Boys basketball: Linden's run ends in Group 4 semifinals
ELIZABETH — Thursday’s NJSIAA Group 4 semifinal between the Linden High School boys basketball team and Paterson Eastside figured to be a compelling matchup between two teams that appear to be mirror-images of one another – fast and athletic teams that rely on relentless ball pressure to wreak havoc and create scoring opportunities in transition.
But Eastside was clearly the sharper image of the two, as the Ghosts jumped on Linden early to seize control, then ran off the final 21 points of the first half to break the game open and breeze to a 71-40 victory.
Linden (24-7) struggled against Eastside’s pressure from the get-go, turning the ball over on its first possession and another four more times over the first three minutes as it fell behind 12-5.
The Ghosts opened the game with back-to back layups from Preston Brown and Justin Bethea, before Linden took its only lead of the evening at 5-4 following a layup by Elijah Motley, who was battling the flu and did not score again.
The Tigers held the lead for all of 26 seconds, before another turnover and steal by Jaheim Best led to a three-point play by Bethea, and the freshman put Eastside back on top to stay.
Linden turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, followed by a devastating 13 turnovers in the second quarter and had 20 by intermission. The Ghosts’ pressure limited the Tigers to just six shots in the second quarter and only one went in, a baseline floater by Nas Robinson, still recovering from a hip injury suffered in the sectional quarterfinal against Franklin.
Eastside outscored Linden by a 23-2 margin the quarter to build an insurmountable 48-17 advantage at the break. The Ghosts ran off 21 unanswered points to end the half and opened the second half with a 3 by Bryce Stokes to extend the run to 24-0, and the senior forward was the main contributor.
Stokes dropped 13 of his game-high 24 points during that spurt, initiating it with a 3 and a pair of buckets from Preston Brown, and closing it with another 3 from Best.
Linden only committed six more turnovers in the second half but never got closer than 29 points over the remainder of the contest.
An interesting sidebar to the evening was the coaching matchup between Eastside’s Marquis Webb and Linden’s Anthony Drejaj, two contemporaries who played at Non-Public schools in different groups. Webb, the former Rutgers star, attended Patterson Catholic (Group B), while Linden’s Anthony Drejaj starred at Seton Hall Prep (Group A) before attending St. Louis University. Though they faced off many times in the summer and the AAU circuit this was their first meeting in a high school game.
What it means
Paterson Eastside will take on Egg Harbor for the Group 4 title at 5 p.m. Saturday at Rutgers University.
Key play
Linden turned the ball over on its first possession with Stokes credited with the steal before feeding Bethea for a layup and a 4-0 lead. Eastside scored most of its 25 first-quarter points in transition, nine of them coming directly on layups off steals.
By the numbers
Eastside has held its last nine opponents under 50 points and have accomplished that feat 20 times this season. The Passaic County Tournament champions held two of their state tournament foes, Livingston and North Bergen, below 20.
Stokes tallied 17 points in the first half and grabbed eight rebounds. Brown was his only teammate in double figures with 21, while also contributing eight steals, five assists and five rebounds. Best had eight assists and four steals.
Jaylan Hodge paced Linden with 13 points. Freshman Jekhi Burnam, the hero of its sectional final victory over Snyder, posted all of his 11 points in the second half, while Hashim Nadir (six boards) scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter.
Game ball
The cavernous Dunn Center can often perplex visiting shooters with its spacious background but Stokes had no issues, burying all four of his attempts from beyond the arc. While his teammates were forcing turnovers he was converting them into points at the other end.
They said it
“As a player, I was a defensive guy and i understand the defensive philosophy,” Webb said. “We guard the ball, man-to-man, try to speed teams up and make them uncomfortable. Make teams uncomfortable and they start rushing at the offensive end. I have a group of guys who have been around me the last four years. They came in as freshmen and over the years they’ve gotten better and better and now this is the fruits of our labor. Guys really put in time just to get better and understand what we’re looking to do at the defensive end. We’re playing a good brand of basketball.”
“We play defense like we’re dogs, we want everything,” Brown explained. “Wherever the ball goes we’re chasing it. Our defense was just amazing. We just watched film and walked through it in practice. When we walk through it in practice we see what they do, so it’s easier when we get into the game, we’re ready for it. Our chemistry and everything, we’re just playing hard. Everybody wants the chip, so we’ve just been playing hard.”
“Definitely their pressure played a part in it,” Linden coach Anthony Drejaj said, noting that two-thirds of his vaunted backcourt was ailing. “I’m not making excuses they’re a good basketball team. Hats off to them, they’re having a good year.” On addressing the team at halftime while trailing by 31 points: “Play with fire, fellas. I don’t care which five are on the court, you still have to play the game the right way, you still have to come to the basketball, you still have to do the right things. We were a little on our heels. I’m very proud of the team. I think the kids really had a great year. Obviously we would love to be playing for the Group 4 title, but we’re still (sectional) champs. It’s been a little while since we won it. Just super proud of them.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball: Linden's run ends in Group 4 semifinals
