St. Anthony sharpshooter recalls Newark roots
When Elijah Ingram first realized that he would be facing some old Newark grade school rivals from Shabazz in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions finale, the St. Anthony junior point guard was a little apprehensive and more than a bit worried.
"I said to myself, ‘Here we go again, playing against these guys again,’ " Ingram said. "I was really worried that I would get caught up in the idea that I knew them so well and they knew my game so well. I didn’t want to think too much about that. They’re all good friends, personal friends. I was really worried that they were going to shut me down."
Ever since he was a six-year-old toddler, playing Small Fry basketball in his native Newark, Ingram was accustomed to playing against Shabazz guards Marcus Barrett, Robert Robinson and Dennis Harper.
The rivalry continued through grade school, when Ingram was attending Camden Middle School and the others were at John F. Kennedy. In between, there were summer leagues at Branch Brook Park and other recreation and AAU get-togethers.
"I never had the chance to play with them," Ingram said. "It was always against them."
So when the T of C finale tipped off last week at the Continental Airlines Arena, it seemed like old times, Ingram facing off against his buddies from Newark. As it eventually turned out, Ingram was the one who got the upper hand.
Ingram scored a game high of 22 points and collected a team high of seven rebounds, leading St. Anthony to the 48-47 victory, earning the Most Valuable Player honors. Ingram also connected on six three-pointers, which tied the overall T of C record and set a new final game mark.
Ingram said that a major reason for his success was his mental approach right before game time.
"I just had to be relaxed and let the game come to me," Ingram said. "I knew I had to play hard and be aggressive, especially because these guys knew me. I think relaxing before the game helped me a lot."
Ingram connected on his first two three-point attempts in the first quarter and the shots seemed to calm him down.
"Once that first one went down, I knew my shot was there," Ingram said. "I think my teammates did a good job of finding me open looks. I was kind of shocked that I was so open to begin the game. Once the shots went down, I just kept shooting."
St. Anthony Coach Bob Hurley said that he really wasn’t concerned about Ingram’s mental approach to the game, facing his long-time friends.
"I think Elijah already had emotional games like that this year, when we played Marist (in the Parochial B North semifinals) and he faced (former teammate) Tony Tate, then a day later, he had to face St. Patrick’s and his two former schoolmates Jamie Sowers and Terrell Prince," Hurley said. "And he didn’t play too well in either game. I knew he might have some feelings, facing friends from Newark, but when he knocked down his first two, he was fine. I think he’s grown now, matured a lot that the emotion wasn’t going to get to him."
Ingram had 14 points at the half, helping St. Anthony hold a 30-26 lead and added eight more points in the third quarter, as St. Anthony took a 42-36 advantage into the final period. But the Shabazz defense put the clamps on their old friend the rest of the way, holding Ingram scoreless in the fourth quarter.
"They really did a good job of defending me, throwing two guys at me in the last quarter," Ingram said. "They made it very hard to get shots."
Ingram had a chance to ice the game with eight seconds remaining, when he went to the foul line to shoot in the penalty situation. But Ingram missed the shot, giving Shabazz one last chance. However, St. Anthony made two defensive plays in the closing seconds to ice the school’s seventh T of C title.
"It’s an unbelievable feeling," Ingram said. "I’ve had my share of wins and my share of losses against those guys, but this was definitely the biggest win."