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Pickron, Wood show toughness in win over Bonner

01/13/2017, 11:00pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Tyree Pickron (above) and Archbishop Wood came from behind to beat Bonner 62-44. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Tyree Pickron has no qualms about sacrificing his body for the team.

The Archbishop Wood wing proved that in the fourth quarter of the Vikings’ game against Bonner-Prendergast on Friday night, when he took on two Friars defenders en route to the hoop, taking a hard fall as he got fouled.

After taking a few seconds to shake it off, he knocked down two foul shots -- and then moments later found himself once again heading towards the bucket after a Bonner turnover. The 6-foot-3 junior didn’t hesitate to go up again, take contact again, and hit the floor again.

Whatever it takes.

“I don’t mind getting hurt -- not (seriously), but I don’t mind risking my body for a win,” Pickron said. “Ice it, I’ll be okay tomorrow.”

His persistence paid off, when another Bonner turnover the next turn down the floor led to yet another run-out. Except this time, there were no defenders ahead of Pickron, and he slammed it home, sending Wood on to a 62-44 road win.

“I called him out and asked if he wanted to come out for a minute, 30 seconds, and he’s like ‘no,’” Wood head coach John Mosco said. “And then he got the dunk. So I’m glad I didn’t [pull him].”

Pickron’s personal spurt was part of a dominant second half by Wood (9-3, 3-1). The Vikings trailed by three at half but quickly flipped the script out of the gate, taking their first lead of the game on an 8-0 run to begin the third quarter.

From that point on, the momentum was entirely with Wood. By the time Pickron threw down his dunk the lead was 14 with five minutes to play, and the 18 points Wood won by matched the largest margin of the evening.

“I think we have to slow down,” Pickron said. “We try to go too fast, someone tries to be the hero. When we use each other and use our chemistry, I think we’re a really good team.”

Pickron finished with 14 points, one of three Vikings in double figures; senior guard Collin Gillespie paced the team with 16 points, eight boards, five assists and five steals, while senior Matt Cerruti had 15 points to go along with five steals and three assists.

“They’re a potent offensive team,” Bonner coach Jack Concannon said, “and once they get on a roll, they don’t have just one or two guys that can make shots, they’ve got four or five guys that can make shots.”

Bonner was paced by junior big man Ajiri Johnson, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds while generally getting the better of Wood junior Seth Pinkney, a fellow Division I recruit.

The win is the third straight in league play for Wood after a surprising loss to Father Judge to begin the PCL slate. The Vikings, coming off a year where they went just 6-7 in the league, have much higher aspirations this time around.

Putting aside a rough first half and finishing strong on the road against a quality opponent is a good sign that the growing pains the program suffered last year are paying off, with four starters back from 2015-16.

“Last year, we were going into the year we had 32 games started in the Catholic League, which is not a lot,” Mosco said. “We learned from our lessons; last year I think we would have still been playing, it might have been an overtime game, because we wouldn’t have been able to come out and fight through that.”

The Friars (11-2, 3-1) benefitted early from a raucous home crowd, holding the Vikings to just 6-of-25 shooting in the first half to finish the first 16 minutes with a 20-17 lead.

But once Wood settled into its offensive rhythm, its talent and experience shined through; the team shot 15-of-26 in the second half, including 10-for-13 in the fourth quarter.

“We always say the first three-to-four minutes of the third quarter, most important part of the game,” Concannon said. “And they answered the bell and we didn’t, and we paid for it. But I think in the end we’re going to be a better basketball team for this experience tonight.”

Bonner's loss leaves Neumann-Goretti as the only unbeaten team remaining in the Catholic League. Roman Catholic joins Wood and Bonner with one loss.


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