Clippers do Just Enough to Earn Road Win at Christ the King

   In a game where Xaverian got just enough offense, made just enough stops down the stretch, and got just enough from their bench they earned an important 70-68 road win at Christ the King Friday night.

     For the Clippers it was their third road win in league play, following wins against two more Queens rivals Holy Cross and St. Francis Prep. In these wins and a tough 75-70 loss to pre-season league favorite Cardinal Hayes the Clippers, who started the game with two sophomores and a senior in Michael Graham who missed all of last year with an ankle injury, showed an ability to play well in close games that’s typically unexpected from a young club.

     The Royals and Clippers are teams that mirror each other because of their young talent on the perimeter. For Xaverian sophomore guards Shawn Fulcher and Nick Folk helped the Clippers forge an early lead.  While Folk made two first quarter treys, Fulcher displayed the poise of a veteran guard working the pick and roll with senior forward Graham. The impressive part of those plays by Fulcher was that a guy known for his speed and quickness never got rushed and instead waited for plays to develop and fed Graham for at least 3 dunks by my unofficial count.

     Christ the King’s own talented back court matched the Clippers.  Sterling Jones did not have as many assists as Fulcher but the sophomore showed terrific outside shooting ability. His partner, junior Ryan Meyers continued as he has all season to effectively mix his driving and shooting ability.  After a fine sophomore season where he took on the role of a spot up shooter, he is beginning to show fans and college coaches that his game is much more complete and that he is indeed one of the best in the deep reservoir of New York Area guards. They combined with Quaran McPherson to help the Royals stay even in a nip and tuck struggle. The Clippers first quarter margin was 19-14 but behind Meyers and Jones they rallied to tie the game at 36 at the intermission. And were it not for two free throws by reserve guard Ian Byrne, who earned them hustling for a loose ball, the Clippers would have faced a halftime deficit following a quick start.

     Byrne’s hustle play was just one of several key contributions from the Clippers’ bench which may have provided the difference in the game. Junior wing Billy Reyes provided an outside shooting compliment to Folk’s good early work that gave the Clippers an early 3^rd quarter advantage before Christ the King rallied to tie it at 54 as the final stanza began.  Byrne and fellow reserve guard Noah Salcedo gave solid minutes helping the Clippers navigate foul trouble on the perimeter for Fulcher and senior Isaiah Amazan, while junior Elijah Hardison, who did not enter the game until the final quarter, provided defensive plays and toughness after Graham picked up his fourth foul.

    At the end of the game neither team was perfect as they both struggled shooting from both the field and the free throw line down the stretch. Xaverian did just enough to grind out a tough win and both teams showed that they will be in the thick of things this season. Christ the King will improve not only when super-soph center Moussa Cisse returns (reportedly in mid-January) but as their young players, particularly Jones, gain experience. Xaverian’s young team should see similar growth as their young players, along with inexperienced senior Michael Graham gain experience. These two teams will likely vie with a talented and veteran Bishop Loughlin squad for the top spot in the Brooklyn-Queens “AA” division. We’re not even out of December and a great season is already shaping up.

St. John's Stays Perfect With Convincing Win Over St. Francis

     St. John’s gave fans an early Christmas present as they raised their perfect record to 11-0 with their most dominant performance of the season in an 86-52 win over St. Francis of Brooklyn. The Johnnies set the pace on defense where they held the Terriers to just 28% shooting forced 14 turnovers and blocked six shots. On offense, forward LJ Figueroa and reserve guard Mikey Dixon tied for game high scoring honors with 13 points while Marvin Clark and Shamorie Ponds added 12 apiece. Clark had his best all-around game of the season adding 7 rebounds 4 assists and 3 blocks.

    St. Francis lead briefly 6-4 when, with just under 16 minutes left, St. John’s would begin a 10-0 run capped by a Justin Simon rebound and length of the court drive that culminated with a powerful right-handed dunk. The Red Storm extended that run to 22-6 to take control of the game. They then answered a 7-1 Terriers’ run with a buzzer beating banked in trey by Dixon that gave them a 37-25 lead at intermission.  The Johnnies then scored the first 8 points of the intermission to put the game out of reach for St. Francis.

    The game provided an opportunity for the team’s trio of freshmen to get some playing time and each took advantage. Swingman Greg Williams connected on his first four shots, including a rim rattling dunk when he cut to the basket and took a pass from Figueroa. Center Josh Roberts had a dunk of his own and two rebounds. Marcellus Earlington’s 4 minutes of action featured 7 points and 5 rebounds as well as a play that will likely earn him some praise in a film session. After he missed a free throw off the back of the rim, he alertly followed it up for a basket while everyone watched. He was, apparently the only player on the court who knew he was shooting the front end of a one and one situation.  It was that kind of night for St. John’s and the play of the youngsters put a fitting cap on a very good night.

     Next up for the Johnnies is their final contest before Big East play begins. They’ll host another Northeast Conference foe Sacred Heart beginning at 8 pm.

Strong Second Half Propels St. John's to First 10-0 Start since '82-'83

                Perhaps it was the dreariness of a cold and rainy Sunday that caused St. John’s and Wagner to start so slowly in yesterday’s game at Carnesecca Arena. In the post-game presser coach Chris Mullin put his finger on what was happening. “Nothing stuck out to me that we were doing very well or very bad. I felt like we were participating and not competing…. we started the game out pretty good but then we let Wagner get comfortable.”

     For the visitors from Staten Island “comfortable” meant trailing by just one at the half (29-28) thanks to tough inside work from forward AJ Sumbry and outside scoring from Chase Freeman who connected on a couple of first have treys. When guard Romone Saunders opened the second half with a two-pointer to give Wagner a lead the momentum of the game seemed to turn on a dime and change completely.

       Shamorie Ponds, had one of his 14 assists when he hit LJ Figueroa in rhythm for a 3-pointer. The pass and shot began an 18-2 run that helped the Johnnies seize control of the proceedings and earn a 73-58 win over the Seahawks.  Ponds set the pace as he has all year committing just one turnover and adding to the impressive assist total 16 points and 9 rebounds. He shot an efficient 4-7 from the field and made all 6 of his free throws. The margin and his coach’s desire to keep him healthy kept him from achieving St. John’s first triple double since the artist formerly known as Ron Artest did it against Seton Hall in 1999.

                Ponds’ response to being taken out was typical of the player and person Red Storm fans have gotten to know and enjoy for these three seasons.  “I wasn’t upset. I wanted to get it (the triple double) but I know where coach is coming from. He did not want me to get hurt.”

    Ponds’ terrific passing eye and hands found eager teammates looking to finish or connect on in rhythm jumpers. LJ Figueroa had another typically efficient game scoring 19 points on 8-13 shooting including 3-6 from beyond the arc.  His two-point field goals were also fun to watch because he has a great knack for scoring in traffic where he never seems to jump the highest but always seems to have perfect timing. Timing also seems to be an important part of his ability to finish in transition, almost like a great scorer in soccer who has an ability to time his runs to be in position not only to receive a pass but have a good shot at the basket. Marvin Clark II finished with 14 points while Mustapha Heron added 10 for the Johnnies.

       The win gave St. John’s their first 10-0 start since the 1982-83 season when their coach was just a sophomore. That year the Redmen began the season with 14 straight wins and won their first Big East Tournament Title. It is also just the team’s third 10-0 start since 1950.

   St. John’s will be back in action Wednesday to face St. Francis of Brooklyn. Tip off will be at 6:30 pm.