Tuesday, December 23, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

BAYONNE – In the past few years Bayonne has had as much offensive talent as any boys basketball team in the HCIAA-Coviello Division, but that has not translated into an HCIAA-Coviello Tournament title. It has been keeping other teams from scoring that has proved to be the Bees’ biggest problem.

After being outplayed for most of the first half in Monday’s season-opener against Dickinson (J.C.), Bayonne guards Tariq Holmes and Jimmy Smith needed to rise to the occasion, but not in the way they usually take over games. The offensive-minded backcourt had to set the tone defensively in order to stave off an upset.

They did just that, breaking open a close game over the final four minutes. Holmes had four of his game-high seven steals during that span as Bayonne forced 11 turnovers in pulling away for a 78-62 triumph.

“If we were going to win this game, but we had to turn it up on defense,” said Holmes. “We came out pretty slow and we had to pick up the tempo. We wanted to make them play our style.”

Dickinson has been at or near the bottom of the HCIAA-Coviello Division for the past few years, but showed some promise for a better season with a strong first-half showing. Travis Cummings hit a three-pointer to end the first quarter and give the Rams a 20-18 lead and a lay-up by Chaquan Scott stretched the lead out to eight early in the second quarter. It did not last for long though as the Bees responded with a huge run to grab the lead back.

Smith and 6-7 center Joe Russo each scored a pair of baskets during a 14-0 run to put Bayonne ahead, 32-26. Last year, the Rams might have folded in that situation. That was not the case yesterday as they cut the lead to two at the half, 36-34, and stayed within striking distance well into the fourth quarter.

Rabier Bautista and Cummings each hit three-pointers to keep the Rams close. Smith answered for Bayonne with a pair of layups in the final minute of the third quarter to give the Bees a more comfortable seven-point lead, 56-49, heading into the final eight minutes.

“We needed to make some plays and give ourselves a bigger lead going into the fourth quarter,” said Smith. “The second half was a lot different than the first was. It’s disappointing because we didn’t come out strong right out of the gate. We survived today by making some plays, but we have to do what we did in the second half for a whole (32) minutes if we’re going to go far this year.”

Dickinson never got any closer than seven points as Bayonne used its full-court pressure to force one turnover after another. Despite both having four fouls for the entire fourth quarter, Holmes and Smith remained aggressive. Although Smith would foul out late, the game was already in hand by then. Bayonne forced 11 turnovers over the final 3:45 en route to the 16-point win.

“I thought we showed some positive signs, but we did not take care of the ball well at all and that did us in,” said Dickinson head coach Sean Drennan. “When we got into our offense, we did pretty well and hit our open shots. We need to work on breaking pressure and this is a game we can definitely learn something from. With teams like Bayonne and (St. Peter’s) Prep, you can’t run-and-gun with them, you have to slow the game down. We didn’t do that in the second half.”

Smith had a game-high 25 points, along with seven rebounds and four steals for Bayonne (1-0). Holmes added 19 points, seven steals, and four assists. Russo had 10 points and Amir Bailey contributed off the bench with six rebounds and six assists.

Cummings was 5-10 from three-point range and led Dickinson (1-1) with 17 points. Tavan Williams and Rabier Bautista added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

This win is the first step in what the Bees hope is a long journey towards a league title.

“We made some adjustments going into the second half and preached more about getting it done on the defensive end,” said Bayonne head coach. “Tariq (Holmes) dictates the tempo and he really got things going for us with his defense. It’s always nice to start the season and the league schedule with a win, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

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