SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — Tajae Jones performed like a pissed off man on Friday night time.
He scored, rebounded and even blocked a pair of punts for Notre Dame-West Haven. Most significantly, Tajae Jones dominated. He additionally had some assist from his teammates.
All informed, it was a dominant efficiency for Notre Dame-West Haven. The Inexperienced Knights pulled away from Gulliver Prep (Fla.) 64-46 within the second half within the Spalding HoopHall Traditional at Springfield School’s Blake Area.
“Our youngsters are rising in confidence, and when you’ve got confidence, it comes out as power on the sector,” Notre Dame coach Jason Shea mentioned.
Jones completed with 33 factors and 15 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 ahead shot 11 of 14 from the ground and 11 of 13 from the free throw line.
“I do all the things for my staff, not for myself,” Jones mentioned. “With out them, I would not have the scores I’ve and I would not be capable of do the issues I do.”
Gulliver Prep is led by Ray Allen – a Corridor of Famer after 18 NBA seasons and a two-time All-American at UConn. He was much less enthusiastic about his staff’s effort or Gulliver’s 51-23 outscoring.
“They threw us again and killed us, they simply killed us. Plenty of occasions our early power wasn’t the place it wanted to be,” Allen mentioned.
Then Allen regarded on the stat sheet to seek out Jones’ title.
“Tajae, he had 33 and 15. I do not suppose he made the leap. It was all free throws and rebounds,” Allen mentioned. “We did not have a man that took him out of competition. We grew to become a very good rebounding staff through the season.”
Notre Dame (8-2), the No. 4 staff within the GameTimeCT High 10 ballot, put collectively a 15-0 run within the third quarter that put the Inexperienced Knights forward 46-22.
Colin Garretson added 10 rebounds for Notre Dame. Mekhi Conner made a pair of 3-pointers within the third quarter as Notre Dame made that run. Most of his eight assists got here from Jones. Considered one of them went to Abdou Tourre for an alley-oop.
Notre Dame was in a position to do it with out Timauri Homosexual. Shea mentioned Homosexual was ailing and didn’t make the journey to Springfield.
“Different gamers needed to step up,” Jones mentioned. “I took a step. Everybody within the staff needed to play their function to win.”
It has been a formidable week for the Inexperienced Knights with two street wins – Saturday at Saddle River (NJ), Tuesday at Hillhouse (Floyd Little Athletic Heart) and now a impartial website win. Shea mentioned the staff’s protection is best than it was at the start of the season.
“If we performed protection like we did tonight, we’re simply powerful,” Shea mentioned. “Our self-discipline in protection has improved lots for the reason that starting of the season. Now we will actually play our recreation.”
Notre Dame turned up the defensive stress on Gulliver Prep within the first half. The Inexperienced Knights held Gulliver to 2 baskets and 5 whole factors within the opening quarter.
The Inexperienced Knights jumped out to a 20-5 lead early within the second quarter. Notre Dame pressured six first-half turnovers and 34.8 pictures from the ground. Notre Dame ended up capturing simply 39.3 %.
Gulliver reduce it to single digits by halftime (29-20). Then Notre Dame completed within the third quarter.
Jaco Escobar Marquez led Gulliver Prep with 17 factors. Jeremy Arnum, who beforehand performed on the Valley Regional in Deep River, scored 12 factors. Ray Allen III failed to attain.
Participant of the sport
Tajae Jones, Notre Dame: 33 factors, 15 rebounds. Sufficient mentioned.
Quote
“The flexibility of our seniors to efficiently shield their guards on the defensive finish allowed us to dominate offensively and have larger personnel.” — Notre Dame coach Jason Shea
NOTRE DAME-WEST HAVEN 64, GULLIVER PREP (Fla.) 46
(Springfield, Mass.)
Gulliver 5 15 10 16 – 46
NDWH 13 16 17 18 – 64
GULLIVER (46)
Jackson Mansfield 6 3-4 15, Ray Allen III 0 0-0 Jeremy Arnum 5 0-0 12, Anthony Ayser 1 0-0 2, Denzel Dorn 0 0-0 0, Julian Cardoza 0 0-0 0, Jaco Escobar Marquez 6 0-0 17. Complete 18 3-4 36.
OUR LADY (64)
Mekhi Conner 4 2-2 10, Jason Jackson 0 0-2 0, Tajae Jones 11 11-13 33, Colin Garretson 3 0-0 6, Abdou Toure 4 2-3 10, Matt Piechota 2 0-0 5. Complete 24 15-20 64.
3-pointers: Gulliver 7 (Escobar 5, Arnum 2); Our Girl 1 (Piechota).
