BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
EDISON — The Bishop Ahr High School boys basketball team made it three in a row last week with a 48-47 win over Monroe on Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans entered the week a .500 team, but upped their record to 6-3 after knocking off Middlesex and JFK prior to Saturday’s thriller.
In the win over Monroe, sophomore Corey Francisco rebounded an errant shot and scored the go-ahead basket with three seconds on the clock. Francisco’s putback proved to be the game-winner and the 6-foot-3 forward finished with a game-high 19 points.
“It was a well-played high school basketball game,” Bishop Ahr head coach Dennis O’Keefe said. “They had been up by eight or nine at one point, and we never led until late in the game. Corey was there to put in the miss, and we won the game.”
Junior Ernst Ambroise scored eight for the Trojans, and classmate Wesley Buffalo finished with six on the day.
“Corey and Ernst have been playing very well lately,” O’Keefe said. “Corey is starting to make the outside shot, and he’s been going to the basket a lot more. Ambroise is consistently rebounding the ball, and he’s been averaging double figures.”
The previous day it was Francisco leading the offense, while the entire Trojan lineup put the clamps on Middlesex as the team allowed just 37 points in the 54-37 win.
“It was much better effort as a team on the defensive end,” O’Keefe said. “We didn’t give up a lot of points.”
Francisco scored 21 while Ambroise scored 15 and grabbed 10 rebounds. Senior center Adam Drici added nine in the win.
“Adam has been scoring some points lately,” O’Keefe said. “He had a solid week for us. Sometimes he gets into foul trouble because the other guys get beat on defense, but he did a good job staying on the floor against Middlesex.”
The Trojans started the week with an impressive 61-46 win over JFK last Wednesday.
“It was the best game we played all year,” O’Keefe said of that victory. “Offensively and defensively, everything clicked. The team has more confidence in our plays, and as a result they’ve been disciplined on offense.”
Tomorrow, the Trojans will host South River for a 7 p.m. tip-off. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools this season.
“South River has been playing well lately,” O’Keefe said. “I expect it to be a tough game.”
After the South River game, Bishop Ahr will try to sweep its season series with Highland Park. The Trojans took the first meeting, 61-48, as Ambroise, Buffalo and Francisco combined for 51 points. Buffalo led the team with 22.
“Highland Park is also doing better and getting more confident,” O’Keefe said. “They recently beat South River so they should be a better team.”
As the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament draws nearer, O’Keefe wants his team to continue to work on the little things that win games.
“We need to practice on everything every day,” O’Keefe said. “The team can especially work on its defense and shot selection.”