NYCHoops.net - Holy Cross Off Xaverian

January 13, 2013

Maurice Wingate
NYCHoops.net Publisher

BROOKLYN, NY - Saturday's game must have been particularly trying for Holy Cross.

After pull off a victory against St. Francis Prep the evening before on their own Flushing, NY court, the Knights would have to face a very consistent and persistent Xaverian Clippers team on the road. Cross would still manage to outperform Xaverian en route to a 67-56 win.

From the onset, the Clippers would be playing catch up as Joshua Wallace (10 points) and Akil Spruill (9 points) pushed Knights ahead. A three balls from the corner from sharpshooter Joseph Dello Russo (9 points) would tie the game at 13 late in the quarter but a late foul by the Clippers would put Jermaine Bishop (11 points) on the line with 1.2 second. That and other mental mishaps would be a reoccurring theme throughout the evening.

Ahead by two to start the second buckets by Charles Revis (5 points) and Ryan Wilson (25 points) would extend the Holy Cross lead to 24-17 with 3:33 left in the half.

Veteran buckets from George Lambert (14 points) and Rob Rossiter (11 points) provided offensive production late in the half but porous defense kept the Clippers running on a treadmill, down 32-28 to start the second half.

Turnovers in the third quarter resulted in transition points by the Knights whose lead grew to 7 points with 4:35 left in the quarter. Both team exchanged buckets until a 3-ball by Sayon Charles sparked a 7-1 run capped off by back-to-back baskets in the paint by big man Latiek Laney (7 points) that knotted the score at 45 with 30 second left in the third quarter.

A jumper by Gemall Davis (4 points) would once again send Xaverian into a quarter behind the eight ball but the Clippers were gaining confidence. Xaverian would tie the game at 48 and again at 50 and with 5:40 left in regulation a trey from Dello Russo gave the Clippers their first lead at 53-52.

That would be the first and last lead for the Clippers as Wallace, Spruill and Wilson triple teamed Xaverian offensively down the stretch to take out Xaverian by 11 points.

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