The Trentonian 2/16/09: Pennington downs Montgomery in boys hoops

Pennington’s youngsters down Montgomery

Monday, February 16, 2009 1:24 AM EST

By AARON BRACY
For The Trentonian

TRENTON — Forget Red Raiders, Pennington’s new nickname should be “Young Guns.”

Pennington, which starts three sophomores and two juniors, brought its exciting, up-tempo, shoot-from-anywhere brand of offensive basketball to the Sovereign Bank Arena and put on a memorable show in a 61-56 win over Montgomery in the opening game of yesterday’s round of the Prime Time Shootout.

The youthful Raiders — err, Guns — have the green light from coach Bernie Gurick to let it fly from just about anywhere on the court and they’re certainly not afraid to oblige. Junior Harold Spears set the tone, opening the game by hitting consecutive 3-pointers from well beyond NBA range.

“Thank God they went in,” said Spears, who earned MVP honors with a game-high 26 points. “We have the green light and I like the freedom.”

Spears, a 6-foot-5 junior guard garnering interest from Ivy and Patriot League schools, scored 12 of Pennington’s 14 first-quarter points to stake the Raiders (16-5) to a 14-10 lead. His offense went quiet in the middle two quarters before erupting for 12 more points in the fourth quarter to propel Pennington past the Cougars (9-11).

“It was time to finish,” he said of the final quarter.

“Harold can just take over a game sometimes,” Gurick said.

Sophomore guard Chandler Fraser-Pauls joined Spears in double-figures with 14 points, including a 25-footer midway through the third quarter that capped a 9-2 Pennington run and gave the Raiders a commanding 37-29 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Fraser-Pauls’ heave was just par for the course for Pennington’s fun style.

“Coach knows we know how to play and he lets us play,” Fraser-Pauls said. “He gives us freedom and lets us play our game.”

To his credit, Gurick realized early the type of team he had and turned it loose.

“I have some athletes that run the floor, and that’s our whole game plan,” Gurick said.

It’s a game plan that has the Raiders on a winning course this season thanks in large part to Spears, a transfer from Perkasie, Pa. He came to Pennington at the encouragement of Fraser-Pauls, his AAU teammate and good friend.

“We needed him to help us and look what it’s done,” Fraser-Pauls said.

The teammates are good friends off the court – Fraser-Pauls even refers to Spears as his “big brother” – and Spears sometimes stays over at Fraser-Pauls’ house when he’s too tired to make the daily 1 ½-hour commute each way to his home.

They also aren’t afraid to joke with one another. Asked what Fraser-Pauls needs to work on, Spears cackled, “He needs to get better form.”

PENNINGTON (61)

Spears 7-10-26, Johnson 1-3-5, Fraser-Pauls 2-8-14, Murphy 3-0-8, Gaffney 3-0-6, Nolan 1-0-2. Totals: 17-21-61.

MONTGOMERY (56)

Miljanic 4-1-9, Prevost 5-0-10, Shadrach 3-0-7, Loupos 4-2-13, McCoy 3-0-6, Mignon 2-0-5, Singley 2-0-4, Benz 1-0-2. Totals: 24-3-56.

Pennington (16-5)  14  14  14  19  — 61

Montgomery (9-11)  10  17  8  21  — 56

3-point goals: P-Spears 2, Fraser-Pauls 2, Murphy 2; M-Loupos 3, Shadrach, Mignon.

Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized