Archbishop Molloy 63 Boys & Girls 57: The day's
opening tilt at Baruch featured two of
New York's all time traditional powers. With that in mind it's perhaps ironic that much of the buzz surrounding the
game centered on two young players just starting their varsity careers for the
Stanners; 6'11" sophomore center Moses Brown and 6' freshman point
guard Cole Anthony.
The
Stanners started slowly thanks to some early hot shooting by Boys & Girls.
Early three's by senior guard Gianni Ford and a nice drive by fellow senior
Nehemiah Boone gave them a quick early advantage, and while many were present to see the Stanners' young
players it was their upperclassman who helped them gain needed traction early
in the ballgame.
Senior
forward Isaac Grant scored inside to get
Molloy started on his way to a game high 22 points while junior forward John
Herring provided an early scoring threat from outside. Those two combined with
steady play from seniors Justin Cole and Dom Pirolo to keep the Stanners within
two points after the first quarter. Once those guys helped their team stay
close the two youngsters had a chance to shine and did just that.
Brown's first contribution came on
offense when he converted a layup at the end of Molloy's press offense. But his
biggest contribution came on the defensive end. Statistically that meant 14
rebounds and 3 blocks. Visually it meant an infinite number of altered shots
and an ability to get to rebounds out of his area. Like any player who grows
early as he has he'll need to get
stronger to secure more of those rebounds but the nose for the ball is
definitely there. And oh by the way his 14 points included a nice turnaround
jumper and a pair of free throws.
Cole
Anthony may have had a more difficult challenge than Brown in this game because
he and his teammates faced a group of perimeter players from Boys & Girls that
was typically tough and physical. While the early good work from his teammates
helped settle him down he demonstrated an unusual ability to get to wherever he
wanted to go with the ball. And while some in the audience were critical when
he kept getting back to his right hand to finish plays, the skill of making the
move and getting the shot one wants is a skill that typically takes a player
longer to master. And twice he used that skill, once on a pull up jumper and
once on a triple to help hold off rallies by the Kangaroos. He not only
finished with 14 points and 5 assists but helped Molloy cool off Ford and Boone.
They finished with 21 and 12 points respectively for Boys & Girls.
