Stanners Take Round One Vs. Royals 78-67

For one night at least, and perhaps others over the next two seasons given how good these teams are, it felt like the old days at an Archbishop Molloy -Christ the King game. They reportedly stopped selling tickets an hour and a half before the varsity, spectators were lined up 4 and 5 deep on the stage at one end of the gym and the buzz in the crowd remained constant from start to finish.

But the names and exploits of the great players from those days; like Kenny Anderson and Rob Werdann from Molloy along with Khalid Reeves and Derrick Phelps from CK are distant happy memories. And the gym at Molloy is now named for their late legendary coach Jack Curran, who guided the Stanners  through over a half century of great basketball.

       Last night's game between these two storied programs had so much more than just the elements of atmosphere and tradition for both sides. There was also plenty of talent on both sides. Combine that with terrific effort and fans were treated to a great game that was a much tougher win for Molloy than the 78-67 final tally indicates.

The electric atmosphere may have had something to do with both teams struggling to shoot the ball early. And in a game loaded with talented underclassmen it was a pair of upperclassmen guards who helped the Royals get and maintain an advantage early in the game. Georgia Tech bound Jose Alvarado was solid and smart as always and his spinning scoop shot where he took the ball under rather than over 6'6" Khalid Moore was the first of several highlight reel plays for the game. The Royals' best player last night though was his back court  partner junior Tyson Walker. He heated up from 3 point distance quickly, scoring 16 of his game high 27 points in the opening two quarters, played his typically pesky on ball defense against super soph Cole Anthony and had a terrific floor game.

Despite that difficult early moment guarding Alvarado Moore emerged quickly as the Stanners' best player. Statistically he finished with 21 points and 9 boards, he drove to the basket early and found his outside shot as the game progressed, He also involved fellow junior Moses Brown with his passing and helped set up what may have been the biggest play of the night.

The much anticipated battle of the big men, CK's soph Kofi Cockburn and Molloy junior Moses Brown never really got on track.  While both young players showed good improvement in some areas such as catching the ball and "second jump" if you will for rebounding, both guys spent significant time on the bench thanks to early fouls. Cockburn drew an unfortunate fourth foul halfway through the third quarter when he took a quick pass sprinting into the lane and could not stop to avoid a bravely taken charge by Molloy's John Herring. Molloy was able to take advantage as Anthony finally found some rhythm. He scored on consecutive drives to give Molloy a 5 point advantage when the tenure of the battle between the two big men changed completely. Perhaps frustrated by his foul problems. Cockburn rebounded a badly errant three pointer and tomahawked a right handed dunk over Brown. The dunk drew oohs and ahhs but the most impressive part of the play was the catch of a ball that rebounded sharply and at an odd angle off the glass. That play could have been a game changer for CK but Moore and Brown combined on a quick response with Moore making a spinning drive and dish to Brown for a two handed power slam. The dunk drew Cockburn's final foul and the sequence seemed stir a healthy dose of competitive anger in Brown, who controlled the paint, made his free throws down the stretch and combined with Anthony, who scored 11 of his 23 points in the final quarter to salt away round one for the Stanners. 

The game had an old school feel to be sure, and it may be an indication of an  old school ending for the season  in which these teams meet for a Diocesan title in March and in the inter-sectionals for what would be a fourth time. The "AA" division is as deep and talented as it has been in some time so the road to those games will not be easy, but both teams looked great last night and figure to improve with experience. The atmosphere and talent on the floor harkened an old basketball soul back to a glorious time in  New York hoops.

The Big Fundamental 2.0 Leads Creighton Past St. John's

              The immediate reaction to last night's 85-72 loss by St. John's to Creighton, was fairly predictable. Coach Chris Mullin "didn't like his players' overall energy." And the team's two best players, Marcus LoVett, and Shamorie Ponds questioned their own aggressiveness in the loss. It's almost reflexive these days for players to blame themselves in post game pressers. But the 4,928 fans in attendance might remember the game more simply as their first look at Justin Patton.

              Even those of us who follow recruiting closely on the internet had to do a little digging to find out about the young big man from Omaha. Two summers ago, ESPN and other services made him an consensus top 100 player. Though he was taken off that list by ESPN during his senior year at Omaha North High, big things were still expected from a guy whose length and athleticism made most observers think he could make an immediate impact on defense while his offensive game developed.

              Before the start of last season, both the youngster and the program made a decision to redshirt. Both player and coaching staff insisting that it was for the long term, that there was no physical issue or off court trouble.

              That athletic but unpolished player may have been the guy who arrived on campus two years ago but the player fans  were treated to last night combined that uber athleticism and length with fantastic fundamentals; catching everything, making perfectly time rim runs and using the glass on offense, while walling up to block and change shots on defense. Of his 4 assists three of them were perfectly timed back door passes from the high post to a cutter; two were bounce passes and one was a perfectly placed lob to the rim for a Marcus Foster slam. He also had 25 points and 9 boards, not a bad night's work for a supposed raw athlete who showed lots more polish than any of his more highly touted classmates at Kentucky and Duke.

              Patton's effort was part of a well-balanced Creighton attack that saw Maurice Watson orchestrate beautifully, add 19 points of his own and make a pair of crucial three pointers as St. John's tried to claw their way back into the game.

              The Blue Jays closed the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 44-26 advantage into the locker room, and followed that with a 6-0 opening burst to begin the 2nd half and push the margin to 24 before St. John's could find their footing. LoVett and Ponds lead the offense with 23 and 17 points respectively and Tariq Owens had a strong second half, finishing with 12 points and 5 boards. Despite their best efforts St. John's cut Creighton's margin under 10 just once at 63-55 on a LoVett basket with 6:17 left.  Watson responded quickly with a triple and the veteran Blue Jays, with help from their talented redshirt freshman Justin Patton put the finishing touches on a road win that will be precious in the rugged Big East conference. No doubt he left a lasting impression on the fans at Carnesecca Arena last night.  What they saw was a player who showed unusual patience by redshirting, and one who's now reaping the reward of that patience. For those who follow college basketball to the exclusion of pro ball enjoy him while you can. He deserves recognition with the so-called one and doners in other programs. And in fact, because of patience work and coaching, he may be a better pro than any of those guys.