Jayvaughn Pinkston was sitting comfortably at the end of the Bishop Loughlin bench and, thanks to Rasi Jenkins, he didn’t have to go anywhere in the second quarter.
Jenkins has been pushed by his teammates to be more active all season and he didn’t disappoint on this night. The 6-foot-6 senior dominated the glass and was an intimidating factor in the lane with the Villanova-bound Pinkston out of the game with two fouls.
“After the second quarter they told me I had five blocked shots,” Jenkins said. “I was like, ‘Wow.’”
Next thing he knew he had career-high 10 rejections to go along with seven points and six rebounds in Loughlin’s 55-36 rout of Cherokee (N.J.) at the Primtime Shootout at Sun National Bank Center this past Sunday. Kareem Canty scored 12 points and Branden Frazier had 11 points and six rebounds. Pinkston added 11 points. Willis Nicholson scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half for Cherokee (13-3).
“At the end they didn’t want to shoot the ball because his presence is unbelievable,” Loughlin coach Ed Gonzalez.
Bishop Loughlin outscored Cherokee 21-12 in the second quarter. The Lions, especially Jenkins, hit the glass and Canty, who Gonzalez calls his X-factor, finished in transition during a 17-3 run to put his team up 26-14 with 2:21 left before the half.
“If he comes ready to play he is probably the best sixth man,” Gonzalez said.
The Lions, with Pinkston back, continued to roar in the third thanks to its defense and Jenkins shot blocking in the middle. Loughlin contained and got the ball out of his hands of Nicholson and turned Cherokee over countless times during a quick 9-0 spurt. Loughlin got out in transition and Pinkston scored six straight points, all the free throw line late in the quarter.
“We felt if we pressure them, made [Nicholson] a passer that this should be a blow out game,” Canty said.
Shabazz (N.J.) 69, St. Raymond 56: Kerwin Okoro scored 17 points and Gabe Burroughs added 14 for St. Raymond. The Ravens were within 47-45 with 6:35 left in the fourth quarter on two Daniel Dingle free throws. Shabazz responded with 16-2 run to pull away. Okoro fouled out after two quick ones, including an intentional foul, with 4:30 remaining in the game and St. Ray’s down nine.
“They were just too physical for us. They killed us on the backboards,” Ravens coach Oliver Antigua said. … “It seemed like they were jumping three and four guys at the rim.”
Shabazz’s onslaught began before halftime with St. Raymond (9-12) battling some foul trouble. It went on an 18-2 run filled with a few highlight reel dunks. Six-foot-six Daveon Boardingham capped it with a two-handed slam to put Shabazz up 31-24 at the half. Rodney Williams scored 22 points and 6-foot-7 forward Tyre Lockhart added 11 for the Bulldogs (14-2).
“Those are just two points,” Antigua said of the dunks. “I knew we would come back and give a fight.”
