GRAY BEES BASKETBALL TEAM PRIMED TO BE BACK IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Wrestling team places third in Kearny Invitational
Cheserek kicks off indoor season with a bang
Dec. 18, 2011
Many people wondered if the Gray Bees basketball team could ever reach the national prominence that became commonplace during Danny Hurley's tenure as coach.
It may be a bit early, but first-year coach Mark Taylor has St. Benedict's headed in the right direction after a tumultuous 2010-2011 campaign.
Taylor, who had to build his team around one starter from a team that posted its worst record in over a decade last season, is looking like the right fit, especially after the electrifying victory on Saturday night.
The Gray Bees came out with a furious second half rally and stunned Plainfield with a last second, 67-65, victory in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic in West Orange. The game featured 10 lead changes and five ties.
Coach Taylor's team then came back in the same venue Sunday and posted a dominating, 70-48, triumph over Roselle Catholic to up its record to 6-0 on the year. But the one thing everyone was talking about after the two-day Classic was the Gray Bees' scintillating effort against Plainfied.
The Gray Bees trailed by 7 points after a sluggish first half and by as many as 9 points early in the second half against New Jersey's defending Group 3 champions.
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Taylor's club, however, dug deep and outscored Plainfield, 36-25, over the final 11:42 of the contest to pull out the win. The victory wasn't realized until Tyler Ennis - the lone holdover from last year's 13-12 team - converted a putback off Denzell Taylor's missed free throw that produced the final points of the game with 5.9 seconds left.
"We didn't do anything well in the first half and I challenged our guys," said coach Taylor. "We needed our guys to go out there and do what we told them before the game - win the boards, take care of the ball, play defense and stay disciplined."
And that's exactly what happened.
After getting exposed by giving up 12 points on putbacks alone in the first half, the Gray Bees tightened up their defensive work and got solid play underneath from Kamal Richards and Denzell Taylor after the break.
Richards, a 6-6 senior, finished with 13 rebounds and Taylor added 7, including his final offensive board when he connected on a putback off a missed three-point attempt by Melvin Johnson that knotted the game at 65-65.
Taylor, a 6-7 senior, was fouled on the play, and had a chance to give the Gray Bees the lead, but missed the ensuing free throw. Ennis was there to bail out the team when he out-leaped the defender and hit on a putback of his own to help the Gray Bees put the final touches on the rally.
"I was ecstatic that I was able to crash the boards and get the rebound for Melvin," said Taylor. "But I was just as happy when Tyler got the rebound off my miss. It was an incredible ending to a great game."
The Gray Bees defense forced 11 turnovers in the second half against Plainfield and 17 for the game as Johnson garnered MVP honors with 29 points. Freshman Isaiah Briscoe scored 8 of his 14 points in a 21-17 fourth quarter showing.
Coach Taylor's club forced 23 more turnovers against Roselle Catholic when Ennis picked up the MVP Award by hitting for 17 points with five steals and five assists. His backcourt mate, Johnson, added 19 points and four steals.
The next big step the Gray Bees take is on New Year's Day when coach Taylor's team, currently ranked 2nd in New Jersey and 20th in the nation, hooks up with New Jersey's top team and reigning National Champions, St. Anthony, at the New Year's Jump Off in Teaneck on Jan. 1.
Most of the wrestling team took part in the Kearny Invitational on Saturday, while Jawan Jones and Terrell Forbes were in Delaware competing in the prestigious Beast of the East Tournament.
Despite missing its two best wrestlers, the Gray Bees put together an entire team effort - from freshmen to seniors - in bringing home third place honors in Kearny.
Senior Eli Feliciano (195 pounds) captured the lone first-place medal for the Gray Bees, but a number of his teammates came through with solid efforts. Also placing were freshmen Jabril Abdullah (4th at 120 pounds) and Nasir Stafford (3rd, 138), sophomores Cinque Casey-Patrick (4th, 132), Sean Sanders (3rd, hwt.), juniors Xavier Pearson (4th, 170) and Stephon McDonald (3rd, 182) and seniors Evan Gerbino (4th, 145), Tom Martorello (2md, 152) and Tariq White (3rd, 160).
"Kearny was very positive," said St. Benedict's coach Solomon Fleckman. "We showed plenty of fight and togetherness. We're making progress."
(Click here to view photos from the Kearny Invitational)
Jones and Forbes took part in their second national tournament in as many weekends and both came away with positive results. In this weekend's Beast of the East, Jones went 4-2 at 113 pounds and just missed out on a medal, while Forbes, who wrestled at 160 after taking on the 152-pounders last week in the Walsh Ironman in Ohio, went 3-2.
"This is the second week in a row they were both a break away from placing in a national tournament," said Fleckman. "But Terrell and Jawan both showed they are capable of wrestling at that level. They got the exposure and now look ready to explode."
What a way to cap the 2011 calendar year! Edward Cheserek, who only a week ago won the National Cross Country Championships, put an emphatic finish to the 2011 calendar year.
He opened his indoor track season on Saturday with a meet record in the mile with a 4:09.90 at the Bishop Loughlin Games at the Armory in NYC. The previous meet record of 4:15.16 was established by Marc Pelerin of Cherokee of Marlton, N.J. in 2001.
(Watch Cheserek's record-breaking effort in the mile from the Bishop Loughlin Games)
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The Kenyan sensation, racing against some of the top runners in the world, including a number of professionals, ran the second fastest mile ever clocked by a high school runner when he posted a New Jersey record of 4:02.21 in the Elite Mile at the New York City Track & Field Armory.
The Kenyan sensation has accepted invites to contend this Saturday in the Elite Mile at the New Balance Games and the 5-K in February during the Millrose Games against both collegians and professionals. Both events will be staged on the New Balance Track & Field Center in New York City and it looks like Cheserek will be the only high school runner in the field.
Ennis came back two days later in the Dann Finn Classic and scored 20 points with 10 assists during the Gray Bees' rout of Patterson, 89-63, at the Jersey City Armory. Melvin Johnson chipped in with 19 points, while Kamall Richards and Isaiah Briscoe added 15.
Melvin Johnson led the Gray Bees in scoring with 31 points - two below his season high - and Tyler Ennis dropped in 16 points. Johnson, Ennis and Denzell Taylor combined for 24 points during a 30-8 first quarter showing.
Coach Marty Hannon's club, behind the yeomen's work of Edward Cheserek, Darien Edwards and Naija Omari - each ran in four events - captured the team title with a 58-51 victory over West Orange.
"A great victory - very satisfying," said Hannon. "(There's) a lot of pressure on these guys, but they gave everything and secured a very nice victory."