If you could combine the attributes of Corey Edwards and Marquise Moore, you'd have an All-American point guard.
The player would be 6-foot-2, 200 pounds (Moore) with the ability to finish at the rim (Moore) or stroke threes (Edwards); a defensive pest to ball handlers (Edwards) and a shot blocker/rebounder (Moore); a passer who finds the open player (Edwards, Moore) and a talker who communicates with and challenges teammates (Edwards).
The Patriots are now playing extensively with the two point guards in the backcourt, now that Vaughn Gray has been coming off the bench and fellow shooting guard Patrick Holloway has missed the last two games with a blood disorder.
The two guys from Queens are making it work as they did in Thursday's 68-60 home victory against St. Louis, combining for 31 points, eight assists and five steals while committing just three turnovers.
Edwards set the tone early with his defense, getting low in his stance, poking dribbles away, diving on the floor for loose balls and making an outlet pass from his knees. The Patriot defense helped turn a 17-12 deficit early into a 29-24 halftime lead.
“That's pretty much one of my jobs to pressure the other team's point guard, disrupt them from how they want to run their offense,” said Edwards, a 5-11 senior. “Everybody picks up on that.
“Pressure defense to generate some layups and get some easy buckets so we can get going. When one person starts it, the whole team starts it. It's an energy thing. We don't get extra points for energy, but it helps the momentum in the game.”
Down the stretch, Edwards and Moore hit free throws – they were a combined 14-for-17 for the game – to preserve the lead and end a five-game losing streak.
They both kept a lookout for Shevon Thompson. The 6-11 center had a double double in the second half alone (10 points, 10 rebounds), finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
“Shevon's a double double machine,” Moore said. “Every game we know he's going to give us at least 10 rebounds and 10-15 points. That's a plus.”
The Edwards-Moore combo has been a plus. They're now playing together more. In the past they usually subbed for one another – sophomore Moore took over Edwards' starting point guard spot midway through last season.
It's a good partnership of two players from Queens who had fathers who were stars at Andrew Jackson in Queens and then went onto stellar college careers, Vernon Moore at Creighton and David Edwards at Georgetown and Texas A&M.
“We come from the same background,” Edwards said. “We kind of see eye to eye and know what to expect from each other and hold each other accountable in practice and games. We push each other every day so it helps both of us.”
In the new backcourt, Edwards usually takes the role of the shooting guard. But there are times he'll run the point.
“It's the flow of the game,” Edwards says. “We both have a good feel for the flow of the game, depending on who's got it going. Like the game against Davidson, 'Quise was hitting jumpers. He creates for himself. When I've got it going like I had it going (Thursday), he finds me coming off screens or getting into the lane.”
In high school, the two were rivals at Queens powers. Edwards was at Christ the King and Moore at Holy Cross before transferring his senior year to St. Thomas Moore in Connecticut.
“I never lost to him,” Edwards says of the Christ the King-Holy Cross games.
Does he often make that known to Moore? “Of course.”
They're better as teammates than rivals. “We help each other,” Edwards says.
