Dock Mennonite shuts down Jenkintown in BAL clash
TOWAMENCIN >> Creating a marathon of fast breaks and getting strong inside play from Darius Ellis, “the space eater,” Dock pulled away from Jenkintown Friday night, rolling to a 52-36 Bicentennial Athletic League victory.
Jackson Scialanca, one of four Dock players to reach double figures, led the way with a game-high 14 points.
“Our defense wins our games,” said Scialanca, a returning senior guard. “So that’s what we focus on. If our shots aren’t dropping, it starts on the defensive end.”
Dock limited the Drakes to just 10 first-half points, on its way to improving to a perfect 2-0 in the BAL Presidents. The Pioneers raised their overall record to 3-1.
“We’re a pretty good defensive team, and that’s what we hang our hat on as a program,” said Dock coach Mike Fergus.
Forcing yet another turnover, Dock capped a fourth-quarter fast break when Steven Martin fed a streaking Scialanca, the basket pushing the margin to 44-29 and making it a smooth landing for Dock.
“We were getting out and running,” Scialanca said.
Dock held Jenkintown scoreless for key stretches, allowing the offense to push the margin to double digits.
The Pioneers turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 13-point margin in the third. And when Ellis followed up his own rebound and was fouled, hitting the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play, Dock’s lead was inflated to 34-18 early in the fourth.
“Darius is a monster inside,” Fergus said of the junior center. “He gets his hands on so many rebounds and he’s always around the basket. Even when you block him out, he’s just so big. To his credit, he’s relentless going to the glass.
“He just goes all the time and cleans up so many misses. That’s just huge to have. He’s come a long way from his freshman year to now.”
Ellis, Antanas Tamulis and Nolan Bolton each added 10 points. Bolton got to a loose ball and beat the third-quarter buzzer with a floater to send Dock sprinting into the fourth.
The Pioneers were able to shake off a persistent Jenkintown squad (0-3, 0-3 BAL Constitution), which got 11 points from Cade Lafferty and 10 from Adam Giammanco.
“I give credit to Jenkintown. They’re scrappy and really well-coached,” Fergus said. “They came in here and were a little undermanned. They were missing a couple players and they gave us everything we could handle.
“We’re pretty good defensively, and we take a lot of pride in that. That is what won us the game.”
