The Red Hawks are starting to catch fire. The team is playing its best basketball of the season at the right time, with winning their last four games.
On Jan. 31, they got a huge win at home as they rolled past William Paterson University. Then they went on the road and were bested by a strong Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey. They stood at 16-6 overall and sat fourth in the conference behind The College of New Jersey, New Jersey City University and first-place Ramapo College.
Leading the way is freshman point guard Myles Mitchell-White. He averaged 16 points and four assists last week as he took home his seventh New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Rookie of the Week award. This is only the eleventh week of the season.
Head coach Marlon Sears talked about why he thought Mitchell-White has been able to step in as a freshman and run the point guard.
“The biggest thing is his leadership skills, he’s a natural born leader,” Sears said. “He’s an extremely bright young man, both on and off the floor, and when you get that combination in a guy, I think he has a chance to be special.”
The Red Hawks front line has also been impressive. Eddie Emedoh, Kaan Yilmaz, Jarrett Bogus and Jordan Roberson form a unit that’s one of the deepest and most talented in the country. According to Sears their depth is one of the keys to the team’s success.
“It’s gigantic,” Sears said. “Guys just stay fresh and then as we get to this point in the season when most teams are starting to get worn down, we still have fresh legs and we’re still moving around really well on the defensive end.”
The team is coming down the home stretch of the season, needing just one more win to clinch a spot in the NJAC tournament. The winner of the NJAC tournament receives a bid to the Division III NCAA tournament. According to coach Sears, they are taking it just one game at a time.
