Jones and Carroll soar past Haverford School

You can call it the "Derrick Jones effect."

No, not just the audible astonishment the 6-foot-6 senior's aerial displays elicit from the Archbishop Carroll faithful. Apparently, Jones' exploits also change the energy of his teammates.

"It definitely gives us a spark every time he gets a dunk," Patriots guard Samir Taylor said. "I feel like that helps us change the game around."

Jones and Co. jumped on Haverford School, 69-49, in front of a near-capacity crowd Tuesday night at Widener University in the Pete and Jameer Nelson Holiday Classic.

Jones, bound for UNLV, finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and an MVP trophy. He also sent the crowd into hysterics with several explosive dunks (and even a few missed attempts).

"It picks us up when he gets a dunk," said Josh Sharkey, a junior guard. "The whole team gets excited and energized, and we feed off plays like that."

Carroll's other players were also key during a 13-2 second-quarter push. That was especially important because senior forward Ernest Aflakpui remains sidelined by injury.

Taylor (nine points, four steals) scored eight during that run, while 6-3 sophomore Dave Beatty (13 points) capped the burst with a three for a 30-14 Patriots advantage. Junior guard John Rigsby also added 11 points (4-for-7 shooting, 2 for 2 from three).

"Having the role of being another scorer on the team," Beatty said, "it's like when [Jones] is tired I have to step up or when I'm tired [teammates] have to step up."

In contrast, the Fords received 40 of their 49 points from senior guard Levan "Shawn" Alston and junior forward Lamar Stevens. Alston, a Temple signee, finished with 21 points and an MVP trophy. Stevens added 19 with five rebounds.

Jones, one of the nation's top prospects and the winner of several dunk contests, may garner much of the spotlight, but Taylor, for one, doesn't feel slighted.

The 6-foot senior said he's been drawing some Division II looks as another result of the "Derrick Jones effect."

"It's a great experience because you get more exposure because he brings a lot of exposure," Taylor said. "I don't really care about the attention. I just want to play basketball."

Haverford School 10 9 15 15 - 49

Archbishop Carroll 17 15 16 21 - 69

HS: Shawn Alston 21, Logan Atkins 3, Noah Lejman 2, Jack Marshall 2, Cameron Reddish 2, Lamar Stevens 19.

AC: David Beatty 13, Ryan Daly 8, Colin Daly 2, Derrick Jones 21, John Rigsby 11, Josh Sharkey 5, Samir Taylor 9.

Also at Widener:

Neumann-Goretti 89, Chester 56: Vaughn Covington sank six three-pointers en route to 23 points. Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Zane Martin added 19 points, Lamarr Kimble had 12 and Quade Green scored 11.

Pennsbury 63, Math, Civics & Sciences 61: Cameron Jones gave the Falcons the lead for good with 18 seconds left. He had nine of his 16 in the final period. Derrick Woods scored 10 of his 21 in the fourth. Samir Doughty shot 7 of 8 from the line and had 24 points for Math, Civics & Sciences.

Conwell-Egan 61, Coatesville 53: MVP Stevie Jordan had 17 points, and Chase Kumor added 15 points and six rebounds.

St. Benedict's (N.J.) 53, Martin Luther King 44: Senior Tyere Marshall (17 points, five rebounds and three blocks) took MVP honors in the Cougars loss.

Friends' Central 64, St. George's (Del.) 53: Jonathan Lawton scored 29 points, and De'Andre Hunter had 22.