Salesianum’s Tariq Ingraham shoots against St. Mark’s William Hoffman during Salesianum’s 50-40 win at St. Mark’s Friday.
Salesianum’s Paul Brown shoots over St. Mark’s William Hoffman during Salesianum’s 50-40 win at St. Mark’s Friday.
Salesianum’s Trevon Alderman throws a pass around St. Mark’s Jamai Rice during Salesianum’s 50-40 win at St. Mark’s Friday.
Salesianum’s Kasai Guthrie (right) moves to the basket against St. Mark’s William Sullivan during Salesianum’s 50-40 win at St. Mark’s Friday.
Salesianum’s Juwel Campbell goes for a basket as St. Mark’s William Hoffman defends during Salesianum’s 50-40 win at St. Mark’s Friday.
MILLTOWN – The St. Mark’s student section decided to poke a little fun at Salesianum center Tariq Ingraham on Friday night, holding up a sign that said, “Tariq Sleeps With A Nightlight.”
By the end of the game, the Spartans were the ones having nightmares.
Salesianum’s Tariq Ingraham contests a shot by St. Mark’s Jamai Rice during Salesianum’s 50-40 win at St. Mark’s Friday.
The 6-foot-8 freshman made the most of his limited opportunities, hitting all four shots from the field and finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots as Salesianum topped its archrival for the 13th straight time, 50-40.
“It’s intense, a big gym,” Ingraham said of his first game at St. Mark’s. “It was hard to keep the voices out of your head when they’re screaming at you.”
The Spartans’ fans made plenty of noise, but Ingraham blocked it out and kept his calm as the Sals (9-7) pulled away in the fourth quarter.
“We tried to explain to the freshmen that it’s just a whole different ballgame when you play against St. Mark’s,” Sallies coach Brendan Haley said. “Not only in terms of the atmosphere and the rivalry, but they’re unique in how they defend. You just have to learn that what might work on some nights won’t work against them.”
The Sals found a few things that worked early, as Kasai Guthrie pumped in three quick buckets and Michael Kempski scored a fast-break layup off a turnover to give the visitors an 8-2 lead midway through the first quarter.
But St. Mark’s (11-5) kept its patience and got back in it, pulling within 12-9 on Jamai Rice’s driving layup at the end of the quarter and tying it at 15 on Billy Sullivan’s drive with 2:28 left in the second quarter.
Salesianum led 19-17 at the half, and Ingraham’s turnaround power move and Juwel Campbell’s steal and layup pushed the Sals up 23-17 early in the third quarter.
The Spartans cut the margin back to two points three times, the last coming at 30-28 on Rice’s drive with 48 seconds left in the period. But St. Mark’s couldn’t get over the hump.
Sallies’ Fahmir Ali closed the quarter with two free throws, and the Sals scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter. Haley played Ingraham and 6-6 sophomore Paul Brown together during the surge, and the big lineup paid off.
“We have size on St. Mark’s,” the coach said. “But they make it so difficult for you to take advantage of that, because they do a great job of sandwiching the post. We needed to get a little more of the high-low going, and it was really fun to see Paul and Tariq finding each other and playing off of each other so well.”
Ingraham powered in for a layup that became a three-point play. Luke Bianchino drove for a floater in the lane, then fired a crisp pass to Duncan Trerotola for a 3-pointer from the left corner. Then Kempski cut through the middle and fed Brown for a layup that made it 42-28 with 3:47 to play.
The Spartans tried to rally, but Ingraham collected missed 3-pointers and hit a couple of free throws to clinch it.
“They really know how to box out and keep me from getting to the glass,” the big center said. “It’s a matter of hard work and getting around them.”
Sallies has dominated the rivalry recently, with the last St. Mark’s victory coming on Jan. 22, 2010. But it hasn’t been easy, as seven of the 13 games in the Sals’ streak have been decided by six points or less.
Rice led the Spartans with 13 points. Chris Ludman added 12.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ