Brookdale Rallies To Defeat Rowan For Trip To Region XIX Semifinals

Photo’s above: #23 Mason Jones, #3 Kerry Kirkwood (Neptune H.S.), #34 Dillon Salva and #44 Jordan Little

MIDDLETOWN – Down 12 points, 35-23, with 5:45 remaining in the first half, the Jersey Blues launched into a 20-3 run in which they held fifth-seeded Rowan College at Gloucester County scoreless for the final 3:14 of the half. In that span they outscored the Roadrunners 11-0 to take a 43-38 halftime lead en route to a 87-76 win Tuesday night at Collins Arena.

The win earned fourth-seeded Brookdale (20-10, 16-7) a berth in the NJCAA Region XIX semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years. Brookdale won the 2013 NJCAA DIII National Championship going 33-1 and has four Region XIX titles in program history, including three straight from 2012-14.

Rowan’s ability to penetrate the basket against Brookdale’s big men in the first half saw the game slowly slipping away from Brookdale as the athletic Roadrunners were continually finding their way inside for the easy two points.

With Brookdale holding a distinct height advantage over Rowan (18-11, 15-9), head coach Paul Cisek sensed a need to abandon their customary man-to-man defense and he switched to a 2-3 zone before replacing it with a match-up 3-2 zone defense that seemed to surprise Rowan.

Cisek’s move turned out to be a game-saving decision as the zone confused Rowan initially then frustrated them the rest of the way as Brookdale came alive on both ends of the floor.

“They were shooting it very well and getting to the basket,” Cisek said. “And we just weren’t playing great defense. They hit some shots from outside and our bigs had to go out. We got out of man-to-man and eventually went to a matchup 3-2 zone and that screwed them up. They stopped moving inside and were just moving it around on the outside and we were getting out on the shooters. They struggled there and they let us back in because we then started getting the ball inside.”

With the score 35-23 in favor of Rowan, Brookdale’s 6-foot-9 freshman center/forward Jordan Little grabbed three straight offensive rebounds and followed all three with put-back baskets sparking Brookdale’s late first-half run and finishing with a team high 13 first-half points along with five rebounds and three blocked shots.

Sophomore forward Dillon Salva began to dominate the paint in the latter part of the first half and ended up pulling down nine boards while chipping in with 11 first-half points. Freshman forward Will Kocsis (Howell H.S.) supplied added muscle off the bench grabbing five boards while former Howell High School teammate freshman guard Aaron Trimble hit a big three-pointer and had seven points in the first half as the Blues went to the locker room up 43-38.

“In the beginning of the game we were just letting them penetrate too much,” Salva said. “We had to help out on the perimeter and they were just crashing. When we switched to a matchup 3-2 zone it allowed me and Jordan stay down low the whole time and get position because their big men weren’t going outside.”

“Dillon’s fourth in the country in rebounding,” Cisek said. “He’s got 420 rebounds and averages in double figures. He’s been doing this all year for us. With him and Jordan we have a two headed monster when their playing well.”

Brookdale kept up their assault on Rowan as the second-half commenced with their leading scorer, Mason Jones (19.0/g) – a 2013 All-Class B South selection from Manchester Township where he averaged 21.9 points per game that year – setting the place on fire. The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard scored 10 straight and 13 of Brookdale’s first 15 second-half points, including two three’s, with the Blues holding onto a 58-51 lead four minutes into the half.

“I’m starting to feel my shot come back now,” Jones said. “At halftime, coach told me to turn it on; it was my time and if I didn’t do something now I’d be looking at a season that was over. After missing the last three games I had a lot of time to think about it myself and to pretty much come back hungry.”

“When Mason hit a couple of three’s we got some pretty easy baskets,” Cisek said. “All of a sudden their zone started to spread and that opened up the middle for our big guys.”

With Brookdale’s lead hovering around the ten-point mark most the second half, Little hit for two underneath giving the them a 79-71 lead with 5:08 left in the game. From there, Brookdale held Rowan scoreless until there was just 1:01 remaining in the game and the outcome already decided.

Jones led Brookdale with 17 second-half points including three, three’s for a game-high 23 points while Salva completed a double-double with 20 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. Little finished with 21 points and eight boards - four off the offensive glass - and two blocked shots. Sophomore guard Terrel Cox (Long Branch H.S.) handed out a team-high five assists.

Brookdale will now face No.1 seed Camden (18-8, 16-7) in the semifinal on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at the Arthur L. Scott Center at Northampton Community College, Bethlehem, PA. The two teams split their regular season games with both winning on their home courts.

“We got to play better defense if we’re going to beat Camden,” Cisek said. “We’re going to go watch some film and see what we can do. They’re a very good team, for us to win we’re going to have to execute and attack their defense.”

Tuesday night’s win gave Brookdale its fourth 20-win season in the last five years, including two 30-plus win season’s under Cisek, now in his 24th year as head coach at Brookdale.

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