Dillon Burns and t his Xaverian teammates each broke out of slumps in a big way yesterday and the result was a much needed, unexpected and well earned 76-70 home win over Brooklyn-Queens front runner Christ the King. The win snapped a four game losing streak for the Clippers.
Burns who had struggled in league losses to Mount St. Michael and Holy Cross regained his early season form and exploded for 33 points and while he was outstanding from start to finish, he was exceptional during winning time in the last quarter with nearly perfect shooting from the floor and perfect shooting from the free throw line. And as Christ the King made runs at the Clippers behind Omar Calhoun, who finished with 24 hard earned points along with Isaiah Lewis and Jon Severe who finished with 12 points each, the Clippers always seemed to have answers. And while Burns' effort was the catalyst for the win there were many other contributions that were just as essential to their great effort.
Burns and George Lambert helped the Clippers storm from the out of the blocks to a 27-20 lead and extend that lead to as many as 13 points before the two time defending champion Royals closed the gap to 38-36 at the intermission. Burns' effort was likely aided by the decision to insert Lamel Faison into the starting lineup. Playing in just his fourth game since returning from a knee injury, the junior guard provided a steady hand, got the Clippers into their offense and allowed coach Jack Alesi, to move his best scorer, Burns around the court for good shots. Talented sophomore Raven Owen also gave the Clippers key minutes and important baskets with his ability to penetrate. Inside the undersized Clippers battled the physical Royals front line and held their own. Andrew Petric scored 10 points of his own and Stanley Peacock got the Clippers extra possessions twice in the fourth quarter. And Brian Bernardi, who finished with 13 points oh his own diligently followed Calhoun through screens and made him work for every one of those 26 points. To assume that the Royals lost this game because they played poorly would be a mistake. The Clippers played great and snapped their 4 game league losing streak the hard way, beating the Royals. Coach Alesi's teams always get better as the season progresses so Tuesday's game at Molloy will be a true measure of their progress. If they keep getting better, they will be a team the league's powers don't want to face in the playoffs. Christ the King found out yesterday just how good they could be.
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