New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Note Dame-West Haven blows out Gulliver Prep
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — Tajae Jones played like a man possessed Friday night.
He scored, he rebounded and he even blocked a pair of shots for Notre DameWest Haven. Most importantly, Tajae Jones dominated. He also had some help from his teammates.
All told, it was a dominating performance for Notre Dame-West Haven. The Green Knights pulled away in the second half from Gulliver Prep (Fla.) 64-46 at the Spalding HoopHall Classic at Springfield College’s Blake Arena.
“Our guys are growing in confidence and when you grow in confidence, it comes out as energy on the court,” Notre Dame coach Jason Shea said.
Jones finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 forward shot 11 of 14 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line
“I do everything for my team, not for myself,” Jones said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be able to have the points I have and do the things that I do.”
Gulliver Prep is coached by Ray Allen — the Hall of Famer after 18 NBA seasons and a two-time AllAmerican at UConn. He was less than thrilled with his team’s effort or the fact Gulliver was outrebounded 51-23.
“They killed us rebounding, they just killed us. In a lot of cases early, our energy was not where it needed to be,” Allen said.
Then Allen looked on the stat sheet to find Jones’ name.
“Tajae, he had 33 and 15. I don’t think he hit a jump shot. It was all free throws and rebounds,” Allen said. “We didn’t have a guy who took the challenge to box him out. We have been a good rebounding team over the course of the season.”
Notre Dame (8-2), the No. 4 team in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, put together a 15-0 run in the third quarter that put the Green Knights out in front 46-22.
Colin Garretson added 10 rebounds for Notre Dame. Mekhi Conner had a pair of 3-point plays in the third quarter when Notre Dame was on that run. Most of his eight assists went to Jones. One of them went to Abdou Tourre for an alleyoop.
Notre Dame was able to do it without Timaury Gay. Shea said Gay was sick and didn’t make the trip to Springfield.
“Other players had to step up,” Jones said. “I stepped up. Everybody on the team had to play their role in order to get the win.”
It’s been an impressive week for the Green Knights with two road wins — at Saddle River (N.J.) Saturday, at Hillhouse on Tuesday (the Floyd Little Athletic Center) and now a neutral site win. Shea said the team’s defense is much better now than early in the season.
“If we played defense like we did tonight, we’re just tough,” Shea said. “Our discipline on the defensive end has improved significantly since early in the season. Now we are really able to play our game.”
Notre Dame turned up the defensive pressure on Gulliver Prep in the opening half. The Green Knights held Gulliver to two baskets and five total points in the opening quarter.
The Green Knights ended up going up 20-5 early in the second quarter. Notre Dame forced six first-half turnovers and 34.8 shooting from the floor. Notre Dame ended up shooting just 39.3 percent.
Gulliver cut it to single digits by halftime (29-20). Then Notre Dame ended it in the third quarter.
Jaco Escobar Marquez paced Gulliver Prep with 17 points. Jeremy Arnum, who formerly played at Valley Regional in Deep River, scored 12 points. Ray Allen III did not score. PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tajae Jones, Notre Dame: 33 points, 15 rebounds. Enough said.
QUOTABLE
“The ability for our bigs to guard their guards successfully on the defensive end allowed us to take advantage on the offensive end and have a bigger lineup.” — Notre Dame coach Jason Shea