Tilton Holds Off Brimmer & May

Phil Kasiecki | Friday, February 13th, 2009

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Thursday night's Class B showdown between Tilton and Brimmer and May lived up to its billing.  The final score is a little deceiving, as Tilton pulled away for an 80-67 win, but this was a very competitive game all along until Brimmer and May ran out of gas in the last few minutes.

Tilton had an early 19-11 lead before Brimmer and May rallied to eventually take the lead late in the half, with their biggest lead being their 43-38 edge at halftime.  Then in the second half, the game was tight until Tilton built a double-digit lead at 62-52.  Brimmer and May rallied to get within 62-59, but ran out of gas at that point, as Tilton made several big plays and eventually ran the lead to 14 points before the final buzzer.

The story of the game was unquestionably Tilton's Jamal Coombs-McDaniel.  The Connecticut signee wanted this game in every way and was stellar from the outset, scoring a game-high 35 points on 11-21 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds.  But one has to look past the numbers to really see his value in this game, as is usually the case.  Not only did Coombs make tough shots, some with contact, he was always around the ball as usual and clearly wanted this game in every way.  It was only fitting that with his team up seven, he hit a three-pointer with 1:49 left that was a dagger to seal the game.

Coombs-McDaniel has always had talent, but he's come a long way since his days at Lawrence Academy as a freshman.  Back then, he looked like a piece to the puzzle, but now he's a bona fide leader.  He was the toughest player on the floor, and several of his opposite numbers said as much.  To boot, his body is still not fully mature yet.  He likely won't make the McDonald's All-American game because most national rankings having him too low (and lower than he should be), but his college impact is sure to be equal to that of many who do play in the game.

The most important complement was Gerard Coleman, who scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half.  In the second frame, the junior guard started making shots, including his improved three-point shot, after he struggled at times in the first half aside from a highlight-film fast break dunk.  But as with Coombs-McDaniel, the numbers don't tell his value, as he had a big defensive game to answer a challenge.  In the first half, he guarded Brimmer and May's super shooter, Derek Retos, but in the second half, was switched onto Eric Alleyne, who does a lot of his damage off the dribble.

Alex Oriakhi had 10 points and 16 rebounds for Tilton, but he could have had a few more at the offensive end.  His motor wasn't really going much, and that might explain why the very fundamentally sound big man missed several shots close to the basket.  He also showed that he still has a long pause at times when he pump fakes, instead of being able to go up quickly after his man bites on it, and that cost him a couple of times.

While not nearly as heralded as their big three, senior point guard Scott Tavares was instrumental in the win, especially late in the game.  He scored 14 points and capably ran the show, but really came through in the clutch.  With Brimmer and May having mounted one last rally and the lead being at five, Tavares missed a three-pointer, but came in to get the rebound and put the shot up before he came back down on the ground, and when it dropped, Tilton had a 66-59 lead.

For Brimmer and May forward Kyle Casey, the only thing missing on this day was the victory.  Earlier in the day, he committed to Harvard, then went out and looked like a future All-Ivy League player as he competed from start to finish with 22 points and a number of rebounds as he owned the glass.  Most of his rebounds came from good box-outs and were grabbed at the top of his jump, showing good judgment of the ball coming off the rim.  He knocked down three shots from long range and also had a nice driving basket in the game, and did a lot to keep his team in the game.  While he and Oriakhi didn't always match up head-to-head, it's safe to say he had the better game of the two big men.

Retos had 20 points with six three-pointers, and has clearly regained his shooting touch as he had five three-pointers earlier in the week in a win at St. Andrew's.  After not shooting as well as he's capable of for stretches, the junior guard is feeling more confident, and it showed as he made a couple of shots from behind where the NBA three-point line would be.  Despite getting shadowed very well by Coleman in the first half, he was able to shoot behind screens a couple of times.

Alleyne had just 10 points, but made plays to keep them in the game.  A couple of times, he set a nice screen for Retos off a pass, and while Coleman certainly guarded him well, the Tilton help defense also made it difficult for him to get far inside.

The teams are heading into the home stretch before the NEPSAC Tournament.  It's not inconceivable that these two teams could meet again with the stakes even higher, as both are in the race for the top right now.

Phil Kasiecki is the managing editor for Hoopville.  To read more of his work on high school and college basketball visit www.hoopville.com.