St. John's Fights Through Adversity for a win over Long Beach State and their Best Start Since '90-'91

              In any special season good teams face a time or two where they have to fight through adversity. St. John's faced some before the season began when they lost potential frontcourt help as Keith Thomas and Adonis Delarosa were ruled ineligible because of academic issues.

              Yesterday as they beat a tough Long Beach State squad 66-49 two more potential obstacles presented themselves. First, the team learned before the game that Rysheed Jordan would miss the game because of a stomach virus. The second obstacle showed itself during the game when star guard D'angelo Harrison, who entered the game as the Big East's leading scorer at 18 ppg, struggled for the first time all year finishing with just 9 points.

              No problem for St. John's. The senior laden team which has been praised all year by their coach Steve Lavin for their resourcefulness found several ways to negotiate those obstacles successfully. Their defense, which held Long Beach State to 1-13 three point shooting in the first half. "Our defense sustained us and allowed us to forge a lead until our offense caught up to the level of our defense," Lavin said.

              It's understandable that the offense catching up took a while with Jordan missing and Harrison struggling but once again the veteran Red Storm found some answers. In the backcourt Jamal Branch, whose offense normally takes a back seat as he runs the team chipped in with 11 points. Up front, Chris Obekpa had perhaps his best offensive game of the season, finishing with 16 points on 7-8 shooting.  The offensive outburst came with his usual good defense as he finished with 6 blocks.

              Long Beach State briefly grabbed leads in the second half but St. John's answered quickly each time first with an Obekpa  jumper  and next with a jumper from Phil Greene, who tied Obekpa for game high scoring honors with 16 points. Guard Mike Caffey lead Long Beach State while Tyler Lamb added 10 points.

              The win raises St. John's record to 10-1, giving them their best start since the 1990-91 season when they reached the elite 8.

Jefferson Beats St. Ray's in a Great Game at Legends Classic

              One of many things that can be taken from Saturday's fantastic game between visiting Thomas  Jefferson and home standing St. Ray's is that there should be more games like this played in New York City. There should be more games where two of the city's top teams step outside of league play with nothing on the line except that game's result.

              The 3rd annual Basketball  Legends Classic provided that game and many other good things came from it. The game itself, which ended in a 97-92 win for Jefferson was terrific and kept the fans who jammed the gym at St. Ray's involved from start to finish.

              And the college coaches present , from schools such as St. John's Niagara, Fordham and others at all levels of college basketball got to see young players in an environment made more competitive by the number of good players on the floor for both sides  which helps them make accurate scouting evaluations of perspective recruits.

                             Last but certainly not least, the teams themselves benefit most of all because they get an early indication of how they need to get better to make deep league playoff runs. Jefferson coach Lawrence Pollard has taken full advantage of this playing five of New York's top six clubs regardless of league affiliation.

              This game also had one well reported sub plot in the person of point guard Jaquan McKennon, the speedy point guard who played Saturday for Jefferson but began his high school career at St. Ray's. All the things that made him a talented young prospect in those early days make him a talented young player now. He plays with an extremely low to the ground dribble, keeps it alive against pressure and can make every kind of pass. He finished with 13 points , a boatload of great assists and very few turnovers in what coach Pollard called his best all around game of the season.

              He combined with junior guard Shomarie Ponds  who took many of McKennon's passes for baskets and helped the Orange Wave take advantage of some early Ravens' jitters. Ponds finished with a game high 32 points and demonstrated his trademark mid-range game and slashing ability along with improved accuracy from beyond the arc. Jefferson also received key contributions from talented forwards  Isaiah Deas and Davere Creighton each made critical baskets to help Jefferson  navigate a stet of the second half where Ponds was limited with 4 fouls.  Deas and McKennon hit consecutive 3's in the third period  that gave Jefferson a 60-57 lead that they would never relinquish.

              The Ravens, and in particular talented sophomore point guard Isaiah  Washington regrouped from those early jitters to play very well. Junior shooting guard Casim Brown finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds while uber talented sophomore Sidney Wilson added 22 points 8 boards and 7 blocks.  They nearly helped the Ravens mount a winning rally with the help of late game pressure. Jefferson  earned a hard fought win but make no mistake both teams are better for having played each other.

Fast and Furious 2nd Half Lifts #20 St. John's Past St. Mary's 53-47

                             The ice bags on D'angelo Harrison's arm and Joey Delarosa's wrist were indicative of the basketball battle two very good teams, St. John's and St. Mary's waged at Carnesseca Arena last night. Both teams like to establish physical play each team likes to do so at a very different pace.

              For the first 20 minutes the visitors from northern California had the pace they wanted and slowly  built their lead thanks to a dominant first half effort on the boards (28-12) terrific half court defense and precise offensive execution that helped the Gaels make sure that Brad Waldow, their awkward looking but effective center got touches. He was equally good in pick and roll as well as post up situations as he provided the offensive spark for a 33-18 halftime advantage for St. Mary's. The wide margin plus early foul trouble for both Harrison and center Chris Obekpa spelled trouble for St. John's

              According to Harrison, coach Steve Lavin's message was simple to the point. "Coach just emphasized cutting down on Waldow he had 19 (of his game high 26 points) in the first half."

              Lavin did more than just ask his team to limit Waldow's touches, he helped his team make an adjustment that in turn helped his team accomplish just that. Sir'Dominic Pointer, the team's best defender fronted Waldow which not only limited his catches but, as Pointer explained "I'm quicker so I can get around in front and they have to lob the ball over me and Chris can look to block shots rather than be on Waldow.  It made it a lot easier for me and Chris."

              The effect was almost immediate. St. John's pulled to within 39-33 with just under 13 minutes left and finally taking the lead with 8:04 left on two Pointer free throws. He and Harrison provided much of the offensive spark. Harrison scored a team high 21 points while Pointer did a terrific job exploiting quickness mismatches  for a double double (11 points and 10 boards. St. John's defensive pressure was the key as they scored 17 points off turnovers and forced  Waldow to commit 7 without an assist. St. Mary's dominated the first half with physicality in the paint but St. John's won the second, and ultimately the game, with physical play on the perimeter; trapping St. Mary's  guards and diving for every loose ball and, as Harrison put it succinctly, "playing St. John's basketball".

              The win was St. John's 5th straight and raised their season mark to 9-1. Waldow was the only double figure scorer for St. Mary's which dropped to 6-3

Alkins and the Royals Make a Strong Statement with a Big Win

              With yesterday's convincing 71-52 win at Xaverian, the two time defending CHSAA "AA" champs let fans and foes alike know that they're ready to make a strong  defense of their title and go for a third straight championship at Fordham in March.

              To be sure some of the key players have moved on.  Adonis Delarosa, the skilled center who was a key part of both title teams has moved on to St. John's. And Travis Atson, the MVP of last season's playoffs has moved on to South Kent Prep.

              If the Royals are to get their third straight title the player who will have been a key contributor on all of those teams will be Rawlie Alkins, the 6'4" junior perimeter star who has seen his name climb steadily up the prospect lists. In today's win he filled the stat sheet with 16 points 7 rebounds 4 assists and 3 blocks. Those numbers not withstanding  they don't even begin to tell the story of how well  he played  or what he could  mean for a team filled with young players trying to fill key roles on a team with championship expectations for the first time.

             

              Alkins had just 6 points in the first half as he helped the Royals to a modest 28-22 halftime advantage but throughout this game and in particular during the first 16 minutes that perhaps the most underrated part of  his game was on display. As he tried to navigate a Xaverian defense that was tough early his floor game was impeccable. He threw the ball ahead, kept it moving with good passes and made asses that helped some of those new guys in key roles have early scoring success and gain early confidence.

              Sophomore  Jose Alvarado, who played point guard on last year's freshman team gladly accepted the role of shooting guard for this game scoring a game high 21 points for the Royals several of which came on drive and kick treys on perfectly delivered passes from Alkins. Junior Yashawn Bright also scored well early wile fellow junior Tyrone Cohen  contributed 12 points and 5 boards of his own again with a bit of help from Alkins. Cohen and Alkins also provided much of the lane coverage and rim protection tat thwarted Xaverian's effort. Both Dorian Isaac and Nyotay Wisseh got into the lane at times but every attempted finish was contested, and on the Royals fast breaks that often followed those plays  Alkins showed why he's one of the best transition passers our region has seen in some time.

              Xaverian's defense kept them even at 12 after one quarter. Though they trailed by just six at the half they had sabotaged their own effort by missing free throws including three front ends of one and one opportunities. While big man Najee Larcher and Wisseh  had decent games for the Clippers, the home team showed they still have some work to do before they're ready to take on the champs. For now Rawlie Alkins and the Royals still stand strong, like champions indeed.

 for the first time.