Febriary
4, 2007
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ALLENDALE -- When Hackensack is on the top of its game, the ball is flashing all over the court, the big men are passing it inside and out and the shot selection is mainly in the paint. The Comets put on a clinical display of offense on Saturday afternoon in their Round of 16 Jamboree contest with Elmwood Park, and it was good enough to earn them a quarterfinal berth.
With a 97-86 win over the Crusaders, Hackensack recorded its highest point total in its 94-game Jambo history and the combined 183 points fell one short of the tournament record for a single game, most recently set in Fair Lawn's 98-86 win over Wood-Ridge in 2005.
Elmwood Park (15-2) never backed down, but the Crusaders were fighting from behind the entire way save for one possession in the second quarter. Hackensack (13-4) scored the game’s first seven points, including a pair of putback baskets, on the way to a 23-16 lead. Keon Williams had four of the points, and the junior was on his way to a career-high matching 37-point game.
“It feels good,” Williams said. “We haven’t been in the Jamboree for two years, and this sends a message that Hackensack is back as one of the top teams in North Jersey.”
The Crusaders were able to claw their way back in the second period, and when Elijah Tillerson drove the basket with 3:37 left, Elmwood Park had a 31-30 edge. The Comets answered back with a 10-0 run, beginning with a Reggie Sowell baseline jumper, continuing with two Williams lay-ins and finishing with back-to-back layups off steals by Danny Watts and Hakeem Chance.
“They scored 86 points, but it was a running game,” Whiting assessed. “When they scored, we came right back at them.”
It was 44-36 at the half and 67-60 Comets after three quarters, as Tillerson and freshman Ryan Belisle wouldn’t let their team fall too far behind, but every time hey got within two possessions, they could never get that next basket.
Williams was all but unstoppable in the fourth quarter, dropping in 16 points and offsetting two three-point field goals each by Tillerson (33 points) and Jared Forestieri (18 points).
“We’ve been going inside all year,” Hackensack head coach Gordon “Scooter” Whiting said, “and we had three guys (with good size) to their two. We wanted to get it inside to our big guys.”
The other two big men, Sowell and Justis Oliver, kept the roundball circulating, with Sowell matching his season average with seven assists.
“They can pass the ball, they’re very unselfish and they look for the open man,” Whiting related. “We have some smart kids who know what to do and they’re also good athletes.”
The Crusaders could not get any closer than eight points in the final quarter despite Tillerson's 12 markers as Hackensack forced 20 turnovers, many coming outside the arc against the EP guards.
“Our game plan was to pressure their guards and try to stop both,” Whiting said, “but 24 (Tillerson), he’s pretty good.”
The Crusaders shot 27 of 60 from the floor (5 of 13 on three-pointers) and made 27 of 34 free throws. Belisle and Tillerson each grabbed seven rebounds and Jimmy Schmitt handed out five assists.
The Comets were red hot in the second half, hitting 20 of 27 field goals. They were 39 of 72 for the game and also nailed 15 of 21 foul shots. Williams complimented his scoring with 15 rebounds and Danny Watts scored 15 points and dished out six assists. Sowell also dropped in 15 points.
“It’s a team concept of doing things the right way, and the most important thing is sharing the basketball,” Whiting explained. “That’s what I’m most proud of, that they move it and share it.”
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