December 29, 2011

Weehawken point guard Damian Corredor (right) led all scorers with 20 points. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Weehawken at McNair Boys Basketball Photo Gallery

JERSEY CITY – As Weehawken's Damian Corredor sped up and down the court ahead of everyone else, the idea that he was playing at anything less than 100 percent seemed impossible. In reality, turf toe injuries to both feet from a record-breaking football season has prevented Corredor from reaching his true capabilities.

Regardless, little could slow down the dynamic point guard or his Weehawken teammates as they cruised past McNair 59-34 in the Third Place Game of the Hudson River Classic at McNair High School.

"He's still a half-step slow, he's not as quick as he was last year," head coach Jake McNish said. "But he's still quicker than most guys on the floor."

"Some days it hurts, some days it doesn't," said Corredor of his injury. "It's just an annoying thing."

Corredor said yesterday's game was one of his "good days" for his toes and didn't take long to prove it, scoring his team's first six points. On consecutive possessions he stole the ball from a Cougars (0-5) guard and promptly raced for an uncontested layup.

"When he gets it and goes we're a better team," McNish said. "He gives us the energy. He gets us going up and down the floor, that's what we need."

Whether it was Corredor or teammates David Strandberg, Dante Cieri or Roberto Moran, the Indians (4-1) would set the tone with an aggressive defense and shred their opponent in transition.

"We play much better when we get our fast break points," Corredor said. "Against McNair we got a lot more off that. Yesterday against Jackson Liberty we didn't really have a lot of fastbreak points. That tells you the difference in our team."

Weehawken would do just that to pull away late in the first half, this time with Corredor playing the role of distributor. The Indians closed the second quarter on a 10-0 run with Corredor getting two points, two assists, two steals and a rebounder in the two-minute surge. Strandberg scored four points in the run and Moran capped off the streak with a put-back right before the buzzer to take a 26-14 lead into the half.

"We dialed it up on defense, we were scoring our points off of transition, setting our press, getting steals, pushing it up the floor," McNish said. "We're better when we play like that. Yesterday we got lulled into a half court, walk the ball up the floor (game). When the other team dictates the tempo, it's not good for us."

The Indians built off that momentum heading into the half as it opened the third quarter with a 10-1 run. Cieri scored 11 of his 14 points in the period as the host McNair was never able to cut the lead any closer than 15 points in the second half.

Corredor led all scorers with 20 points to go with eight rebounds, six steals and three assists. Strandberg added eight points in what was a rare off-night for the junior shooting the ball. Moran chipped in with five points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Joel Bosire paced the Cougars with 12 points as he drained four 3-pointers. Teammate Jose Caicedo hit a pair 3-pointers to finish with nine points in defeat.

Jose Caicedo hit two 3-pointers and finished with nine points for McNair. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Weehawken at McNair Boys Basketball Photo Gallery