Weequahic Battles From Behind
To Edge MKA, 63-62, In ECT
By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com

MONTCLAIR- The old adage about bad things happening when you let a team hang around certainly came to fruition for The Montclair Kimberley Academy on Monday afternoon as the Cougars relinquished an eight-point lead with just over four minutes remaining and Weequahic proved relentless, both with its constant ball pressure and strong rebounding, leading to a go-ahead bucket by junior forward Dondre Warrem with 12.5 seconds remaining and an exciting 63-62 Indians victory in the second game for each team in the Essex County Tournament “Play-In” bracket.

Weequahic (10-4), the 18th seed, won its ninth straight game and advances into Saturday’s Round of 16 (first round) ECT contest at second-seeded Newark Tech. Fifteenth-seeded MKA (12-2) had reached the quarterfinals of the counties just a year ago.

MKA had an 8-point lead with 4:24 left when it turned the ball over on an offensive foul. Weequahic responded with some perimeter prowess from senior guard Tyrone Anthony, who proceeded to hit two long 3-pointers in consecutive trips down the floor to pull the Indians to within 59-57 with 3:30 still showing.

The Indians closed to a point, 62-61, with 1:16 showing on a Warrem free throw and then after a steal with 30 seconds left, Weequahic went ahead for the first time in the game since leading 2-0 early in the first quarter when Warrem sank his short ‘J’ with 12.5 showing for what proved to be the game-winning points.

“It’s such a big win for us and we really needed this,” said Warrem, a 6-foot-4 junior, who finished with a solid game (11 points, 8 rebounds) as all five Weequahic starters scored in double figures. “Coach (Maurice Ware) told us to come out strong in the third quarter (20-16 edge for the Indians in that stanza) and don’t let up on the pressure, and we just kept playing hard the whole way.”

MKA appeared to be able to withstand each Weequahic run, which would cut the Cougars’ lead to six points at different junctures before MKA would build the advantage right back up to eight or nine and maintain a fairly comfortable cushion, which was at eight, 59-51, with 4:49 remaining in the fourth quarter when senior forward Max Herrmann (game-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds) made a conventional 3-point play with an inside move.

And, after a Weequahic miss, the Cougars had a chance to increase the lead to double digits moments later before an offensive foul gave the ball back to the Indians, who simply took over down the stretch with the game’s biggest plays while appearing the quicker and less fatigued unit.

“I condition my kids really hard so we can be ready to finish strong,” said Ware, the Indians’ second-year head coach. “We play uptempo in order to tire out teams if we can and I noticed that a couple of their guys were sucking wind out there.

“I told our kids to stay up on them and –eventually- we staged the comeback I knew we were capable of completing out there today.”

Weequahic’s guards, led by Salhudine Simmons and Tyrone Anthony (12 points each) along with Mose May-McNair (11 points) provided much of the ball pressure that made MKA especially vulnerable in the game’s final four minutes.

Inside, the Indians received strong scoring from 6-5 senior forward Shakur Benbow (15 points, 10 rebounds), who consistently found his way into the paint along with Warrem.

“We were shaky in the beginning, but we made up for a slow start with a great second half, especially in the fourth quarter,” said Benbow. “It takes a total team effort in a game like this, and everyone did their part in this comeback.”

MKA’s own talented inside tandem of Herrmann and the 6-8 junior Matt Lane (15 points, 12 rebounds) did a solid job; however, the Cougars still killed themselves as a team with turnovers plus shot only 11-of-23 from the foul line, including missing 5 of 11 attempts in the fourth quarter.

“I really felt like we gave up way too many possessions, gave them enough hope and then we just couldn’t close it out,” said veteran Cougars coach Tony Jones. “We did things we shouldn’t do.

“We talk about making the extra pass and we didn’t do that enough. And, when you’re not making foul shots and you’re not getting good possessions, then you’re putting yourself in a very bad position.

“Weequahic competed and wanted it more than we did. Good things happen when you’re the more aggressive team. Our kids are pretty disappointed, but I told them, when you’re not going to be the aggressor, things like this happen, especially when decisions are poor as well.”

MKA led, 36-26, at the half behind Lane, who scored 11 of his 15 points, and senior point guard Kieran Powell, who had 10 of his 14 points before the intermission.

Weequahic, which arrived late to the game, necessitating a 30-minute delay in the tip-off time, took a half to get into any sort of rhythm, but definitely had fresh legs in the third and –especially- the fourth quarters.

“We’re in shape, no doubt about that,” said Warrem. “We also have great team chemistry now and don’t give up on each other when we’re down, and that’s been the difference in us going on this long winning streak.”

Weequahic started the season at 0-3 with losses to Caldwell, Newark Academy and MKA by 19 (65-46). However, the last month has been a revelation for Ware and company as the team has gelled, basically with the same personnel that dropped those early contests.

“It’s been hard work by these kids and a belief in what we’re trying to teach them,” said the Indians’ head mentor. “They’ve been coming to practice ready to work and they are starting to trust each other along with sharing the ball a lot more and everyone is falling into their roles on the team.

“I feel if my guys play hard they have a chance to beat anyone. Early in the season we just didn’t trust each other out there. It took a while to believe in the system. This is only my second year as head coach and we’re still trying to get embedded into them what we’re trying to do where there no discrepancies in what we want to have happen at the end of the game.

“It’s a continual process, but we’re getting there and nine straight wins is a pretty good indication of our progress.”

Essex County Tournament “Play-In” Bracket Game, Monday, Jan. 30:

(18) Weequahic (10-4) 11 15 20 17 -63

(15) MKA(12-2) 19 17 16 10 -62

Weequahic: Mose May-McNair 5-0-1-11, Tyrone Anthony 2-2-2-12, Salhudine Simmons 4-1-1-12, Shakur Benbow 6-0-3-15, Dondre Warrem 5-0-1-11, Jasell McKnight 1-0-0-2, Nathaniel Jackson 0-0-0-0. Totals: 23-3-8-63

MKA: Kieran Powell 4-0-6-14, Zach Friedman 1-0-0-2, Max Nelson 0-0-0-0, Matt Lane 6-0-3-15, Max Herrmann 10-0-2-22, Gabe DiMasi 0-0-0-0, Joshua Chery 1-0-0-2, Elijah Adderley 0-1-0-3, Kevin Brown 2-0-0-4. Totals: 24-1-11-62

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