Somers Too Big for John Jay in 73-59 Loss
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See Photos Below
Last year, John Jay swept Somers in the regular season, and the Tuskers were likely looking for revenge. An 18 point third quarter lead said as much. Still, the Wolves got the lead down to eight in the closing moments of the quarter. But the elephants dug in and refused to leave without stomping out the home team
A couple of clutch plays to close the quarter by theTuskers proved too much, and John Jay couldn’t overcome in a 74-59 loss.
John Jay did get out of the box first, though. Off Marc Fein’s miss at the foul line, Alex Palacio scored the put back and gave his team a 3-0 lead.
From there and the next few minutes, the teams went back and forth. Nico Quinones got Somers on the board with a corner jumper, and Ben O’Brien gave the Tuskers the lead with a triple.
Up for the challenge, Nate Summer answered from downtown to give John Jay the lead back. That was the last time, though, and Arman Rao made sure by dropping a second consecutive triple for the Tuskers.
Then Somers started to show their muscle. Matt Denker got inside and willed his way to the rack.
10-6, John Jay did at least measure up for the moment. Palacio executed the same number and rolled in the paint to contain the margin at two.
Next, Summer answered back on defense. He faced down O’Brien and rejected the interior move with 2:07 left in the first.
Unfortunately, there was just too much up front for John Jay to contend with. Decker made another strong move and sank two more from the line for a 12-8 score.
Even so, Summer wasn’t bothered by all the height following a free throw miss. He pulled down the rebound and made an acrobatic put back to get back within two.
The closest John Jay would get, Rao once again set the tone. He dialed up another three and rang true for a 15-10 lead. Not done up front, Decker and Troy Rossi both executed inside and closed the quarter at 19-10.
Seth Denker did open with a three pointer, but the big Somers boys were not impressed. Decker answered with four points in the middle and then put back a fast break miss to open a 27-13 lead.
Fein would stop the bleeding with a short jumper but Somers still had no shortcomings. The bigs kept coming and opened a 37-20 lead until two Braydon Gates free throws put another brief pause.
Of course, O’Brien reset with two more down low, and the interior decorations carried right into the third. He went baseline in the early going and opened a 43-24 lead for Somers.
Looking dead in the water, John Jay started to flex. Fein muscled a put back to stop yet another run, and after two free throws by Decker, Patrick Ryan hit a pull up to keep it respectable at 46-30.
Sorry, Decker was still too much. He twice got the ball in the low post and made unstoppable moves for a 50-32 game.
4:30 left in the third, John Jay made their stand. Ryan hit a short turnaround jumper, and after a Somers turnover, Denker scored a conventional three point play on a drive.
On a roll, the crowd rocked on the two sided play of Dion Prelvukaj. The junior grabbed a defensive board and drained a triple to make it a ten point game.
Even so, multi talent was the name of Somers' game. Leo Keimig buried a three to regain a 53-40 lead, and after Summer made a pair of baskets for an eight point game, Rossi did it on defense.
A steal and fast break layup broke the momentum at the end of the quarter, and before John Jay knew it, the Tuskers opened a 66-50 lead that told the final tale.
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