Boys Basketball: Newark Memorial Outlasts St. Mary's in Battle of Reigning NorCal Champions

Newark Memorial 46,  St. Mary’s 39

The Stars: Junior guard Yusuf Farouqi came off the bench and scored a game-high 17 points, hitting five 3-point shots. Senior forward Kendall Andrews added 15 points and did much of the dirty work inside.

The Turning Point: The Cougars opened the fourth quarter on an 11-5 run, turning their six-point lead into a 42-30 bulge with 3:17 to play. St. Mary’s never got closer than within four points.

The Quote: “It’s kind of marquee. You get to play at Haas Pavilion. People come out and watch. So yeah, they’re excited for the challenge. We try to put our kids in those situations, which even though sometimes we fail, it’s pretty neat to be in that environment,” Cougars coach Craig Ashmore said of his team playing on Cal’s home court in the Martin Luther King Holiday Classic.

What's next? Newark Memorial resumes Mission Valley Athletic League play Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Irvington.

Bottom Line: The Cougars destroyed St. Mary’s in the 3-point battle, making six to zero for the Panthers. That was enough to tip a tough defensive battle Newark Memorial’s way.

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The game between and St. Mary’s was barely a minute old Monday afternoon at Haas Pavilion, and, after a mad scramble for a loose ball, there were bodies covering the court like pins at a bowling alley.

You knew then that this was going to be an all-out, hold-nothing-back defensive battle between a pair of reigning NorCal champions, Newark Memorial from Division I and Saint Mary’s from Division IV.

“They’re very tough,” Newark Memorial coach Craig Ashmore said. “I hope we’re tough. There wasn’t a lot of scoring, so that’s the only way you can do it. You don’t have a choice. A field goal wins it, right?”

Well, not quite, but you get the point. Points were precious.

The Cougars toughed-out a 46-39 victory at the 14th annual Martin Luther King Holiday Classic at Haas on the Cal Bears’ home court.

“It was very physical,” said Newark Memorial senior forward Kendall Andrews, who scored 15 points and did plenty of physical work inside. “We’re two very well coached teams. I give a lot of props to St. Mary’s.  It was just a battle out there and luckily we came out with a win.”

Ironically, Newark Memorial wound up winning this slugfest on the strength of Yusuf Farouqi’s red-hot 3-point shooting. He made five 3-point shots — three in the first half and two in the second — and finished with a game-high 17 points. The Cougars scored 18 points from long range to zero for Saint Mary’s.

“Great shooter, great shooter,” Andrews said of Farouqi. “It’s really good to have him because when I get double-teamed in the post, I always look for him. He always comes up big. It doesn’t matter what game it is, he always shines.”

Newark Memorial entered the game , but it was No. 15 Saint Mary’s  that built a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Cougars, though, outscored Saint Mary’s 14-7 in the second quarter to build a 23-17 halftime lead. Farouqi made a pair of 3-point shots during the quarter, and Casey Norris made one from long range.

“We had some inside play, but they did, too,” Ashmore said. “Those threes were huge, and we took six charges. That’s basically, ultimately 12 points right there.”

Newark Memorial’s lead was still just six points (31-25) entering the final quarter, but it opened the fourth on an 11-5 run and built a 42-30 lead with 3:17 left. Farouqi started the surge by nailing a 3-point shot. After Saint Mary’s guard Isaiah Taylor made 1 of 2 free throws, Farouqi hit from long range again. Then Andrews scored from inside on a fast break.

“We talked about (Farouqi) before the game, about closing out on him, but I guess we just didn’t follow the game plan,” said Taylor, who led Saint Mary’s with 13 points.

The Panthers battled back and cut the lead to 43-39 with 42 seconds left, but Norris hit 1 of 2 from the line, and they drew a charging call on David Andoh, nullifying his hoop with 32 seconds left.

Newark Memorial survived despite making just 6 of 16 from the free-throw line, in large part because Saint Mary’s went just 11-for-22.

“We struggled a little bit here,” Ashmore said. “A lot of air. Big facility. A guy starts making them and everyone starts making them. It’s like a snowball effect when guys start missing also. Even your good guy will go up there and throw some stones.”

Fittingly, Farouqi capped the scoring by hitting two free throws.

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No. 5 Newark Memorial 46, No. 15 Saint Mary’s 39

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Individuals — (fg ftm-fta tp)

Newark Memorial

Farouqi 5  2-2  17, Andrews 6  3-9  15 Norris 2  1-3 6, Singh 2  0-0  4, Rowland 1  0-0  2, Banford 1  0-0  2, Frenchwood 0  0-2  0. Totals: 17  6-16  46. 

St. Mary’s

Taylor 5  3-7  13, Baral 3  1-6  7, Thomas 2  2-2  6, Andoh 2  1-3  5, Weinstein 0  4-4  4, Thompson 1  0-0  2, Davis 1  0-0  2. Totals: 14  11-22  39.  

3-point goals: Newark Memorial 6 (Farouqi 5, Norris 1). Saint Mary’s, none.

Fouled out: Newark Memorial – Singh; Saint Mary’s – Andoh, Weinstein.

Records: Newark Memorial 11-5, 2-0 MVAL; Saint Mary’s 10-8, 2-2 BSAL. 

Non-League, boys basketball, 1/17/11

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