Sunday, February 3, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

David Mofunanya had four dunks among his game-high 30 points as Englewood pulled away for a 82-64 win in the Jambo's Round of 16.

ALLENDALE – For the first quarter-and-a-half of Saturday’s Round of 16 Jamboree game, Northern Highlands had put itself in the ideal position. The Highlanders had a lead, the pace of play was in Highlands’ favor as its zone was slowing the game down and Englewood was forced to sit two of its starters when both Naeem Carter and Dante Drakeford picked up their second fouls.

But in the Jambo, momentum can change quickly and right after Taylor Barrise hit a jumper from the baseline to give Highlands a four-point lead with 4:54 to go in the first half, it was all Englewood.

The tenth-seeded Maroon Raiders showed off their depth when Corey West came off the bench to kick off a 12-0 run that took less than two minutes to complete. West’s driving layup drew his team to within two points; his three-pointer gave his team the lead for good with 3:44 left in the first half. David Mofunanya highlighted the spurt with the second of his four dunks and Englewood was well on its way to an 82-64 win.

Dave Reyneke scored a team-high 20 points for Highlands, but was limited by early foul trouble.

“We just played tough defense and I am just proud of my team,” said Mofunanya, a senior who finished with a game-high 30 points. “Coach [Gerald Akridge] told us to limit our turnovers and work hard on defense and things would work out for us.”

Things did work out for Englewood 354 days after they had gone terribly wrong for the Maroon Raiders on the same court last season. The Raiders were upset by Ramapo in last season’s Round of 16 when they could never force the tempo.

That was certainly not the case this time around as Englewood created plenty of turnovers, got contributions from everyone it ran out there. Taj Bates came off the bench to nail a three-pointer with 1:50 to go in the first half to push the Raider lead to 38-29 and they were up 40-33 at the break.

“The kids really stepped up to the challenge. Our guards really protected the ball well and David and Naeem were magnificent,” said Akridge, whose team earns a shot at two-time defending champion and second seeded Don Bosco Prep in next weekend’s quarterfinal round. “This means a lot because we came up here last year, we had a lead and I thought our team last year was really a great team. But I think these guys are achieving more because they work so hard and play together.”

Adam Marrakchi handed out six assists for Englewood, which moves on to the quarterfinals against defending champ Bosco.

Both Mofunanya and Carter each average over 20 points per game and they got the Raiders off and running in the second half. Carter scored on the fastbreak to open the third quarter scoring and Mofunanya followed with a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 45-33 and into double digits for the first time.

Two Dave Reyneke baskets and a three-pointer by Tucker Diestel briefly brought Northern Highlands back into contention at 45-40 with 5:14 to go in the third quarter, but Englewood answered by scoring the next 12 points to turn what was left of the competitive game into a rout.

Mofunanya scored the first six points of the spurt, the last two on another fastbreak dunk. James Jones completed a conventional three-point play; Carter scored in transition and then set up Mofunanya for another easy basket in the open floor as Englewood stretched its lead to 58-40.

“They hit some three and they got some second chance opportunities. Now you are down and you can’t keep running your continuity offense looking for a back door layup when you are down seven or eight [points],” said Highlands head coach Mike Stone. “You have to start taking more shots and that is not the tempo that we want to play at.”

Mike Librot finished with 17 points, 12 in the second half, for Northern Highlands.

Reyneke, Highlands’ versatile 6-6 center, scored a team-high 20 points, but he was hindered by first half foul trouble. He scored NH’s first 8 points of the game, but picked up his second foul with 3:11 to go in the first half. When he left the game his team was up 14-10; when he scored his next basket, it was trailing by 38-31.

Barrise kept his team in the game early as he scored 10 of his 15 points in the second quarter and the Highlanders also got 17 points for Mike Librot. Diestel Brett Malaney and Christian Marotta all made three-pointers for Highlands and Evan Katsikiotis made converted a layup and a free throw to round out Highlands’ scoring.

Mofunanya (30 points), Carter (22 points) and Jones (17 points) combined to score of 69 of Englewood’s 82 points, but just about everyone who stepped on the floor for the Raiders made a contribution.

West’s five points all came during the decisive second quarter spurt, Bates’ three-pointer came at an opportune time and Adam Marrakchi was outstanding at the point on both ends of the floor. All three of his points came on one shot that turned a one-point lead into four in the second quarter and he finished with six assists and four steals.

Josh Jones piled up 17 points for Englewood, which improved to 12-5.

“We were poised at the times it looked like they were going to comeback and really we just kept firing,” said Marrackchi, a senior. “David Mofunanya played a great game, Josh Jones played a great game, Naeem was great in the second half and we all chipped in when we had to. We played our hearts out and we got it done.”

The reward for the Maroon Raiders is a shot at Bosco, the No. 2 seed. Englewood will be the decided underdog against the two-time defending champ, but stranger things have happened.

“You never know,” said Akridge, who is the last coach to lead a public school team to a Jambo title (2000). “It all starts out 0-0 and the ball sometimes takes so funny bounces. Believe me, I know. When I thought we have had some great teams we’ve been bumped out in the second round. Bosco is so big and so deep, so we have to go back to the drawing board, but we are looking forward to playing team and glad to get the chance.”

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