John Jay Moves to .500 with Big Win Over Somers

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On January 24, John Jay and Somers dialed up Friday Night and faced off in front of a packed house at the high school. For the Wolves, the strategy was simple. “Just be aggressive, that’s really it,” said Will Civetta, “make them handle the ball.” .And forcing six turnovers in the first quarter definitely left a mark that Somers could not erase.

The Wolves scored the first 13 points and kept the Tuskers at bay in a 65-43 victory.

Up first, Will Civetta stepped in on Chris Spano’s attempt to save a rebound out of bounds and the interception turned defense into offense. He drove past Phil Santore, and when the middle got thick, the guard pulled up for a 2-0 lead.

Next, Colin Bishop was the thick of it for John Jay. He got inside for the layup, and with a 4-0 lead, the Wolves started hurrying the elephants again. Ryan Valdes stepped in front of Santore to draw a charge and answered on the other side with a pull up.

In at 3:10, Brendan Corelli added on. The point guard got the rim, and eight straight had the Wolves going back to their lunch pails. Bishop blocked Santore on a drive down low, and while no basket this time, Dylan Cooper’s steal on the Somers baseline put the pack back on the run. Corelli taking the point, his move across the paint found Matias Baez in the corner, and his three made it 11-0.

Of course, the offense was still able to go solo. After Civetta was stopped short in the paint, Dylan Cooper game around for the hand off, and his drive freed Will Green for the layup.

46 seconds to go, Somers finally got on the board. Santore got clubbed by Civetta, and he sank both free throws to close the first at 13-2.

Onto the second, Somers played the John Jay game to start the quarter. Timmy Monahan made a diving steal at half court, got the ball ahead to Chris Decker, and his layup put the Wolves on hold.

Only temporary, Marc Fein first took Valdes’ inbound for a layup, and while the Tuskers beat the subsequent press, John Jay maintained the defensive intensity in the front court. Will Rickel got a hand on the ball, and the poke gave him a clear path.

The lead back up to 13, the senior kept the advantage there moments later when spotting another crevice. From above the arc, Rickel took off, and Monahan didn’t get there fast enough for the charge.

Rickel made both foul shots, but Somers responded with a mini run. After Leo Keimig made one at the charity stripe, Santore hit a baseline jumper, Decker then manhandled a put back, and to complete the 7-0 run, Santore went all the way to the glass.

Timeout for John Jay, Civetta responded by lifting his pivot foot before starting his dribble. Whistled for a travel, he would soon redeem himself by being on the front end of the night’s biggest play.

First, Civetta simply went baseline to end the streak. The senior got around Santore, rose up above Keimig, and the 21-13 lead set the stage for the main event. After Valdes won a wild scramble under the Somers basket, he shoveled across to Civetta, who quickly snapped the ball ahead to his big man. All alone, Bishop slammed down the rock and the gym rose with the jam.

Still, Spano was up to the challenge. The Somers center drove the paint, and was undeterred by Bishop’s outstretched defense. The Tusker went off the glass, and it remained a game at 23-15.

Scored at 2:03, John Jay’s other guard got into the act with Bishop. Driving baseline, Corelli knows that he can always leave the finale to his big. “I don’t have to finish. I just dump it off to him, and he’s at the rim every time,” said Corelli.

In the basket too, Bishop made it ten again. But Somers got to within seven when Ben O’Brien went coast to coast on a steal.

Civetta refused to let the visitors take the momentum into the locker room, though. The guard came around Corelli to receive the hand off, sliced through Santore and Keimig and sent in an off-balance layup.

Onto the third, Santore answered despite Will Rickel’s follow to open. The Tusker sharp shooter hit a step back at the foul line, and on the way back, he faked Civetta into an open three at 6:14.

29-23, the teams went four by four to maintain the status quo. After Bishop put home a follow and Corelli exploded to the square for two, Santore found Keimig all alone under the basket, and Decker converted a clear lane to the hoop.

But the John Jay defense was yet to rest. Dylan Cooper stole the inbound next to the Wolf bench, and Corelli was set up to convert a runner that began the end.

The first hand in the Somers unraveling, Corelli’s penetration freed up Bishop for two, and on the missed free, the defense continued to make its case. Pressure turned Spano’s rebound into a turnover, and this time Bishop got the feed from Valdes.

Up ten, the verdict was soon rendered and came on the closing statement of the defense. A Sam Rickel steal at half court set Corelli up for a fast break basket, and then the Wolves forced Somers into another turnover under their own basket. On the run, Valdes went to the coast, and his dish to Sam Rickel opened a 14 point lead with 28 seconds left in the third.

Somers on edge, Bishop tossed the elephants over. Santore’s determined drive to hoop was denied by the big man, and after a flagrant foul call, Sam Rickel lost Spano on the inbound.

Easy layup, the 16 point lead only got worse for Somers and had Sayre putting the bow on a game that moved his team to .500. “That’s one of the more complete wins since I’ve been here,” the coach concluded.