City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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SOUTH PHILADELPHIA —Neumann-Goretti senior Larenzo Jerkins can’t help but smile when he thinks back to this summer. He remembers the beating sophomore guard Torrey Brooks Jr. took during a game against a physical Camden High at Philly Live — the young guard still getting his feet with the Saints.

In the eight months since Brooks has done a lot of growing up. In the last few weeks, he’s been ready for the moment, blossoming into the guy who has stepped up time and time again late in games for Neumann-Goretti.

Not even a full season into his tenure with the Saints, Brooks has a resume of clutch highlights. There were no last-second shots to add Monday night against Father Judge — like he did against Archbishop Ryan last month and Salesianum (Del.) earlier this season — but Brooks came up big multiple times in the fourth quarter of a 79-75 win.

Brooks had eight of his 25 points in the fourth, combining with a career-best 32-point night from Jerkins in the win to snap a two-game losing streak.

“I’m not gonna lie, he surprised all of us,” Jerkins said.

“He was a little kid, scrawny, everybody kept bumping him and going off his dribble. … To see him play now, controlling the floor, taking over Khaafiq’s position, just executing positions and everything, getting us the ball, nobody saw it coming.”

Brooks, who spent last season at League Bound Academy (N.J.), thought his role would be mostly as a shooter for the Saints heading into the season. When St. Joe’s commit Khaafiq Myers missed time due to an early-season injury, Brooks quickly showcased much more, going off for 22 points and hitting a last-second shot in just his second game at N-G.

With Myers going down again early into Catholic League play and being ruled out for the season, Brooks has readily taken part of the reins of the N-G offense alongside classmate Stephon Ashley-Wright.

“If you watched us over the years, we always play with more than one (lead guard),” Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale said.

“We knew he would be a good compliment to Khaafiq and he’s even better than I thought. We knew he was good when he came just when he was working out and stuff with us and played with us in the summer. Now, he’s gotta take it to another level.”

Brooks had plenty of help getting himself ready for the big moments. His father, Torrey Sr., was a state champion  at Glassboro High School before playing overseas and becoming a trainer. His older brother Michael Cabbage was a standout at Winslow Twp. (N.J.) before playing at Marist and Saint Francis-Brooklyn and professionally in Europe.

“Just working out with my father everyday,” Brooks said of where he gets his confidence.

Brooks had five threes in the first half and Jerkins added 20 points as the Saints jumped ahead 43-38 at halftime Monday in a game that swung back and forth throughout the second quarter. The scoring tightened a bit in the third before Jerkins scored the last seven Saints points of the period to give Neumann-Goretti a 58-52 lead. 

“We challenged Larenzo a little bit,” Arrigale said. “He’s been not himself a little bit these last couple games. … I told him you gotta get back to being the toughest, meanest kid on the floor.”

Father Judge junior guard Kevair Kennedy (16 points) did his best to tighten things up, pulling the Crusaders within two before the midway point of the fourth. The stretch of the game came when Brooks diced through the defense and finished around a defender before the Saints came up with a steal on the next possession and pushed the lead to 66-58 when sophomore Ashley-Wright found classmate DeShawn Yates on the fastbreak.

When Judge senior guard LaQuan Byrd (11 points) responded with a score, Brooks quickly answered to keep it an eight-point N-G lead. 

“I like to be trusted, and I can do it,” Brooks said of playing more with the ball in his hands.

Neumann-Goretti wasn’t perfect at the line, but the Saints made enough foul shots down the stretch, including 4-for-4 from Brooks, to avoid some of the dramatics of their previous contests this season.

Arrigale noted no one’s been able to completely fill Myers’ defensive absence. He was a “catalyst” on that end and a constant communicator. Senior Hofstra commit Amir Williams returned from injury in a limited role on Monday. He will help N-G’s defense resume.

Still, Monday’s win kept Neumann-Goretti tied for second place in the PCL with Archbishop Wood and St. Joe’s Prep — a game behind Roman Catholic and a game ahead of Archbishop Ryan and now Judge. It’s important to get one of the top four seeds and preserve home court advantage in the Catholic League quarterfinals.

They have Devon Prep, La Salle and Bonner-Prendergast still to play.

“From this point forward, everything is down to the line," Jerkins said. "We can’t afford any more losses. Everything has to be personal. Everything has to be executed perfectly. We can’t waste any kind of possessions. We just have to be on our Ps and Qs with everything that we’re doing.”

“Keep stacking days. One percent better everyday,” Brooks said.

Neumann-Goretti 79, Father Judge 75

By Quarter
Father Judge 21 | 17 | 14 | 21 || 75
Neumann-Goretti 22 | 21 | 15 | 14 || 79

Scoring
Father Judge: Kevair Kennedy 16, Derrick Morton-Rivera 15, Laquan Byrd 11, Rocco Westfield 11, Anthony Lilly 10, Nazir Tyler 8, Everett Barnes 4.

Neumann-Goretti: Larenzo Jerkins 32, Torrey Brooks 25, Stephon Ashley-Wright 12, DeShawn Yates 6, Amir Williams 4.