John Jay Enters Passing Lanes in 71-62 Win

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On Friday January 9, John Jay welcomed Hen Hud to the high school for some Friday night basketball and kicked off the festivities by taking an early 8-3. But the scoreboard wasn’t as telling as the style of play.

Great passing and tough play under the boards, the tone was set and Wolves went onto a well played 71-62 victory.

After Nate Summer turned a half court steal into the first two points, John Jay got into the passing lanes. First Summer caught Alex Palacio on the pick and roll, then Patrick Ryan’s penetration freed up Owen Gitelson to go off glass, and Ryan went back door to find Summer underneath.

8-3 at 3:27, Hen Hud obviously wasn’t conceding. On backcourt pressure, Hunter Kennedy-Brown turned the steal into a conventional three point play, and Justin Parkes scored from the line when his spin move drew the foul.

A one point game, John Jay separated again. Summer’s baseline drive had Marc Fein grabbing the miss and feeding Timmy Pastore for the easy layup.

Not done, Palacio muscled a put back and Fein then put Dion Prelvukaj in position. The guard made a perfect over the top feed into the big man, and he converted for a five point lead.

1:10 left in the first, Hen Hud still grabbed the momentum to end the quarter. On Parkes’ penetration, DJ McCarthy connected from the corner, and the margin was back to two.

Onto the second, John Jay added a little locomotion to their tool box. Fein willed himself through the paint to open the quarter, Will Green went coast to coast for a pair at the line, and Palacio drove baseline for another deuce.

Of course, the Wolves kept building on the main game plan. A reverse putback by Prelvukaj, a perfect backdoor from Fein to Summer, and a fast break basket by Fein opened a 26-13 lead with 3:25 left in the half.

Undeterred, Hen Hud went on a run of their own. McCarthy hit an open jumper, Kennedy-Brown dropped a turnaround jumper in the paint, and after going coast to coast for two, Parkes’ penetration gave Chris Barreiros three more.

A six point game, the Sailors rode the wave into intermission. Kennedy-Brown made another spin move through the paint and went off glass to close the quarter scoring at 28-24.

Returning, the big men got the lead back up to double digits nonetheless. Palacio and Gitelson stepped up for putbacks, and Gitelson went off glass in the paint.

Barreiros did answer back through. He book ended a perfect in inbound play to Gitelson with a pair of triples.

The sharpshooter wasn’t done either. He got to the line for one and hit from downtown again to make it 38-34.

4:06 left in the third, Hen Hud kept coming. Parkes got a steal at mid court, and when he missed the fast break layup, Kennedy-Brown followed with the tip in.

Summer did stop the run with a three, but the Sailors continued to weather. McCarthy this time, he dropped from downtown and turned a half court steal into a tie game at 41-41.

So John Jay called for time with 2:36 left in the third. The regroup didn’t initially have the desired effect. Kennedy-Brown forced his way through the paint, and after converting the conventional three point play, Hen had the lead.

44-42, John Jay refused to blink. Summer got the ball up and hit an open Timmy Pastore in the corner. Being big not a problem, he calmly drained the three.

In at 1:55, Kennedy-Brown did answer with a steal and fast break basket. Unfortunately for the Sailors, the 46-45 lead proved their last lead.

Summer responded with a baseline teardrop to close the quarter and separation came right away. Fein picked up Parkes’ mishandle for a fast break deuce, and off of Prelvukaj’s offensive rebound and kick out to the corner, Summer reigned again.

The freshman deluge didn’t let up either. First moving without the ball, he took Fein’s look under the boards for a reverse layup and did the same for Prelvukaj to open a 56-49 lead.

Timeout for the Sailors, Kennedy-Brown returned for two trips to the line and a four point margin. No problem, John Jay continued to play their game. After hitting a turnaround jumper in the paint, Fein found Palacio underneath and maintained a six point lead.

All that awaited was the final nail, and they belonged to Braydon Gates. First he got ahead of the field for a side step layup and buried a three off of Will Green’s penetration for a 65-57 lead.

Free throws gobbled up the last 80 seconds and John Jay had the victory.

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