WEST POINT The realization came slowly for Brandon Martin (pictured left), each step a little more painful than the last.
First, he had to cope with the ejection itself, then the resulting one-game suspension. So when Bob Cimmino finally broke it to Martin that he couldn’t even show up to watch his team play Bishop Loughlin last month, the Mount Vernon coach suggested catching a movie instead.
More than two weeks later, what Martin still hasn’t watched is a replay of the Knights’ humbling 20-point loss.
“I wouldn’t watch it if I was him either,” Cimmino said.
When he returned from suspension Sunday, Martin could hardly contain his glee – and big Bishop Kearney couldn’t contain him period. The 6-foot-4 junior made his first six shot attempts and powered his way to 24 points and 13 rebounds in Mount Vernon’s 71-61 victory over another state-ranked Class AA opponent at Army’s Christl Arena.
The Kings (2-4) played again without 6-foot-10 Syracuse-bound big man Chinoso Obokoh (ankle), but Martin still needed to bully past the 6-10 Godspower Ogide and 6-9 Thomas Bryant, two-thirds of the state’s biggest frontcourt. His fast start included 12 points as Mount Vernon (4-1) built a 29-13 lead with 6:09 left in the first half.
“They’re taller than me, but I can outmuscle them,” said Martin, who was named the game’s MVP. “That’s what I try to do.”
Although it worked, the Knights relaxed and eventually squandered their lead. They fell behind for the only time on game, 43-42, on a 3-pointer by Byrant late in the third quarter, and were temporarily foiled by Bryant’s seven blocks.
“We got lackadaisical and thought the game was over,” said senior Jamal Lewis (pictured right), who had 16 points. “We can’t do that. We have to keep pushing and stay focused.”
Part of the reason Mount Vernon lost its rhythm in the first half was foul trouble for senior point guard Josh Doughty. Not surprisingly, Doughty’s return provided a spark. He hit a pair of quick 3-pointers to trigger an 8-0 stretch to close the quarter and went on to score 14 points to go with five assists and four steals.
Mount Vernon also ramped up its defensive pressure, which had helped build the early lead. The Knights forced 26 turnovers in the game, but they were pivotal in them regaining control of the game.
So was Doughty, who had all of his 14 points in the closing stretch after being held scoreless in the first half.
“Josh makes us go,” Cimmino said. “If Josh makes good decisions, we’re a very good team.”
Martin’s importance was evident as well during the Bishop Loughlin loss. The Knights were outrebounded 41-23 that afternoon, surrendering second chance points against an opponent good enough to not need them. With Martin back, they outrebounded the Bishop Kearney 43-29. That included 20 offensive rebounds, eight of which were grabbed by Martin himself.
Martin and teammate Gary Johnson had been forced to sit after they were ejected in the championship of the REB Invitational in Edmonton. Martin believed he had let the team down and played with that as his on Sunday.
“It was definitely on my mind the whole time that we lost and I didn’t get to help my team,” Martin said. “My first game coming back, I did everything I could to help them win.”
90 Comments
@HRs
I totally agree.Paschall is being recruited for his playing w/ his AAU team.Team that has at least four other D1 players on it (Williams of loughlin,Jones of c hayes,Wallace holy cross,Donovan Mitchell.He is used to playing with good ballers and good coaches this is not the case at Dobbs.He needs to leave!!
RC,
You are a trip. An uninformed trip, but a trip nonetheless. You don’t ‘shine a light’ on anything…you’re just objecting to things that are not objectionable. Read what space just wrote above – he and I basically agree about Loughlin game…you are the only person saying that with Martin MV definitely wins the game. You obviously never played sports, because you never say what you are saying. If a team is missing a key player and loses a game by 20pts the classy thing to say is what Haywood and Space have said – if the two teams played again with Martin it could be a different game. Anything more than that is just a wishful fan’s opinion.
You object if I said Wadleigh wasn’t an ‘elite’ nyc team this year…unfortunately for you the truth is Wadleigh is not an elite nyc team this year. I’m sure even Coach Cimmino would agree with my statement. Yet you object. Loughlin, Hayes, CTK, Lincoln, Boys, South Shore, Jefferson – yes. Wadleigh is a good second tier psal team.
You object that I said Loughlin is the #3 CHSAA team, yet EVERY fan who follows the chsaa would agree Loughlin is #3 now.
You’re objecting to facts if they don’t serve your purpose. Thats not being a good MV advocate…that just makes you come across as a sycophant. Be a fan, not a sycophant. Real MV fans like Haywood and Space are being realistic about MV this year…they are obviously a very good team, but likely not on the level of recent MV teams – definitely not in terms of talent. This MV team could glue at the right time and make a nice run to the Feds and I’ll be rooting for them to do so, but you talking like this team should be exalted and is not fairgame to be looked at closely is nuts. Think about it, I can’t think of a MV team this decade that didn’t have atleast 1 major D1 player – most MV teams had 2-3 major D1 players. Doughty could end up being a low D1 player, Martin could end up being a low D1 player – but there are definitely no major D1 talents on this MV team and there may not even be any D1 players straight out of HS…thats unheard of for MV. Still a very good team – great coaching, lots of speed and athleticism, plays very well together like all MV teams – but as of now, not on the same level of talent as the last decade’s teams.
I would be upset too, if I had to play at Dobbs. lol
Reality.. LOL!
Last year I really felt it was Uniondale’s year to make a big stink in the playoffs. Shaq Mosely was a great HS player. I was telling Haywood all year about them. Their lack of scheduling tough teams and the coaching got the best of them. They under achieve way too much. Baldwin for a LI team did work last year. Having 3 college ball players on one team is not the norm for them(And all 3 are getting time as freshman in college) By the way, Shaq is lighting it up in prep school. He is at Mount Zion, average over 35+ points a game and 8 assits.
States, HRs and gorton,
I hate to judge a kid’s decision of a HS choice as I don’t like seeing others do so without any knowledge of a kid’s personal situation. But looking at this season objectively, DF is not a great place for Paschall on the basketball court. Anytime a kid is that much more talented than his teammates and all his opponents it is not a good thing for his development – bad habits can set it and some kids will get in the habit of coasting for periods on the court since it is so easy to dominate. I haven’t seen Paschall play AAU but I’ve heard he has played very well. AAU isn’t exactly nirvana for disciplined basketball either. Paschall could probably stay at DF and still get more A-10 or better offers, but I can’t help but think if he was in a better program against better competition he’d become an even better player with even better offers.
Hey hoops fan
I read what space said. He basically said MV could play w/ loughlin & he brought in Jalen & Yhanni’s performances as being sub-par & I liked what he said. I stopped reading your post after your first sentence, because I’m really not cincerned what you think anymore. You’re not worth educating. And you’re now trying to speak for other bloggers. Isn’t there a catholic game for you to go watch? Don’t worry about the vern. They don’t need backhanded commenting supporters. Why don’t you go find out who the 18th game is against so you can tell us all how “mediocre” they are. I’ve dealt w/ people like you before. I was a scholarship athlete in college were you? You’re a typical nay sayer that always wants to be right. You’re a contrarian. Go look it up.
Rc,
You were a scholarship basketball player in college? We’re not talking about synchronized swimming here. Did you go to MVHS?
As far as all my ‘backhanded complimenting’, you’ve yet to point out ONE thing that I wrote that was the least bit backhanded. You have pointed out several things I wrote that were true that you apparently didn’t appreciate, but were far from insulting, backhanded or inaccurate. I’ve been talking about hoops on this blog for years with Haywood, spacecadet and mvhs65 – real MV fans – and I don’t recall them ever objecting to one word I wrote about MV. Now you hop on the blog for the first time and accuse me being derogatory towards MV because I don’t think they were gauranteed to beat Loughlin if Martin played. I doubt ANY serious MV fans would say such a thing. MV fans tend to know basketball very well since they’ve had the good fortune of watching so many excellent MV teams – that’s why I doubt you had anything to do with MV basketball.
By the way, I agree MV could play with Loughlin…and they did play with Loughlin for over 3 qtrs. I just don’t agree that if Martin played they’d automatically win the game or it would come down to the wire. Sure, if MV had a full squad and everyone played well they’re capable of playing anyone in NY close. And if Doughty shoots lights out again, then they could beat a lot of good teams…and I’ve never said otherwise.
I’m surprised SpaceCadet & Haywood haven’t asked NOT to be mentioned in HoopsFan’s posts. Why bring them into this? I remember kids like HoopsFan in elementary school. They were the ones who went home to mommy & daddy & said the kids were to rough at recess. Or they’d run to the teacher or principal. Fight your own battles. Leave SpaceCadet & Haywood out of it. You’re weak & not getting stronger. Stop rating players too. You’re doing these kids a disservice. Who knows what level they’ll play at. You’re NO MV fan. You’re troubled. All I can think is Space & wood know you & dint want to tell you to stop including them & Fight Your Own Battled
REALITY CHECK,
WHAT YEAR DID YOU GRADUATE?
You’ve cleared it all up now HoopsFan. You’ve pretty much spelled it out. You’re entitled to say what you want & if anybody doesn’t buy it they’re wrong. You’re a Bully. But I’m not going to let you bully me. I don’t give a crap how long you’ve been bloogging or been following the team. You don’t know what kind if prospect Brandon Martin is. He’s a Jr & could explode this yr & next. It happened last yr with Isaiah. Josh has this season to get exposure. Your evaluations mean nothing. I was a concerned earlier today that I might of called you out in error and that you were in the kids corner. But you’re not. They are working to disprove the NaySayers. Give Em a chance & stop doubting them. You’ve said lots of positive things in our debate concerning the team & program. Leave it at that. Stop doubting them and if they fall, pick Em up. They’re good kids
4 SQUARE MILES,
MOUNT VERNON WILL TURN UP THEIR PLAY AND BE THE TEAM THAT WE EXPECT TO DOMINATE SECTION 1,I TRULY EXPECT TO SEE MV AT THE COUNTY CENTER AND SO DO THEY.
“MORE CHIPS THAN CHIPS A-HOY,LLOOLL
Haywood
it doesn’t matter. I’m groing more & more disenchanted with this whole debate. I probably misread HF’s initial comments, but now I realize he’s a bully, an expert, etc, etc. Have Fun following the kids. They deserve your loyalty. You’re a Great Fan
STATE RANKINGS;
MV-#7
STEPINAC-#12
NORTH ROCKLAND-#13
Hey reality. Frank Sinatra School for the Arts in Queens has an opening on their basketball schedule I noticed. Maybe you can recommend this to get that 18th game scheduled now?
C’MON NOW,
MAYBE MV CAN PLAY YOUR SCHOOL?
Haywood,
I only wish MV would play my school or schools like mine now(My HS went out of business years ago, Power Memorial ). It wouldn’t be a walk in the park like they are now when they reluctantly schedule within the five boros. Very cautious and calculating scheduling in NYC whether PSAL or CHSAA
C’mon now,
I am sure that 18 th game will be a pretty good team
If you guys want to have a drink together, Im buying
C’mon Now.
Don’t under estimate that Frank Sinatra team, I hear they have some muscle.
SPACECADET,
TRUE BUT THEY PROBRABLY LEFT THEIR “HEARTS”IN SAN FRANCISCO,LLLLLLOOOOOLLLLL
snare drum and a rim shot… time to go to bed
space Ill take you up on that drink! And ill even buy you one back.
Good points about Paschall guys. The best thing he can do is his best physically and mentally this yr and let next yr do what it will God willing.
Space,
I’ll take you up on that drink one of these days.
Haywood,
I agree with you, I’m sure MV will be playing well by county center time and will be formidable in the playoffs.
RC,
Everyone noticed you ducked Haywood’s direct question about what year you graduated from Mvhs. I knew you weren’t a real MV guy. And believe me, no one would mistake you for being ‘rough’ – you come across soft as babywipes. I appreciate how you then accuse me of being a ‘bully’ in the following sentence…very passive-aggressive. Interesting your comments about elementary schools – where was that, Rye, Scarsdale, Bronxville, Larchmont?
No not rye, Bville, larchmont or Scarsdale. Want to name anymore towns you can’t afford to live in?
I noticed you jumped right in on that drink Space was offering to buy Wood & C’mon. Don’t offer buybacks. You can’t afford Em
RC drink offer was actually towards you and Hoops..
Haywoods to busy drinking the Kool Aid and writing punch lines
RC,
I wouldn’t be so sure what I could or couldn’t afford my friend. But I am pretty sure you’re not from MV and have nothing to do with their basketball program.
SPACECADET,
I DRINK GATORADE,MV PLAYS WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY,LETS GO KNIGHTS
space and Haywood,
Do you know anything about the teams in Erie that MV is going to play later this month?
Space
I’ll have one with you anytime.
18th Game vs Brooklyn Collegiate Sat. 1/26 at 4pm Gaucho’s Gym
HOOPS FAN,
NO CLUE
REALITY CHECK,
THAT TEAM BEAT NEWBURGH THIS YEAR
RC,
Brooklyn Collegiate is 7-7. Plays in a very good Bk PSAL league. They lost by 35 to South Shore , by 35 to South Shore, by 21 and 29 to Lincoln – very young team, they should be good in a couple years. BK Collegiate actually beat Wadleigh – this is a down year for Wadleigh, they are 3-5 and haven’t played any top PSAL teams yet. Banneker actually is only in the PSAL A division – they used to be AA, but apparently not anymore.
Brooklyn Collegiate is a good team this season. They did beat Wadleigh in OT already this season. So they both will give MV a game, but MV wins 2
You guys are all good, loyal fans of MV. But you have to understand where others are coming from.
After watching last night’s football championship game, do you now know why Notre Dame would never schedule Alabama, Texas A&M or LSU in a regular season game? And can you see why it angers real fans of the game when they do not, when a team chooses to and get voted in?
I watched the Brooklyn Collegiate/Wadleigh game before MV played Loughlin. Could have been one of the most boring overtime games you could imagine.. If MV does not beat them and Wadleigh by 20 I will be shocked. They would be better off with a scrimmage.
C’MON NOW,
MV HAS A TEAM THAT NEEDS TO BUILD MORE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR ABILITY,AT THE END OF THE SEASON THEY WILL BE MUCH BETTER THAN THEY ARE NOW.I AS THIS TEAM MATURES WITH EACH WIN IT WILL MAKE THEM HARDER TO DEAL WITH IN MARCH.
Wood,
I would prefer a tougher opponent. Or a scrimmage against a St. Anthonys type team as better preparation. I don’t know the particulars about BC and if any of their bigs were not playing, but outside of one or two guys there is not much there. More damage can come from a game like this than good. Oh well.
SPACECADET,
IT’S A SAFE GAME AT THE END IF THE SEASON,MV ALMOST ALWAYS GETS A STREAK GOING. FOR MOMENTUM
MV must’ve been in a tough spot looking for an 18th game so late as most other teams likely filled their schedules months ago.