Tyree and Battle Lead Falcons in Defeat by Scoring in Double Figures
| St. Joseph’s senior guard, Bree Tyree elevates for a three pointer in the third quarter against national power Montverde Academy of Florida at the 2016 Metro Classic. Tyree finished with a team high 13 points as the Falcons fell 78-44. |
UNION, NJ–With the Red Division title, and most likely, the top seed in the 2016 GMCT all sown up, the top ranked St. Joseph’s Falcons took on Montverde Academy of Florida in the nightcap of the day one tripleheader at the 2016 Metro Classic at Kean University’s Harwood Arena on Thursday night. The game marked the second time in the past three years that the Falcons squared off against the Eagles, one of the nation’s elite programs, in the past three years.
Two years ago, these two teams went at it in one of the most memorable games ever played in the history of the Metro Classic with St. Joe’s coming up just short of registering a significant upset (79-70). This time around, it was a much different story as Montverde’s length at all five positions proved to be too much. The Eagles jumped out to a 26-9 first quarter lead, and then outscored the Falcons by an 18-8 margin in the second for a 44-17 halftime lead en route to a 78-44 victory.
R.J. Barrett led four different players in double figures in Montverde’s balanced scoring attack with 16 points while teammate E.J. Montgomery added 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Simisola Shittu added a double double of 10 points and 13 boards while Silvio DeSousa chipped in with 10 points and Bruno Fernando contributed with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Bree Tyree led St. Joseph’s with a team high 13 points to raise his career point total to 1,093. Tyus Battle chipped in with 10 points to increase his career scoring total to 1,371.
Montverde outscored Joes in each period. The Falcons had 10 different players get into the scorebook, but outside of Tyree and Battle, nobody scored more than 4 points in the contest. Trailing by 27 at the half, St. Joseph’s tried to show some life in the third by outscoring the visitors from Central Florida by an 8-6 margin over the first 4:30 of the period to narrow the deficit to 50-25. However, the Eagles scored 10 of the last 14 points of the period including a couple dunks for a 60-29 lead heading into the fourth. The final frame saw both teams empty their benches as MVA outscored Joes by an 18-15 margin.
The Falcons opened the final period by scoring 4 of the first 7 points including a bucket by Battle for a Montverde Academy, 63-33 lead with 6:05 remaining. The Eagles scored the next eight points over the next 1:49 before Tyree netted a three from the right side of the key for a 71-36 MVA lead. St. Joseph’s then outscored Montverde by an 8-7 margin the rest of the way including a three pointer in the closing seconds by junior reserve, Mike Granda to round out the final 78-44 score. With the win, Montverde Academy improved to 23-1 overall on the season while St. Joseph’s fell to 16-4 including a 4-4 mark against non-conference schools.
With the victory, MVA improved to 7-0 in its games at the Metro Classic since 2013. St. Joseph’s has lost all three of its games at the Metro Classic. Montverde Academy returns to action on Friday night against Roselle Catholic in the nightcap of the second day of the 2016 Metro Classic and then plays Pope John XXIII of Sparta in the 2016 Prime Time Shootout at Roselle Catholic on Sunday. St. Joseph’s takes on Immaculate Conception of Montclair in the opening game of the final day of action at the Prime Time Shootout.