By Nate Beutel
NIAGARA FALLS — Jerome Matthews isn’t necessarily as quick as a cat, but rather he’s elusive like a mouse. At least that’s what A.J. Roberts told him during biddy basketball back in the day.
“I’m a sneaky character. If you fall off me for one second, I’m going to get open and score,” a smiling Matthews said of his nickname, which has stuck to this day.
This winter, the Niagara Catholic senior has been scoring at a torrid pace. He’s currently averaging 18 points per game, second on the team and up more than a dozen from a year ago.
“I wasn’t happy with the way I played last year, so I told myself to get in the gym and put up as many shots as I could,” said Matthews, who transferred to NC from Niagara Falls after his sophomore year.
Patriots’ coach Eric Fields, who has known Matthews since childhood, noticed.
“Of our returning players, he’s by far our most improved,” the coach said, while praising his work both on the fast break and from behind the 3-point line. “You could tell he worked hard to elevate his game. He was focused on making himself better individually so he could be more productive for us.”
His work also seemed to alleviate some pressure off of returning second team all-Niagara Gazette selection Lorenzo Joseph, who has led the team in scoring the past two seasons.
“If Lorenzo is struggling, I’m there to help him now,” Matthews said. “It doesn’t have to be all about Lorenzo.”
Fields added, “this isn’t a one-man show anymore. Mouse has stepped up and performed well.”
His play has been a big reason for the Patriots’ turnaround. A year after notching only three wins, NC is 10-3 heading into today’s Monsignor Martin small schools showdown at St. Mary’s of Lancaster.
Still, win or lose tonight, Matthews won’t be satisfied until NC punches its ticket to the Class B Catholic state tournament in early March. The MMAA small school that advances the furthest in the Manhattan Cup is granted the league’s berth in the state tournament.
“We feel good about the way we’re playing and if we keep picking it up and playing together, I really believe we can do this thing,” he said.
Matthews said is looking to play basketball in college, possibly at Division III Hilbert in Hamburg.
Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.
MOUSE MATTHEWS
• SCHOOL: Niagara Catholic
• SPORT: Boys basketball
• GRADE: Senior
• POSITION: Guard
• STAT: Patriots’ second leading scorer
• COACH’S QUOTE: “Of our returning players, he’s by far our most improved.”
— Eric Fields
