Gryphons hit a wall against St. Joseph-Brooklyn

by Joe Lazauskas '10

Tuesday January 22, 2008

Two days after their sensational victory over Pratt, the Gryphons again fell into a big hole early on, but this time could not rekindle the comeback magic against an athletically superior team.

Down 18-5 with 12 minutes to play, Jason Julien made an impressive play to the basket that brought hope in the Gryphon faithful that another comeback was in store. However, St. Joseph-Brooklyn immediately responded with a dominating 28-4 run that put the game far out of reach as the Gryphons ultimately fell 74-40.

The Gryphons simply could not run with St. Joseph-Brooklyn early, despite having Julien, the team’s fastest player and most explosive scorer, back from a suspension for missing practice. St. Joseph-Brooklyn pushed the Gryphon defense up and down the floor, and easily found lanes cutting to the basket for easy lay ups.
St. Joseph-Brooklyn is a conference heavyweight, and the type of team the Gryphons have to play mistake-free basketball to compete against. Turnovers, poor shot selection, and slow transition defense plagued the team throughout the first half. Once St. Joseph-Brooklyn took an early lead, the Gryphons began forcing three-pointers and errant passes into the lane in an attempt to fuel a comeback that never came.

Positives emerged from the performance, however. The Gryphons retained their reputation as a second-half team that does not quit, tying St. Joseph-Brooklyn 22-22 in the second half, albeit against St. Joseph-Brooklyn’s second string for the latter part of the half. First-year Max Mallory continued to emerge and earn more minutes off the bench, hitting two more three-pointers.
Co-captain small forward Tristan Eastburn led the team with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Julien added 10 points in his return.
The team is constantly playing catch up to the top teams, since they have less practice time than other teams. As Coach Ross installs more offensive and defensive sets and the team continues to get adjusted to playing as a unit, the Gryphons will have a greater arsenal of options the next time they meet St. Joseph-Brooklyn on Feb. 7.