Newark Public Schools Tournament, Final Round - Boys Basketball

If Stephen McNair and his Newark East Side teammates needed any motivation during the Newark Public Schools Tournament, all they would have to do is think back to a year earlier.

A year removed from being upset in the semifinals, the crown of best in Newark returns to East Side as it defeated Newark Central, 58-41, in the Newark Public Schools Tournament final yesterday at Essex County College in Newark.

The win marked the third title in four seasons for East Side (7-0), ranked No. 15 in The Star-Ledger Top 20.

"Last year we didn’t live up to expectations," McNair said. "So this year, we knew we had to come out and we had to show that we’re the best team in Newark and that we can compete with any team in the state."

Ismael Sanogo, who was named the tournament’s MVP, admitted that East Side was looking to erase the memory of how its tournament run ended last season.

"We came in with a grudge, we played angry," Sanogo said . "All throughout the tournament, we played angry. That drove everything. That empowered us to play harder. It meant everything to us."

That anger was channeled to yesterday’s final in swift fashion. McNair gave East Side a 10-0 lead on a 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the first quarter.

Keywon Savage got Central (5-3) on the board with a 3-pointer, but East Side responded with eight unanswered points and never looked back.

Six different players scored as it took a 37-14 lead into the intermission.

"I feel like everybody’s scoring," forward Abdul Lewis said. "We’re very well balanced so it’s hard to stop us."

Sanogo, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, gave East Side its biggest lead of the day with a put-back to make it 46-16 midway through the third quarter. McNair and William Joyce added 10 points apiece.

Lewis added 14 rebounds and six points as he, along with Sanogo and Joyce, controlled the glass and allowed McNair, Jamar Gilbert, Ahmad Harrison and Rashan Lynn to be aggressive on the perimeter.

"It’s very important for us to be aggressive on the perimeter so we can force their guards to turn the ball over," McNair said. "We also know that we have Ismael Sanogo, Abdul Lewis and Will Joyce to block shots and get the ball in transition."

Nasir Farmer led Central with 18 points. Savage added eight points and seven rebounds.

Newark Holiday Basketball Tournament Championship History

On Saturday, Central and East Side will be competing in the championship game of the 27th Newark Public Schools Holiday Tournament.

Here is a look at the championship game history of the tournament, which in the past was open to teams from outside of the Brick City.
2011: Unversity 51, Shabazz 45
2010: East Side 59, Central 50
2009: East Side 62, University 57
2008: Science Park 55, Shabazz 52
2007: Science Park 65, University 64
2006: Science Park 57, University 49
2005: Science Park 49, East Side 46
2004: Shabazz 63, Science Park 60
2003: University 67, East Side 52
2002: East Side 79, University 52
2001: East Side 72, West Side 56
2000: Shabazz 63, Weequahic 59
1999: West Side 65, Barringer 54
1998: East Side 76, Shabazz 72
1997: Barringer 67, Shabazz 65
1996: Shabazz 78, Weequahic 54
1995: Weequahic 54, Shabazz 52
1994: Shabazz 50, Linden 47
1993: West Side 60, Shabazz 57
1992: Newark Tech 71, Shabazz 61
1991: Newark Tech 74, West Side 36
1990: East Side 60, West Side 56
1989: Shabazz 67, Weequahic 49
1988: Barringer 53, Shabazz 48
1987: Nazareth (NY) 57, Barringer 46
1986: Shabazz 70, Barringer 58
Newark Holiday Tournament Titles
6: East Side, Shabazz
4: Science Park
2: Barringer, Newark Tech, University, West Side
1: Nazareth (NY), Weequahic
Most Consecutive Newark Holiday Tournament Titles
4: Science Park (2005-2008)
Newark Holiday Tournament Final Appearances
14: Shabazz
9: East Side
6: University
5: Barringer, Science Park, West Side
4: Weequahic
2: Central, Newark Tech
1: Linden, Nazareth (NY

Boys Basketball: Previewing the 2012 Newark Public Schools Tournament

The 2012 Newark Public Schools Holiday Tournament starts on Saturday with four first round games. Here's a look at some of the key players and teams to watch.

THE FAVORITE
This Newark East Side team might be the best one co-coaches Bryant Garvin and Anthony Tavares have had during their 12-year tenure at the school.

East Side has plenty of size with four players standing 6-3 or higher, led by 6-foot-7 junior Abdul Lewis, 6-foot-6 junior Ismael Sanogo and 6-foot-4 senior Will Joyce. Sophomore Ahmad Harrison is emerging as one of the area's best wings and Akbar Hoffman has been a standout at guard for a team with a rotation that goes 10-deep.

East Side topples Irvington in opener

MSG Varsity

The calendar definitely read Dec. 14 and the schedule confirmed this as Newark East Side's opening game.

It's just that anywhere one looked, the Red Raiders were blithely defying that seasonal reality Friday afternoon against Irvington.

Yes this was indeed the first game, technically speaking. But from an aesthetic perspective, this played more like something East Side would have been proud to display somewhere in the late rounds of the Essex County Tournament.

And if they continue to perform in this manner, the Red Raiders will be there.

Junior guard Akbar Hoffman led a nicely balanced offense with 13 points off the bench, Abdul Lewis scored 12 points and had eight rebounds and fellow junior forward Ismael Sanogo contributed six points and a game-high 14 rebounds to pace a 55-36 victory in Irvington.

"With this team here, everybody should get 10, 12, 15 points," co-head coach Anthony Tavares said. "As long as they play defense the way they did today, we have an opportunity to be pretty good."

Signs of quality were evident last year when the Red Raiders won 13 of 14 games from mid January to late February before falling to eventual champion Plainfield, 71-57, in the semifinals of the Group 3 tournament. The many underclassmen from that club quickly filed that loss away in a mental folder that could be retrieved at a moment's notice.

"As soon as we lost that game against Plainfield, we started working, and we pledged that we would never lose another game like that again," Sanogo said. "We're here to make a statement."

That statement on Friday seemed like it had been spilled directly from the lips of coaches Tavares or Bryant Garvin before being processed by the players.

Which, in effect, was true. The ball sharing and rebounding, the defense both on the perimeter and in the lane, and the constant communication that kept that defense sound were all things that guys preach over and over in coaching clinics. And it's all stuff the Red Raiders have been focusing on now for months.

"We put a lot of time and effort in the summer driving up to Paterson playing in the league up there with (director) Jimmy Salmon," Tavares said. "And in the fall, these guys were in the (Paterson) Kennedy league playing against teams like St. Anthony and St. Benedict's. We prepared ourselves for the wars in this (Super Essex) conference."

Irvington was well prepared to do battle, too, but just found itself a bit undersized and not quite deep enough to contend with an opponent playing this crisply on both sides of the floor. East Side shot almost 50 percent, got at least four points from all eight players, forced 17 turnovers and blocked eight shots. The 6-7 Lewis swatted three, 6-6 Sanogo and 6-4 Will Joyce had two apiece and 6-1 senior guard Stephen McNair blocked one.

"The key was we just kept getting stops," Lewis said. "We were just playing hard and not letting them score. We look for good D and we like to have everybody score."

Shakur Juiston, a 6-7 junior forward, scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds and 5-8 senior point guard Al-Jahaad Bradford scored 12 points to pace Irvington. Juiston, who showed energy and diligence in the lane, netted nine points and also had two steals in the first half, but his team had already fallen behind, 27-15, before intermission.

Lewis was East Side's leader in that half with six points, though right behind were Sanogo, Hoffman and Jamar Gilbert with five each.

Sanogo had the prettiest basket of that stretch with a putback dunk and Hoffman had the longest with a 3-pointer from the right corner. But everything else was almost undistinguishable because it was all predicated upon tough defense and good ball movement.

"It doesn't matter who scores," Sanogo said. "It only matters that we stop them on defense, we score and then we get back and play some more D."

East Side's defense was so thorough that Irvington had not reached 20 points until a putback by Juiston early in the fourth quarter made the score 41-21. The Blue Knights did play more cohesively on offense for the rest of the period, while East Side's overall shooting dropped off slightly. There was nothing for East Side to fear, but those small lapses will help the group sharpen its product.

"I didn’t like in the fourth quarter how we turned the ball over and stopping playing defense," Tavares said. "What we'll stress tomorrow is to not get complacent and work hard every day."

Mike Kinney covers boys basketball for MSG Varsity. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeKinneyHS