Falcons Rebound With Solid Effort in Win Over Tigers
PISCATAWAY, NJ—After both Timothy Christian and Monroe lost their last games on opening weekend, they had to deal with another obstacle. As a result of the latest COVID surge, both TCS’ next scheduled opponent, South Amboy and Monroe’s next foe, South Brunswick, were forced to put their programs on pause. As a result, the Falcons and Tigers scheduled a contest against each other on short notice on Monday night with Monroe prevailing 81-46.
The No. 7 Falcons were able to rebound after a tough opening night loss at No. 2 St. Joseph’s (60-49) by jumping out to a 17-8 lead, and then putting together a 28-11 surge in the second period for a 45-19 halftime lead. The advantage grew even further in the third as Monroe led by as many as 39 after scoring the first 13 points of the second half.
Senior Jonathan Okocha led the way for the Falcons with a game high 22 points while Josh Okocha chipped in with 19. Sophomore point guard, Myles Marabuto continued to impress early on this season by adding 11 points. Dean Pandolffi came off the bench to contribute with 8 points while Vansh Parikh scored 7 points and Ryan Zurawiecki scored 6. Monroe had 9 of its 11 players score in the contest.
Meanwhile, Timothy Christian was led by junior Rakeen King and senior guard Gian Wagner, who shared team high with 12 points. Freshman Jalen Fleming also continued to impress early on by chipping in with 9 points. Six different players scored for the Tigers. Monroe held a 46-32 advantage in points scored inside the arc and a 27-3 edge in points scored from long distance.
King who had team high in rebounds in the loss to Stevens (61-46) on Saturday, also led TCS in rebounding with 6 boards while also collecting a team high 4 steals, and 2 assists. Wagner added 5 rebounds while Fleming chipped in with 3. As a team, Timothy Christian collected 16 rebounds, 7 steals, 6 assists, and a block.
Monroe jumped out fast by scoring 11 of the first 13 points in just a span of 2:16 as Marabuto capped the rally with a three from the top of the key at the 5:44 mark of the first. Timothy Christian responded by scoring 6 of the next 9 points to close within six before Jonathan Okocha drained a triple from the right wing as time was running out in the first for a 17-8 Falcons lead.
The Falcons extended the lead to double figures before Fleming scored on a layup from the right side at the 5:25 mark to trim the deficit to 22-14. Monroe then essentially put the game out of reach by scoring 23 of the last 28 points of the half including scores by Jonathan Okocha, Josh Okocha, Zurawiecki, and Parikh for a commanding 45-19 lead at the intermission.
Not easing up at the start of the third quarter, Monroe went back to work by scoring 13 unanswered points for a 36-5 surge in a span of 8:53 for a 58-19 advantage. Josh Okocha capped the fast third quarter start with a short one handed shot off an entry pass into the paint from Jonathan Okocha for a bucket at the 4:32 mark of the third.
The Tigers finished the third on an 11-7 rally including a three pointer from the left wing by Jonathan McNulty (5 points and an assist) off a kickout by King to trim the deficit to 65-30 heading into the fourth. Monroe and TCS then scored 16 points each in the fourth as the Falcon reserves wrapped up the 81-46 victory with scores from Pandolffi, Shaun Siegel (2 points), and football standout Riley Piscitelli (3 points).
With the victory, Monroe evened its record on the young season at 1-1 overall and in conference play while Timothy Christian dropped its second straight following its opening night win over Highland Park (48-31), and fell to 1-2 overall and in the GMC. The Tigers are scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, December 22nd at home versus Wardlaw in a key early season GMC Gold match-up while Monroe is slated to host Old Bridge in Thursday, December 23rd in a GMC Red clash.