Anthony Does "Little Things" Helps Molloy to Big Win

              In what was an otherwise quiet night for Cole Anthony. he came up big when it mattered most. His two free throws with .9 seconds left gave Molloy a 68-66 win at Christ the King last night and his two  offensive rebounds off missed free throws took extra possessions away from the Royals  down the stretch, and may well have kept his team in position to win the game.

              Even with those extra possessions, Christ the King still had a chance in the closing moments to get back in it. Trailing 66-63 sophomore forward Phillips Joseph connected on a left wing trey to tie the game with 12.5 seconds left. After a time out the Stanners moved the ball patiently until Cole Anthony drove to the basket and  was fouled on a reach in that set the stage for Anthony's game winning free throws.

              To their credit the young Royals battled back from an early deficit for nearly the entire game. The Stanners' lead was 17-12 after the first quarter but just one at halftime (36-35) and one again after three quarters. Early in the game senior guard Jose Alvarado provided much of the scoring but his effort was matched by swingman Khalid Moore, who scored 17 of his game high 20 points in the first two quarters.

              For this game at least, the much anticipated battle in the paint between Molloy's Moses Brown and CK's Kofi Cockburn was one where Cockburn had the edge. While Brown had some good moments for sure Cockburn demonstrated that he's a very different player than he was when these two teams met a month ago. Experience has improved his ability to move around in the lane and combined with his strength made him a significantly better rebounder. The one highlight move for him on offense was a perfectly executed drop step to the baseline that he powered in for a layup. It's a move he does not make at Molloy a month ago and demonstrates that he's making  significant progress toward becoming an elite level prospect.

              Despite Cockburn's strong game inside, the clutch basket by Joseph and a strong effort from Alvarado Molloy seemingly had just enough to win the game. In addition to Moore's hot start, John Herring provided steady scoring both with his outside shooting and his ability to move without the ball.

              With the win Molloy sweeps the season series from the Royals. Keep in mind that the Royals are a young team with a terrific senior leader at point guard in Alvarado. The regular season games between these two teams and the competitiveness of the league on both the Brooklyn-Queens side and the New York side will no doubt make for an exciting playoff run.