By: centraljersey.com
In the blink of an eye, the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South boys basketball team was out to a 20-6 lead and never looked back.
With Chris Evans connecting on three 3-point shots in the first six minutes, the Pirates raced to an early lead and put away WW-P North, 62-44, on Tuesday night. For Evans, who finished with six 3-pointers and 20 points, it was a big night.
"We just came out ready to play and we were hitting our shots right from the beginning," said Evans, who scored 17 of his points in the first half. "We knew they were a real good team and we had to come out and play hard right from the beginning."
Evans led a balanced South offense that also received 13 points from Jake Donohue, 11 from Bryan Rivers and 10 from Eric Bierck. The Knights got as close as 28-15 in the second quarter, but by midway through the third quarter the Pirates lead had grown to 46-21.
"Chris is capable of doing that on any night," said South coach Bob Schurtz, whose team improved to 4-2 with the win. "He’s a good shooter when he gets into a rhythm and I thought tonight he and Bryan were really in sync with each other. We did a nice job of pressuring them with our defense and I think that created a lot of offensive opportunities for us.
"Those two and with Jake coming off the wing as well sometimes, he’s another guy that can catch and shoot and finish well around the basket."
The Pirates shot the ball well, while the Knights never got going on offense. South was coming off a pair of losses in the ESCIT where they faced two very talented teams in Trenton Catholic and Baltimore City College.
"I think playing against those teams helped us," said Evans, who is also the Pirates’ starting quarterback during the football season. "They were so big and quick that it makes it seems like the other teams we play are a little slower. We came out with a lot of quickness tonight and put some pressure on them with our defense.
"We work well together on the court. We tried to get our defense going and we were able to get off to a good start."
Playing the tough competition last week certainly helped prepare the Pirates for a big game against North, which was also playing well and fell to 3-3 with the loss. Brandon Johnson led the Knights with 12 points.
"We talked about that as a staff and as a team," Schurtz said of the effect of the tournament games. "We said, would it would make us faster and tougher, or is it just going to give us a lack of confidence and maybe a little hesitance? It was good to see us respond.
"I think the kids did a great job of changing the tempo with our defenses. And I think the change of speeds hurt them a little bit."
And the Pirates did what they need to do in order to be successful, getting contributions from the whole lineup.
"Eric has been working so hard so I was glad to see him get back into a little bit of a rhythm shooting the ball tonight," Schurtz said. "And Ryan (Witter), I have been impressed with his work ethic. Between him and getting Marquis (Grant) back and Isiah (Edmonds). I told those three guys they are going to split the minutes, but I need a double-double out of that position. Whether it’s Marquis on the court or Isiah or Ryan out there, that is their goal, to try to get out there and be active and play great defense."
On Tuesday night it all came together for the Pirates.