Saturday, December 29, 2007

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Elvin Morales played his best game of the season as he scored a game-high 25 points for Passaic, which knocked off Union Hill, 70-51, in the James Kay Tournament final.

HACKENSACK – Two years ago, Elvin Morales was a starting guard on the Passaic team that won a state section title. He fit his role perfectly as a complimentary player who could take care of the basketball and knock down open shots, which often came because that Passaic squad was a fantastic offensive rebounding team that would help get Morales open on the perimeter.

Through the first five games of his senior season, the sharpshooting Morales has struggled to get on track offensively. To get him back in a rhythm, the Indians used an offensive tactic that helped Morales and his teammates achieve success in years past. On Friday night in the final of the James Kay Holiday Tournament against Union Hill, the Indians crashed the boards.

Morales scored eight points in the first quarter to help Passaic take a big lead that they would not relinquish. He hit 6 of 9 from beyond the three-point arc and finished with a game-high 25 points as Passaic won the James Kay title with a convincing 70-51 victory.

Union Hill's Jewry Hernandez scored a career-high 24 points.

“Their senior guards were a lot better tonight than our senior guards,” said Union Hill head coach Carlos Cueto. “Morales hurt us all game and we didn’t do much to stop him. The bottom line is that they killed us on the boards and they outplayed us in pretty much every way.”

Jewry Hernandez scored early to give the Hillers a 4-3 lead three minutes into the game, but that lead would be the Hillers last as Morales helped the Indians take over the game. He hit a three-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer in the midst of a 22-1 run that spanned the next eight minutes to give Passaic a comfortable 24-5 lead. All three of his field goals during the run came on second opportunities kept alive by an offensive rebound.

“Once I hit my first shot, I felt like I was going to have a good game,” said Morales. “I give the credit to my teammates, they were all over the boards. If our offense isn’t working, then we have to do it things in other ways like defense and rebounding.”

Passaic held a 15-point lead at the half and the Hillers never got any closer thanks in large part to inspired effort off the bench from Najee Salaam. The 6-2 forward dominated the paint, especially on the glass. He finished with 14 rebounds, 11 of those coming on the offensive end.

Passaic's Yasin Kearney finished with eight assists and seven boards.

“Najee Salaam had by far his best game of the season, he gave us a big lift,” said Passaic head coach Ken Slappy. “He did a great job rebounding, as we all did as a team. Elvin (Morales) has been dealing with a hip pointer all season and he finally got on track today. He is our leader and he came up big. He didn’t force any bad shots and he helped stretch their defense.”

Morales also had six rebounds and four steals for Passaic (4-2). Salaam had 14 points to go along with his 14 rebounds. Adam Rojas had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Yasin Kearney added eight assists and seven rebounds.

Hernandez scored a career-high 24 points for Union Hill (4-2). Jose Matta played well off the bench with seven rebounds, five points, and four steals. Stephen Arxer chipped in with nine points.

The most telling statistic of the game was Passaic’s whopping 50-23 advantage in rebounds.

“This is a big win for us going into the Bergen Catholic game next week,” added Slappy. “We did an outstanding job on the boards and that is what got us going in the right direction. When you play a team like Union Hill, it prepares you for playing against the NNJIL. In our league, you have to come with the same intensity every game or you are going to end up with a loss. We came with the intensity I was looking for tonight.”

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