Neptune Comes Up Just Short Against Marist in Holiday Jubilee Final

By Bobby Klatt - Shore Sports Network contributor

NEPTUNE - Marist survived late turnovers and a missed buzzer-beater to beat Neptune 46-44 to win the Holiday Jubilee championship on Monday afternoon as the Scarlet Fliers came up just short of bringing home the title in their home tournament.

Free throws were the big story of the game, as both teams were in the bonus at the start of fourth quarter. Marist gave the Scarlet Fliers multiple chances down the stretch due to turnovers, but not only was Neptune 4-for-10 from the foul line in the final minute, the Scarlet Fliers finished the game 14-for-31 from the stripe. Marist was the complete opposite, as it shot 19-for-25 as a team.

With points being at a premium, a key turning point in the fourth quarter was Neptune senior guard Keishawn Kirkwood picking up his fourth foul on an intentional foul, which gave the Royal Knights a 37-29 lead with just over four minutes left.

Neptune continued to fight its way back against a defensively sound Marist team by attacking the basket, getting fouled and stopping the clock. A big help for the Scarlet Fliers was the fouling out of Marist’s most impactful post presence, Hakeem Slue-Brown. Slue- Brown had only five points, but gave Neptune's Micah Kerr and Marcque Ellington trouble on the boards.

Mark Thomas, the tournament MVP for Marist, knocked down two free throws for two of his team-high 14 points to give the Knights a 46-41 lead with under ten seconds left.
Marist came out in a zone press, which didn’t bother Keishawn Kirkwood, who came off a screen at the top of the key and hit a three fading away with 1.6 seconds left to cut Marist’s lead to 46-44.

With no timeouts left, Neptune’s full-court pressure got the best of Marist as an errant pass gave the Fliers the ball underneath their own basket with 1.3 seconds left. Neptune ran the inbounds play to perfection, giving Kirkwood a contested three from the corner, but the shot was too strong to end the game.

“The first option on the play was the three,” said Neptune head coach Joe Fagan. “I didn’t think overtime would favor us with the foul trouble we had. I told the kids in the huddle that the shot would be there and go for the win.”

“Hard work and everyone buying in is what got it done,” Thomas said. “Neptune is a great team. We just listened to coach (Jyron) Brooks and stayed disciplined.”

Balanced scoring and constant substituting for defense gave Marist just enough to take the title. Along with Thomas, Kyle Elliott and Logan Santiago also finished with double-digit scoring for the Knights.

“Team chemistry is going to be huge going forward,” Brooks said. “There are going to be games where we will face adversity, and are we going to be able to stay together through it?”

After a very even first quarter, Marist took off as it finished the first half by winning the second quarter 16-3 for a 22-13 lead at the break. The half ended with Marist scoring four points in the last five seconds, which included a buzzer-beating putback. Defense was the key to the Royal Knights' run as their pressure caused four straight turnovers to start the quarter.

“We try to make teams uncomfortable, however we need to do it,” Brooks said. “We like to push the pace because we are in good shape. From the time I got to Marist, I made sure we were going to guard teams.”

Both teams struggled from the field for the entire game, with each shooting under 28 percent from the floor. Senior twins Keishawn and Kerry Kirkwood led the Scarlet Fliers in scoring with 14 and nine points apiece.

“When you have 18 turnovers and 17 missed free throws and you have a chance to win the game with a second left, that shows you how much grit our guys have,” Fagan said.