Top Seeds Survive Tough Tests on CHSAA Quarterfinal Sunday

    Before I begin recapping the games from yesterday’s “quarterfinal Sunday” I’d like to, with the kind indulgence of those who might read this, make a general observation about them. The games between St. Peter’s and CK, as well as the one between Molloy and Iona Prep demonstrate how deep “AA” league has been this season. While all four of the top seeds survived Molloy and CK did so against teams that feature prospects that will play and succeed on good teams in college basketball. The Iona Prep team that Molloy beat featured three D-! seniors.  Christ the King beat a St. Peter’s team that has a terrific core of junior players. One of them, Chris Ledlum, is a versatile 6’6” forward who is a certain D-1 prospect while others such as guard Chris Clancy should draw interest from both D-1 and D-2 programs and may, with a solid summer become a solid D-1 prospect. The games, were fiercely competitive and showed off some great individual talent. Here are my recaps:

Christ the King 59 St. Peter’s 55 The Eagles from Staten Island served notice early that this game would be a battle for the top seeded Royals. Junior Chris Clancy and senior Kaleb Hicks got them started on offense in part because the Royals and guard Quaran McPherson paid special attention to Ledlum. To their credit St. Peter’s stayed patient against the Royals defense and when Ledlum finally got loose and drained a pair of three pointers early in the second quarter the Eagles held a brief 5-point advantage. The young Royals found their footing late in the quarter and took a 1-point advantage into the intermission.

   The third quarter saw the Royals appear to gain some breathing space. Senior guard Tyson Walker and sophomore Ryan Meyers got the Royals’ 3-point game going with help from Cockburn and Moussa Cisse. The tough work on the boards by the two big men helped Meyers and Walker get the best kind of 3-point chances; those in transition and off offensive rebounds where the Eagles’ defense had to scramble. The Royals’ good work combined with Ledlum being forced to the bench by foul problems helped them build a 44-32 margin as the fourth quarter began.

     Ledlum helped the Eagles begin a rally to start the 4^th stanza. First. he made a great bounce pass assist to 6’4” junior Jamal Achille and then converted a basket of his own. When junior guard Jordan Fox connected on a triple with 1:21 remaining the Royals’ margin was just 54-51. CK’s Walker then found Cockburn on a pick and roll pass for a basket and then they salted the game away with free throws. Walker led the way for CK with 22 points and 6 assists while Cockburn added 16 and 14 boards and the Royals won a game that epitomized the phrase “survive and advance” and may serve them well as they move forward in the tournament.

Cardinal Hayes 82 Bishop Loughlin 71 Following their shooting struggles in the New York Archdiocesan tournament the defending champs found their shooting rhythm and got off to a quick start against a talented but young Loughlin team that was facing the rigors of playoff pressure for the first time. The Cardinal’s trio of battled-tested perimeter stars, seniors Tyrese Williams and Jontai Williams along with junior Joe Toussaint came out firing. Toussaint and Williams connected on five 3-point tries in the game’s opening moments and Hayes seized control early. They never relinquished it even as the young Lions from Brooklyn began to find their sea legs with the help of a pair of talented juniors, forward Julian Champangie and guard William Lee. Terry Dawkins, the undersized but ultra-competitive inside forward who compliments Hayes’ perimeter was strong and steady as always finishing with 14 points and 10 boards. Toussaint paced a balanced Hayes effort with 25 points while Champangie led the Lions with 15 and 14 boards to lead the Lions.

Molloy 68 Iona Prep 61 Foul problems on both sides played a huge part in the machinations of this game but ultimately it was the terrific talent on both sides that made for a tremendous game and would ultimately decide the outcome. After an even first period Iona’s versatile forward Souleymane Kourreissi picked up his 3^rd personal foul early in the second quarter and that opened things up for Molloy. Moses Brown and Cole Anthony’s efforts were augmented by sophomore guard Deonte Benejan who chipped in with 7 first half points. The Stanners efforts combined with the decision to keep Koureissi out helped Molloy to a 36-25 advantage at the half. 

     With Koureissi back on the floor Iona quickly sliced the deficit to three points only to see the Stanners regain their footing thanks to Anthony and Brown. Then Koureissi led another rally to close the period with two great slashing drives; one for a basket and the other for a kick out pass to Romar Reid who drained a jumper for three of his 19 points.

   Leading by 4 as the last quarter began Molloy traded baskets with Iona and had increased the margin to 7 when. With 2:31 left, Anthony fouled out which meant with the game Molloy would have to secure a playoff win without their most reliable ball handler, who just happens to be the best point guard in his class. Two free throws and a basket by Iona quickly sliced the Stanners’ margin to 3 points. But then Khalid Moore sliced through the lane for a basket and then another sophomore Elijah Blackman recovered his own deflected pass and drove in for another layup. Moore’s clutch free throws put the game on ice for Molloy despite two late threes by Iona’s Josh Alexander. Anthony led the Stanners with 21 points and 9 boards while Brown added 14 points. For Iona in addition to Reid’s terrific game Bryce had 13 points while Koureissi added 10 and 5 boards.

Stepinac 83 St. Raymond’s 68 Stepinac has the most well-balanced offense in the tournament and they were eventually able to flex those muscles for a double-digit win. The Ravens gave the Crusaders a difficult test thanks primarily to the efforts of Omar Silverio who scored 18 of his game high 29 points in the first two quarters.  The most exciting play came towards the end of the half on a well-earned “heat check” shot after he picked off an errant Stepinac pass. He then drained a shot from at least 25 feet away. Give him credit the shot and follow through were absolutely perfect. The Ravens entered halftime trailing by just 33-31 thanks to a late flurry by Stepinac’s senior leader Alan Griffin. Their balance ultimately allowed them to push the lead to 7 points after three quarters and get the final margin with a strong final period. Griffin led the scoring with 22 points while getting 6 assists and 4 steals. Sophomore R.J. Davis added 21, while super-frosh Adrian Griffin Jr added 14. Stepinac’s improving 6’9” center Joel Soriano added 14 points and 16 rebounds in what could be a significant portent of things to come as the Crusaders face Molloy with Moses Brown and Molloy in the semi-finals on Wednesday. His ability to contest for rebounds and provide scoring could be a difference maker for the Crusaders against the Stanners.