Ewing snaps losing streak by beating Hopewell in play-in game
EWING » Considering the circumstances, the Ewing boys basketball team could have easily mailed in its Mercer County Tournament play-in game against Hopewell Valley.
Accustomed to competing for sectional and state titles, the Blue Devils have instead found themselves needing to push through a rebuilding season under first-year head coach Amir Siddiqu.
The Ewing players responded in a big way Friday, persevering through a back-and-forth contest before delivering a knockout punch in the fourth quarter that resulted in a 55-44 win on their home floor.
That snapped an 11-game losing streak for 16th-seeded Ewing (4-14), which upon advancing past 17th-seeded Hopewell (3-16) will get a crack at top-seeded Hightstown (16-5) next Wednesday.
“In the huddle we kept saying, ‘Together, together, together,’ and that’s what these kids did,” Siddiqu said. “They stuck together. I’m a huge believer that adversity shows your character. Everybody can be great when things are going great. When you’re winning the lottery you’re jumping up and down, but adversity really shows your true character. And the guys that are with us right now have really good character.”
That’s an ideal way to build for the future, and if Friday was any indication, Ewing has some budding talent on the horizon.
Naire Preston scored a careerhigh 17 points. The freshman sunk all three of Ewing’s 3-pointers, and he also spearheaded the team’s 19-4 run in the fourth quarter.
“That’s what we all talk about. We talk about the future — how we’re going to build as a team, as teammates,” Preston said. “We have that family.”
Called up to varsity from JV in early January, Preston has been developing for 12 games. That showed Friday under postseason pressure as he stepped up down the stretch. He gave Ewing a 3837 lead with a quick bank shot to start the fourth quarter, extended the lead to six with a trey and then later corralled a key defensive rebound off a long Hopewell 3-point attempt.
“I just wanted to work hard and get better,” Preston said. “Coach Siddiqu, Coach Anderson and Coach Cutaneo, they took a chance on me — for me to make plays and all that. And I just wanted to step up.”
Siddiqu said the staff had an inkling from the moment Preston arrived at the school last June and began hitting the weight room that he had a chance to be special. Ewing’s lineup was senior-heavy at the start of the season, but eventually the program couldn’t hold Preston back on JV any longer.
“That kid competes in practice, and it’s stuff you can’t deny,” Siddiqu said. “The best basketball players have gotta be on the floor, so he’s one of those for us.”
Senior Jaylen Britton tallied a game-high 18 points and junior Marcus Beaubrun added 12.
The clinching sequence for Ewing came when Britton stole a pass and drove coast-to-coast for a layup plus a foul shot to make it 49-39 with 2:40 to play after it had been a single-digit contest throughout.
That play, which sent Ewing’s gym into a frenzy, was emblematic of what Preston described as a rise in energy level down the stretch.
“When I started hitting shots and when everybody else was making shots, we started to get more into it,” Preston said. “They couldn’t handle the pressure from us, so we just kept pushing it.”
Ewing raced to an early 12-4 lead with efficient shot-making, rebounding and forced turnovers, but Hopewell scrapped its way back. John Broz and Gabe Rodriguez each dropped 10 points for the Bulldogs, who led 37-36 entering the fourth quarter.
The teams exchanged the lead five times late in the third quarter before Ewing made its emphatic run.
“I thought Hopewell played hard. I thought our kids did,” Siddiqu said. “They wanted to practice again to play the next game. They didn’t want their season to end. Coach Anderson, our assistant coach, had a big talk with us the day before and said, ‘You know what, everybody else, we’re playing for our seniors. We’re not going to let our seniors go right now.’”
That mindset and those emotions were evident afterward as the Blue Devils huddled inside a classroom and could finally celebrate a victory again after more than a month of perseverance.
“I’m just happy for the kids, man,” Siddiqu said. “They work hard, they stick together. It’s tough when they don’t get a reward after practice, but they get the reward now. So I’m just happy for them.”
HOPEWELL (44)
Kevin O’Reilly 3-2-9, Broz 4-0-10, Rodriguez 5-0-10, Harrison 2-3-7, Ellis 0-1-1, Brian O’Reilly 2-2-7. Totals — 16-8-44.
EWING (55)
DeKleine 3-0-6, Britton 6-6-18, Beaubrun 4-4-12, Preston 6-2-17, Stokes 1-0-2.
Totals — 20-12-55.
Hopewell (3-16) 13 9 15 7 — 44
Ewing (4-14) 15 11 10 19 — 55
3-point goals: Broz 2, Kevin O’Reilly, Brian O’Reilly (H), Preston 3 (E).