For sidelinechatter.com
NEWARK- Akbar Hoffman was certainly spending time along with extra energy in the gym thinking about just how important Saturday’s Essex County Tournament final actually was for his East Side Red Raiders.
“I took my time leaving the gym on Friday and actually put up a couple of more shots than usual,” said the sharpshooting 6-foot-2 senior guard. “I knew how big this game was, and I wanted to make sure I felt real good about my shot before heading home and resting up for the championship game.”
Whether it’s a matter of now being fully recovered from a recent bout with pneumonia, or simply that he has his accustomed shooting touch firmly at hand, Hoffman was the igniter for top-seeded East Side (20-1) as he scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter to spearhead a 23-6 burst out of the gates as the Red Raiders rolled to a 60-42 win over second-seeded Seton Hall Prep in the title tilt of the 68th ECT before a good-size crowd at Essex County College.
The title is East Side’s third – all of which have come against SHP – while the Pirates finally relinquished the countywide hoops crown after winning the title the past three seasons, including 58-47 over East Side last year.
On an afternoon where the state’s No. 1 ranked team was finally back to full strength with 6-7 senior forward Ismael Sanogo (11 points, 7 rebounds, a block and 2 steals) returning to the lineup after a 2-week absence due to a separated shoulder, it was Hoffman who got the momentum clearly in the Red Raiders’ favor right from the start as he sank four of his five 3-pointers in the game’s opening stanza.
“Akbar is the top player in the county and one of the best in the state,” said East Side co-head coach Anthony Tavares. “He got us going right away with his hot hand and everyone chipped in to help us build a nice early lead.”
SHP (18-4) made a valiant attempt to get back into the game with a 15-9 edge in the third quarter, behind the strong play of forwards Joe Sherwood and Kelly Hogan, who combined for all the Pirate points in the quarter; however, it was not nearly enough as the Red Raiders always maintained a double-digit lead.
The Pirates trailed, 47-35, on three free throws by sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs (14 points) with 6:28 remaining, but a Sanogo basket and then another 3-pointer from Hoffman sealed the deal as East Side re-extended its lead to 52-35 with 3:58 left.
“Getting out to a quick start was huge for us,” said Hoffman. “We knew we wanted to take an early lead. This is such a big game for us against a quality team that has had a lot of success in this tournament, including beating us in the final last year, and we really wanted this championship, that’s for sure!”
One player who has banged heads with both Sanogo and 6-8 Abdul Lewis in practices every day is East Side’s unsung 6-7 junior Taj Price, who contributed 8 points and 5 rebounds in a strong supporting role on Saturday, and was glad to see the front line strengthened again with Sanogo’s return.
“Having ‘Ish’ back is tremendous and just makes us so much stronger for this season’s stretch run,” said Price. “I face Abdul and Ish every day in practice and just going up against them helps build my confidence because they make me a better player.
“Seeing both Abdul and Ish out there on the court again today was terrific for our team and we’re just that much deeper a team moving forward.”
Sanogo did not start Saturday, but he entered the contest with 5:10 left in the first quarter and made his impact with strong work inside.
He had gone down hard on the floor injuring his shoulder in the first quarter against The Montclair Kimberley Academy in the ECT quarterfinals on Feb. 8 and it was first feared that he could be lost for an extensive period of time.
However, his quick recovery has been a combination of diligent rehab and good fortune that the injury was not as serious as was first thought.
“We had him do nothing for a week and then do rehab this past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Tavares. “Then, he saw the doctor Thursday who was impressed by Ish’s range of motion and he medically cleared him.
“If you tell a 17-year-old kid that he can play with his teammates he’s going to want to come right back. But, we had him first practice Thursday and Friday and he said he felt good.
“He was a great lift today and everyone rallied around him and Akbar, who has made a full recovery of his own from a bad bout with pneumonia, which can really throw someone for a loop.
“As a team we used so much energy to get out to a big lead and we probably ran out of gas a bit in the second half, but give Seton Hall Prep credit for battling back.
“They are a great program and coach (Kevin) Williams is a class act. I’m just proud of our kids for playing with a lot of heart and effort and we beat a very good team by 18 which is pretty impressive.”
GAME NOTES- SHP was led by Gibbs and Sherwood with 14 points apiece. Sherwood had a strong game off the boards as well with 8 rebounds. Hogan, a 6-7 junior forward, chipped in with 12 points and 6 boards…On hand doing the FIOS TV broadcast as color commentator was former Hudson Catholic and University of North Carolina standout Mike O’Koren…SHP Headmaster Monsignor Michael Kelly reported when asked that he is making terrific progress from both hip and knee replacements in recent months…East Side also defeated SHP in the ECT finals in both 2002 and 2003 when the Red Raiders were led by current NBA standout Randy Foye, who played collegiately at Villanova…East Side junior guard Ahmad Harrison contributed 7 points and 6 assists as one of the strong Red Raider guards. The South Alabama-bound Lewis had 6 points and 9 rebounds.
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