MAKING HIS MARK: Mark Aziz of Ivy Inn, with the ball, establishes position in the paint against Bobby Brackett of Sneakers Plus last week in the best-of-three championship series in the Princeton Recreation Department Summer Men’s Basketball League. Ivy Inn swept the series 2-0 and Aziz was named as Foreal Wooten Playoff MVP. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Mark Aziz’s thoughts went back to last year as the Ivy Inn squad took the court last Wednesday against Sneakers Plus with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three championship series in the Princeton Recreation Department Summer Men’s Basketball League.

“We lost to Winberie’s in three so we knew,” said Aziz. “That is not a feeling we wanted to have again. Last year, I had a big turnover that helped cause it.”

When Ivy Inn took a 21-18 lead into halftime against Sneakers Plus on Wednesday at Community Park, Aziz and his teammates weren’t about to let the title slip out of their grasp.

“We knew we didn’t want to take it to three,” said center Aziz. “We got ahead in the first half and just kept it strong so we could close it out today. We just wanted to get in and out in two games; that was our mindset.”

Ivy Inn finished strong, pulling out a 41-34 win to earn the title, the fourth in six years for the squad.

The win had a special meaning since the core of the Ivy Inn team is former College of New Jersey players while the Sneakers Plus entry is comprised of current TCNJ performers.

“This team was us eight years ago; it is almost like little brother, big brother,” said the 6’7, 225-pound Aziz, who scored 815 points in his career with the Lions from 2004-2008 and is an assistant coach for the TCNJ program.

“You will give them a run but you are going to try to get them at the end. That is not a knock in them. We coach them and we all come from the same program and they are going to be us in eight years. You have got to learn the ropes, though. I knew I couldn’t go back next year with the knowledge that they beat me. It would be like my younger brother beating me.”

The powerful Aziz taught his younger brothers some lessons in the finale on Wednesday, scoring 11 points in the second half as Ivy Inn outscored Sneakers Plus 20-16 over the final 20 minutes of the contest.

“I was finding my space, I was creating space for myself and finding my shot,” said Aziz, who ended the evening with a game-high 15 points.

“That is what helped me out, just attacking the basket. I knew it was going to go in eventually so I just kept being aggressive and playing my game.”

As a result of his clutch play, Aziz was named as the Foreal Wooten Playoff MVP. In reflecting on the honor, Aziz spread the credit to his teammates.

“It just means that we won, this is a representation of my input to the team,” said Aziz, who previously scored 17 points as Ivy Inn edged Winberie’s 55-50 in the semis to get some measure of revenge for last year’s championship loss.

“Obviously if we didn’t win, I wouldn’t get it so it is an extension of what we did during the year and in the playoffs.”

In the view of Ivy Inn manager and forward Bobby Davison, Aziz was the obvious choice for MVP.

“Truth be told, Mark sent a text message earlier on saying that his back hurt and that he was going to need a lot of help tonight,” said Davison.

“He didn’t warm up before the game tonight because he was hurting. He loosened up as the game went on. I can’t say enough about the guy. He does everything for us; he is our centerpiece down low.  Not having Sherm [Brittingham] tonight, everybody had to step up. It started with Mark. He is great.”

Aziz, for his part, is proud of how Ivy Inn has stepped up over the years in the summer league.

“Most of us live in the area and it is a sense of pride when we come out here and play,” said Aziz of the squad which features such stalwarts as Shahid Abdul-Karim, Bobby Davison, Buddy Thomas, and Dave Boudwin.

“The guys that make up the team to Scott [Findlay] coming in and getting into the Hall of Fame to the guys at Ivy Inn that sponsor us; it is a community representation on the court and that is what we stand for.”