When Lawrence (Bud) Pollard talked about possibly getting to Madison Square Garden back in November, this is what he envisioned. A unified group of seniors scrapping from the opening tip to the final horn, riding a talented junior’s hot hand and making life difficult on the opposition with its length at each end of the floor.
For one evening, the Orange Wave was just as Pollard imagined them. They led from wire-to-wire in a surprisingly dominant 70-56 home victory over defending PSAL champion Boys & Girls, ranked 17th in the country by USA Today and third in the city by The Post, in East New York Tuesday.
“This is the type of team we’re supposed to be and we can be,” Pollard said. “Today everybody had their mind and heart in the right place — they were playing for the name on the front of the jersey.”
Junior Thaddeus Hall scored a game-high 20 points and added a season-high 15 rebounds and four assists, Edson Avila had 10 points and 12 rebounds, Tyquan Goodlett had 13 points and reserve Xavier Thomas contributed 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Shaking off a disappointing 1-2 showing in the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic in Binghamton, N.Y. last week, No. 9 Jefferson played its finest 32 minutes of basketball yet this season. Pollard had seen it in spurts, but failing to play a full game, he said, is what doomed his club in losses to city powers such as Lincoln, St. Raymond and Christ the King, and was the difference against The High.
“It shows we can play with anybody in the country, but we can also lose to anybody in the country,” the coach said. “Today we were disciplined, we ran our stuff, on defense we executed and didnt’ miss our assignemtns. We played [Jefferson] basketball.”
There were no hiccups on Tuesday, just poise, unselfishness and determination. Jefferson scored in bunches in the first half – 26 points in the first quarter and 40 by halftime – and turned up its defensive intensity after building what proved to be an insurmountable 49-33 lead early in the third quarter following five straight points from Hall, the dynamic southpaw with never-ending range.
“Once my first shot went it, I felt I was gonna make a lot of them,” Hall said.
Jefferson (8-5, 6-1 Brooklyn AA) played a complete game. If it wasn’t Hall sinking jumpers from the perimeter, it was Thomas contributing nicely before halftime and Avila making his presence felt off the glass in the fourth quarter. Even more impressive was its swarming defense, limiting the potent Kangaroos to just a single shot per possession and a season-low in points in league play.
“They came out and played way harder than us,” Boys & Girls guard Mike Taylor said.
Coming off an emotional and busy week that included five games in six days against elite competition, Boys & Girls (10-3, 5-2) did get within 12 early in the fourth quarter. Perhaps spent, the Kangaroos could never get closer, unable to finish off drives in the paint and misfiring from the perimeter.
The Rutgers-bound Taylor was held to seven points – none after halftime – while Hofstra recruit Malik Nichols, so good in Sunday’s win over Imhotep Charter (Pa.) while mourning the loss of his mother, Jeannette, managed only five. Point guard Antione Slaughter returned after missing six games because of academic issues and scored a team-high 13 points.
The Kangaroos felt Jefferson got away with several cheap shots, including an elbow Hall landed on Taylor that opened up a cut underneath his right eye. The two teams exchanged words after shaking hands, but cooler heads prevailed.
“They always play like that, that’s why they’ll never win — they’re dirty,” Taylor siad. “Cheaters never win.”
A Boys & Girls alum, Pollard felt there was chippy play on both sides. He was simply pleased by his team’s effort after its struggles over the first frustrating five weeks of the season.
Hall said Jefferson took the losses to heart and bonded together during the trip upstate. After a physical and strenuous practice on Monday, the entire team had dinner together and discussed their weaknesses.
“We’re dedicated to each other now,” he said.
Pollard has heard that before. He credited his kids for the effort, saying he was outcoached in previous defeats. As for replicating the effort, Pollard isn’t sure what the formula is yet.
“If I knew that, I would get those numbers and play the Mega Millions so I didn’t have to work night school,” the coach joked.