Henderson Surges Past East, 60-49

Jason McCormick’s unusual rise to stardom for the basketball team brought little more than a shrug from the player and his coach Tuesday night as the Warriors headed into the regular season homestretch with a 60-49 victory over in a Ches-Mont National rivalry contest before another loud crowd at Henderson.

He scored 31 points, including seven straight in a decisive, early fourth-quarter run, to lead the home team to its 10th victory in 15 games and a 5-1 record in the league.  The Warriors will try to avenge their only Ches-Mont National loss  Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., when they host Coatesville at the Montgomery Ave. gym.

Amari Taylor scored 18 points and Eddie Anderson 12 for the Vikings, who dropped to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the Ches-Mont.   East was in the game for most of the night and pulled to within three late in the third quarter before the McCormick onslaught, part of a 20-point second half performance.

“I guess I’ve got more confidence this year,” said the junior guard, who didn’t play school basketball in eighth and ninth grades, when his twin brother, Chas, emerged as a standout.  “Chas was getting a lot of attention and I wanted the same. And I wanted to play with Chas, too,” he continued. 

When the twins were sophomores last year, Chas was a two-year starter and Jason got some important minutes off the bench.  This year, they’ve been double trouble from the start of the season, but Chas was the more reliable scorer.  Now, Jason has assumed the leading scorer role, giving Henderson another key threat in the  battle for a Ches-Mont final four spot and a possible home game in the District Tournament.

“I wanted to start this year and I wanted to be more aggressive,” Jason added, explaining his emergence as an offensive force.  “I’m happy with the way it is working out.”

He scored seven points in the first quarter as Henderson moved out to a 16-11 lead.  Late in the second, the Warriors generated three consecutive steals and converted each to forge a 13-point halftime advantage.  In the third, East battled back behind Taylor, Nick Scotese and Marcus Lauria, twice shaving the margin to three.  At the start of the fourth, Jason hit a corner three-pointer, a drive and then got a steal and fast break basket to put East down 13 again with six minutes remaining.

The Vikings kept it interesting with their tenacious play but could get no closer than nine as the clock wound down.

“Give East credit.  We knew it would be a battle,” offered Henderson coach Chris Bruno in reference to the intra-city rivalry among players and coaches who know each other so well.  “Every player leaves it all on the court in these games.”

Jason McCormick?  “I’m not that surprised, really,” Bruno stated matter-of-factly about the star of the game.  “He just had to get that experience.  And, like Chas, he is a quick study.”

Chas ended up with 16 points and added nine rebounds while David Goodman had eight rebounds, three blocks and a crucial third quarter steal that blunted East’s second half momentum. 

In the girls’ varsity prelim, East topped Henderson, 46-36 behind 15 points from Nina Mazzarelli.  Emily Torrance scored 15 points for Henderson.

In the boys’ junior varsity game at East, Henderson prevailed, 48-36, behind 19 points from Luke Weaver and 11 from Colin Costello.  East’s top scorers were Zach Smith with eight and Kevin Murphy with five.