Every time Marlon Harris hits the court for Paterson Charter, he knows what his opponent is thinking. The senior guard can sense their doubt when he comes off the bench in pre-game announcements.
He is only 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds – on a good day.
Those measurables aren’t going to scare anyone, and Harris understands that.
That’s why he makes up for it with his game, fitting into his role for the Lions. When Harris gets into a rhythm, he shows everyone why he earned a spot in the starting lineup for a team that is 34-1 the last two seasons. And as one of Paterson Charter’s faithful shouted out after a 67-55 win over Dwight-Englewood in the NJIC championship game on Wednesday:
“You can’t measure heart.“I know what my speciality is and that’s how I did it today,” said Harris, who hit four 3-pointers, landed a floated in the lane over the outstretched arm of a defender and finished with 14 points. “They think I’m little and that it’s going to be easy, but it’s heart over height all day, every day for me. I take it as motivation and that makes me strive even more to play well.
Dwight-Englewood (20-4), No. 20 in the NJ.com Top 20, had won 15 of its last 16 games. The Bulldogs only losses overall this year were against Top 20 teams. The Bergen County squad has looked good this winter, but this North Jersey Interscholastic Conference title game belonged to Paterson Charter.
It was a back-and-forth game for most of the first quarter until Paterson Charter (23-1) took it over. The Lions led 13-10 at the end of the first eight-minute period thanks to a 7-2 run to end the quarter.
That one-score margin ballooned, however, once Harris started to heat up.
The senior nailed a deep 3 to start the second quarter and connected on two more before halftime. Paterson Charter led by as much as 11 points before ending the first half with a 32-23 lead. The defense was also tenacious in the opening half, taking Dwight-Englewood out of its comfort zone
Senior David Mager hit a bucket for Dwight-Englewood to start the second half. That was part of a 19-point effort for the 6-foot-4 guard, and the Bulldogs hoped it would spark the offense.
Harris stepped up and hit another a deep ball after that though, starting another 7-2 run for Paterson Charter. Dwight-Englewood chipped away in the second half, even getting its deficit down to four at one point in the fourth quarter, but Paterson Charter always had an answer.
Senior Jashair Rosa led all scorers with 20 points in the championship game and racked half of those in the final quarter. Senior Asim Jones was also awesome against Dwight-Englewood, finishing with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. He had a dunk to put an exclamation point on the win. Senior Jamir Belfield added nine points, six assists and four boards.
Junior Kemar Degroat played a role as a starter with senior Moshe Wilson out. Senior Ramir Frye and junior Adrian Mouzone came in off the bench and helped keep the pressure on Dwight-Englewood.
Paterson Charter has one of the top defenses in the state, causing turnovers that lead to scores on the other end. Wilson is a defensive ace and Paterson Charter will welcome him back for Saturday’s Passaic County final, but this team proved that it has the depth to adapt despite missing one of its starters.
“We just work hard and defense wins everything,” Rosa said. “We play as a team. All five of our guys step up. It’s not just one or two players for us. It’s the whole team; even the bench. Being in Group 1, teams look down on us as a little school, so we just want to prove everyone wrong and show them that we can play with anyone in the state.”
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Brandon Gould can be reached at bgould@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonGouldHS.
