Saturday,
February 15, 2016
By Jason Bernstein
NJS.com Correspondent
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After going scoreless in the first quarter Jawuan Daniels (left) went off for a game-high 24 to lead Teaneck past Ramsey, 51-40 and into the semifinals of the Bergen County Jamboree. |
HACKENSACK - When Teaneck coach Jerome Smart asked junior forward Jawuan Daniels if he was nervous during the first few minutes of Sunday’s game it wasn’t out of concern of Daniels’ reaction to the big stage of the Bergen County Jamboree quarterfinal contest. The question, instead served as challenge to the multi-talented big man, who had yet to take a shot.
“When they (Ramsey) were on the free throw line he asked me are you nervous? I told him of course not,” Daniels said. “Once he said that I started to get going.
“As soon he asked me that, I knew that was his clue. Asking me a question like that, that was his clue for me to get going. He wanted me to get it done. When he said I was nervous, I took a little offense to that.”
Any anger Daniels felt was then taken out on the opposition.
Daniels, who went scoreless in the first quarter, would go on to lead all scorers with 24 points as third-seeded Teaneck rallied from a 10-point deficit to defeat sixth-seeded Ramsey, 51-40, at the Rothman Center at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Teaneck (20-3) will now face second-seeded Don Bosco Prep in the semifinals next Sunday.
“Today was a day he felt like he had to step up and score more,” Smart said. “I got on him a little bit earlier, it was like 9-0 and I asked him ‘when are you going to take a shot?’ After that, he said, 'Ok, Coach' and he went on from there.”
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Jack Gaffney had 15 points to lead Ramsey, which lost for just the second time this season. |
Putting the ball in the basket was just one of many ways Daniels put his stamp on the game. He pulled down 10 rebounds and provided critical perimeter defense to slow down the Rams’ Jack Gaffney in the second half.
“In times of need, he always seems to be the guy who picks up the pieces, especially when Ja’Quaye (James) is struggling, especially when everyone else is no doing anything,” Smart said. “Jawuan is always the guy who steps up with rebounding, playing defense on the perimeter and in the post on defense, he passes well. He’s just a very valuable player.”
Teaneck’s “time of need” came early as Ramsey (20-2) scored the game’s first nine points. Playing with high energy, while also at the slower tempo they desired, the Rams took their biggest lead of the day at 14-4 on Gaffney’s 3-pointer from the corner right before the horn to signal the end of the first quarter.
“Our game plan was to take away transition, that’s a big part of their offense, and to make sure we were sharing the ball and executing,” Ramsey coach Kevin McGuire said. “A lot of our focus was more on the defensive end. We knew what we could do offensively. Defensively we really wanted to keep them on the sideline and not let them drive up the middle.”
Daniels started to find a groove in his “bread and butter” spot on the floor - the jumper from the foul line in the second quarter, when he scored the next six points to cut the deficit down to four.
Ramsey took a 26-19 lead on a Sean Kopczynski bucket in the opening minute of the third quarter, but from there Teaneck, and in particular Daniels, took over. With Ramsey’s depth compromised by foul trouble, Teaneck closed the period with a 16-4 run. Eleven of those points came from Daniels, who punctuated the surge with a ferocious two-handed baseline slam with three seconds remaining in the period, making it 35-30.
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Adrian Baucom had 10 points for Teaneck, the No. 3 seed that will play No. 2 Don Bosco Prep in the semifinals. |
The Rams tied the game at 35-35 when Joseph Carroll banked in a 3-pointer with 4:47 remaining. However, Nick Whitaker put Teaneck in front for good on a lay-up with 3:34 left. The Highwaymen made 10 of 13 free throws after that, four coming from Daniels, as well as his fadeaway jumper to put the game away in the final minute.
“Our kids have been very resilient all year,” said Smart. “I had no doubt in my mind that we would snap out of it, start to play basketball, starting in the second quarter and that it would roll over into the third and fourth.”
“I felt like we had a good game plan going in,” McGuire said.. The guys did a great job of executing it, we played hard as heck and I couldn’t be prouder of my guys. That Teaneck team is a very good, very deep team.”
Gaffney paced the Rams with 15 points, but was held scoreless for the first 14 minutes of the second half with Daniels matched up on him. Kopczynski pulled down 13 rebounds to go with six points, while Carroll and Christian Tesoriero scored seven points apiece.
Adrian Baucom had 10 points and five rebounds for a Teaneck squad, which had to overcome foul trouble and an uncharacteristically rough shooting night from James. James, who entered averaging 19.4 points per game, was held to just six on Sunday, but four of them came in the final two minutes and he also had seven assists. Whitaker had six points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
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