John Jay Can’t Match up With Byram Bigs

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After being manhandled by Zachery Efobi of Byram Hills a few weeks ago, John Jay hoped to neutralize the force of the big center at home on January 31, and halfway through the first, it was 6-6 game. But Efobi on the inside wasn’t the only big man that caused a problem.

Tyson Repa made the passes, while getting inside and hitting from the outside. All together, the Wolves could not keep pace and the onslaught spelled another big defeat.

The game began with the guards. Christopher Amenedo sank two layups, and Ryan Valdes dropped a jumper and layup to match.

Then the big boys showed up. First Repa got a put back on a free throw miss, and next played give and go with Efobi to grab the lead for good.

8-6 with 3:25 left in the first, the duo was far from done. At 2:48 Repa fed Efobi inside for the dunk, the lanky forward took on the double team for another layup, and Byram completed an 8-0 run when Efobi refused to relent on the offensive boards. Two rebounds and he had the put back for a 14-6 lead.

In reply, the John Jay possession was indicative of what the bigs did to the Wolf attack. The boys feverishly worked the ball side to side, and when Brendan Corelli found a small crevice, there was still way too much height and muscle to beat.

The shot going awry, Will Civetta did make due on the next possession. Dribbling toward the paint, he made a perfect bounce pass into Colin Bishop, and it was still a six point game.

1:29 left in the first, John Jay managed to get a little closer. Valdes drove into the double team, passed back to Sam Rickel, and his three closed the quarter scoring at 16-11.

A couple of stops for John Jay opened the second, but the narrow margin for error required offensive responses. Instead, Max Miller got a steal for two, and after a Sam Rickel miss from downtown, Repa played playmaker. He drove the paint, threaded a perfect pass for Ari Dreilinger, and his layup made it a 20-11 game.

So major separation was on the way. Repa had a put back, a three, and juked for a jumper that gave the Bobcats a 27-11 lead.

Undeterred, John Jay did respond with a nice little piece of triangulation. Valdes to Luke Panzirer, and Bishop was left underneath for the open layup, but flashes were not enough.

Efobi muscled a put back at 2:21, Miller sank two from the line with a spin move through the paint, and Dreilinger drained a triple to open a 33-17 lead.

Still, John Jay did close the quarter again. Corelli beat the back court press, got the ball to James Arefieg, and he found Bishop underneath to go into intermission with a 33-19 deficit.

Arefieg opened pretty well too. The senior made the cut through the paint, and Valdes led him for the layup.

Not impressed, Repa took his turn. He scored the layup on the inbound and got two more in close to extend the lead to 18 with five minutes left in the third.

Valdes wasn’t giving up, though. He got to the line for two on his drive, and then turned a half court steal into a three point play.

A 39-26 game, Repa went to town again. After Efobi posted up for a three point play inside, Repa posted and pulled up to regain an 18 point lead.

A Jacob Jones jumper and Jared Weitman layup kept John Jay in distance, so Repa again moved the horizon. This time in the passing lanes, his penetration freed up Kevin Kendall to close the 3rd at 48-31.

No letting up, Efobi’s put back extended to 19 and getting two blocks on the same position set his team up for the biggest lead of the game. No surprise, Repa stepped back and another triple made it 53-31.

6:15 remaining, the Bobcats did have to put up with one last gasp. Valdes’ penetration cued up Panzirer to stop the run, and Civetta got three more on a hard drive to the rim.

Not done, Civetta sunk foul shots on another drive, and after Cooper laced a triple, the guard notched two more on a steal that made it an 11 point game with 4:15 left.

A timeout called, Byram’s reset put the game away and the usual suspect was guilty. Repa hit a three and scored a put back to end any ideas of a John Jay comeback.