in third to advance

Stephon Whyatt St. Peter's Prep

St. Peter's Prep guard Stephon Whyatt hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter.

Click Here for photos from Bayonne vs St. Peter's Prep.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

JERSEY CITY – For St. Peter’s Prep, last night’s 90-69 victory in the semifinals of the Hudson County Tournament at the Yanitelli Center served as a reminder of just how dangerous they can be when everything is clicking.

After an unexpectedly challenging first half against, the top-seeded Marauders needed just eight minutes to take complete control and punch their ticket to Saturday’s final.

“We looked like the Knicks in the third quarter,” St. Peter’s Prep coach Mike Kelly said. We were physical, we were getting after it. We got about eight minutes of good, solid play that I was happy about. The third quarter we were just too much for them.”

St. Peter’s Prep (20-3) came out in the second half firing, scoring the first seven points of the quarter and going on a 25-7 run.

Whether it be from the perimeter (3-pointers from Myles Davis and Kevin Walker and two from Stephon Whyatt) or in the paint with Ronald Roberts and Keith Lumpkin, the Marauders were nothing short of unstoppable in the period, scoring 31 points.

“Our team really stepped up,” Roberts said. “We all shared the ball. A lot of guys scored. They did what they had to do and we pulled out the win.

“It’s real difficult (to get touches for everyone). We have a lot of talented players, but we find a way to do it somehow. We just look for the open guy and go from there.”

Roberts had seven of his game-high 26 points in the quarter, highlighted by an allyoop slam with 5:07 left. Davis, who was battling illness, scored nine in the period. Walker scored seven in the frame and Whyatt had six in the third coming off the bench.

The offensive explosion quickly silenced the fifth-seeded Bees’ bid at a stunning upset.

Playing as heavy underdogs, Bayonne (18-8) displayed an early aggressiveness to stay in the game. Trailing by 11 early in the second, the Bees fought their way back in the game with a 9-1 run behind the inside-outside combination of Elvonney Poole and Damian Williams. The senior duo had seven points and three offensive rebounds during the three minute stretch.

A driving layup by Austin Williams cut the deficit down to 28-25 with 3:20 left in the half.

“The team’s attitude was loose,” Taylor said. “Just play and have fun. Play hard because you have nothing to lose. No one expected you to be here.

“I think we played a pretty good first half. The lack of experience showed in the second half, but that happens.”

“From here on in, it’s all about defense,” Kelly said. “We just need to understand that we need to defend no matter who’s in front of us. I think we lacked respect for Bayonne and we didn’t defend and that disappoints me.”

Williams, who Taylor didn’t initially expect to play due to an ankle injury, led Bayonne with 23 points. Poole had 13 points and nine rebounds while Ryan Wolley had nine points off the bench.

Ten different players scored for the Marauders led by Roberts’ 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Davis had 18 points and eight steals despite being held scoreless until midway through the second quarter. Keith Lumpkin had 10 points and eight rebounds and J.J. Hladik connected on a trio of first-half 3-pointers to finish with nine points.

As impressive as Marauders’ offense was, Kelly was disturbed by the lack of consistency defensively and on the glass entering next week’s state tournament.

“This time of the year it’s excruciating because it’s one and done,” Kelly said. “All it’s going to take is somebody to come out and play an A-plus game and if we don’t defend, we’re going home and there’s going to be a lot tears.”

With the victory, St. Peter’s Prep will face No. 2 seed North Bergen in the title game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Yanitelli Center.

 

Vinny Masciale Bayonne

Bayonne's Vinny Masciale had six points and four assists.

  1 2 3 4 Total
Bayonne Bees (18-8)
13
15
14
27
69
St. Peter's Prep Marauders (20-3)
20
18
31
21
90
Bayonne   St. Peter's Prep
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Vinny Masciale
1
1
1
6
Rodney Wilson
0
0
2
2
Steve Roberts
0
0
0
0
Elvonney Poole
6
0
1
13
Malik Hameed
2
0
2
6
Damian Williams
4
3
6
23
Jay Williams
2
0
1
5
Bryant King
0
1
2
5
Steve Betancourth
0
0
0
0
Jordan Taylor
0
0
0
0
Ryan Wolley
4
0
1
9
Total
19
5
16
69
         
         
 
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Kevin Walker
2
1
1
8
J.J. Hladik
0
3
0
9
Ronald Roberts
10
0
6
26
Myles Davis
4
1
7
18
Keith Lumpkin
5
0
0
10
Stephon Whyatt
0
2
0
6
Sequan Jackson
0
0
0
0
James Calabrese
0
1
2
5
Chase Fluellen
1
0
2
4
Matt Porter
0
0
0
0
Jordan Arthur
0
0
0
0
Tre Bell
1
0
0
2
Tyrell Gibbs
1
0
0
2
Total
24
8
18
90
     
Bayonne: Poole 9 rebounds; Wilson 6 rebounds; Hameed 4 steals; Masciale 4 assists; Wolley 4 rebounds. St. Peter's Prep: Roberts 12 rebounds, 4 assists; Davis 8 steals, 4 rebounds; Lumpkin 8 rebounds; Whyatt 5 assists; Fluellen 4 rebounds.