Senior center
Adonis Delarosa and sophomore wingman Rawlie Alkins figured to be go to players
this year. They were primarily support guys on a city championship team led by
three seniors Jon Severe, Jordan Fuchs, and Malik Harmon. Two of them, Harmon
and Severe, have moved on to division one college basketball. While Fuchs will
head to Indiana on a football scholarship after a year of prep time on the
gridiron, Severe has emerged as the leading freshman scorer in the nation for
Fordham while Harmon is earning important minutes for St. Francis (Pa.)
The loss of all that talent and
leadership meant that Delarosa and
Alkins would be asked to be the foundation players. To be sure there were some
early struggles for both the stars and the role players. In a particularly
difficult and unexpected home loss to co-league favorite Cardinal Hayes something just didn't look right. They
weren't active on defense and often their offense was limited to one pass and a
shot.
Fast forward to a tournament win
in the Stop DWI Classic in Binghamton that included a win in the finals against
a talented Long Island Lutheran team, and add a quick turn of the calendar to
2014 and suddenly things are looking much better for the Royals and much
tougher for the rest of the CHSAA's "AA" league.
Facing what figured to be a
difficult road test against a smaller but hot shooting and fast paced Molloy
team, the Royals took away their transition game and, with Delarosa anchoring the defense at the
rim, aggressively moved to cover their shooters. Offensively, the Royals looked to Delarosa, who took advantage of the
small court at Molloy, got down the floor quickly and established great post
position. He scored a team high 18 points for the Royals while Alkins would add
16, including three treys and a vicious
transition slam in just 3 quarters of
action.
The Royals took a 43-30 lead at
the half, and extended that to 67-43 after three quarters. Molloy used a zone
press and some hot outside shooting to rally to within 7 in the closing seconds
and make the final score closer than the game itself. Gabe Kilpatrick finished
with a game high 19 points while C.J. Davis added 16 for the Stanners. But the best player on the
floor for them was senior forward Jason Cethoute who continues to provide energy scoring and
toughness even when he gives away size inside.
Christ the King will look to
continue their winning ways at home against Xaverian on Sunday while Molloy
heads to St. Ray's in what should be
great battle against a team that's young but very talented. Sunday while Molloy
heads to the Bronx to face a young and talentedSt. Ray's team in what should be
great battle.
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