Top
seeded Archbishop Molloy and second seeded Bishop Loughlin will meet in
Friday's Brooklyn Queens Diocesan championship at Christ the King. Although
form held with the best teams in the regular season advancing for what should
be an epic title tilt, the semi-final games demonstrated the balance and depth
in the CHSAA "AA" division. Molloy rallied from an early deficit
against a young and quick Holy Cross team in the opener while Bishop Loughlin
beat Christ the King in a 98-90 double overtime thriller that may well be
remembered as one of the best game's ever played in long and storied history of
the New York CHSAA and indeed New York
City scholastic basketball. Here are recaps of both games which set up Friday's
finale.
Molloy 80 Holy Cross 61 The final margin in the
opener is a bit deceptive given that the Stanners had to rally from an early
nine point deficit. Holy Cross does not have a player who can match Moses
Brown's presence in the middle but they have a talented group of perimeter guys
who were able to spread the court and get to the basket. Talented sophomores
Hassan Diarra and Shemar Franklin combined with junior Shadique Watkins
combined to execute a fine game plan where the Knights spread the floor on
offense and got to the rim. Diarra in particular is a prospect that schools at
every level must keep an eye on because in addition to great talent he has
terrific strength that allow him to finish through contact and compete for
rebounds. The Knights' effort put Molloy on its heels early but behind
sophomore Cole Anthony and Brown who finished with 21 and 23 points
respectively the Stanners took control in the third quarter. Brown finished
often with powerful dunks at the end of press offense navigated beautifully by
Anthony whose game seems to be maturing both physically and mentally as he
showed improved athleticism getting several in traffic rebounds. In what was a
well earned win for the Stanners, the Knights showed that they could surprise
in the intersectional playoffs and that they will be a force to be reckoned
with next season.
Bishop Loughlin 98 Christ the King 90 Simply put,
this game had all the elements of a classic and, I'll say it again, it will go
down as one of the greatest in the history of New York schoolboy hoops.
First and
foremost Loughlin got an MVP performance
from the player chosen as the league's MVP Keith Williams, who finished with 37
points including three free throws with no time left on the clock that sent the
game into its first overtime session. Prior to that, CK had staged a furious
comeback to pull ahead after trailing for nearly the entire game. Sophomore Phillps Joseph, junior Tyson Walker and
Alvarado all contributed important baskets to the Royals rally. But when Alvarado missed the second of two
free throws and the Royals had only a 70-67 margin Alvarado smartly fouled
Williams with 3 seconds left to keep him
from attempting a game tying three point shot. The foul was CK's fourth team
foul and Alvarado's fourth personal foul
and ruled a common foul by the officials meaning no free throws for the Lions.
Loughlin inbounded the ball again, and again Alvarado fouled in an attempt to
prevent a three point try. This was Alvarado's last foul and it was ruled a
shooting foul by the official. Williams stepped up, alone at the line because
time had expired. swished the first two and had the last one crawl over the front of the rim thanks to
good backspin. The game was tied at 70.
To their credit, Christ the King
continued to play tough. In addition to good poise from junior Tyson Walker and
Sophomore Jaylen Davis the Royals got key baskets from Josh Hodge and Jonathan
Lamartine. They tied the game at 79 at
the end of the first extra session when Davis made a great cut without the ball
to get a pass from Walker. He then dropped a perfect dime to big man Kofi
Cockburn who powered in a dunk. Moments into the second extra session Walker
drew his final foul and Loughlin was finally able to secure the win..
For
Loughlin, Williams' virtuoso performance not only gave the Lions an early
working margin but it gave the super junior Marquise Nowell time to get going
on offense. He was terrific in the second half finishing with 24 points and 17
assists. Sophomore Justin Champangie provided terrific early energy for the
Lions as well. Save for Williams' Ed Gonzalez team is young and talented and
last night's fight for survival will serve them well as they face Molloy on
Friday. The Lions and Stanners split two regular season meetings each winning
on the road. Those results plus last night's drama may well set up another game
for the ages tomorrow. It will certainly be a game worthy of a championship.
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