Action Packed iS8/Nike Thursday

SOUTH JAMAICA, NY - The second week of the iS8/Nike Spring HS Classic jumped off with two games where veteran teams faced off against teams that were looking to make their mark. If you thought that both games were a foregone conclusion, you’d be wrong.

The Mount Vernon Knights a/k/a The Ben Gordon All-Stars had all they could handle facing off against 2 The Rack coached by Antoine Tutt. With input from Springfield Garden’s Daniel Kissoon ‘16 (12 points) and Holy Cross’s Malachi Jamison ‘16 (18 points), the Queens, NY based squad ended the warm up quarter with a 2 point advantage over their Westchester rivals.

The second quarter would be a different story as Greg Calixte '17 (19 points) and Demitre Roberts ‘18 (10 points) pumped up the volume for the Ben Gordon All-Stars. Aaron Lewis ‘17 (9 points) soon set off a quick 8-1 fire storm with 6:50 left in the half that set 2 The Rack back 50-38 at the half.

Calixte, who was challenged early in the game by DRS Yeshiva’s Gabriel Leifer ‘17 (16 points), began to come into his own especially in the third quarter and dominate in the paint. Jason Douglas-Stanley '18 (13 points) also began to heat up from the perimeter.

Taking a 17 point advantage into the final quarter, the Ben Gordon All-Stars would eventually put down 2 The Rack by 13 points.

One team led for the almost the entire game but you had to check the score board to be sure. The star studded New Heights squad got all they could handle from Malo Foundation for three quarters of play.

Sid Wilson '17 (21 points) would kick things off with a momentum building slam dunk from New Heights but Malo had a secret weapon of its own in Kion Hill ’17 (27 points). The guard from Queens HS of Teaching almost singlehandedly kept his team in the hunt with outstanding perimeter shooting but Wilson was relentless and New Heights survived the opening quarter ahead by 4 points

In the second quarter, with Upper Room’s Jose Pabon ’16 (7 points)running the point, the Malo Foundation briefly overtook New Heights with 3 minutes and again with 1:25 left in the half spearheaded by Q.H.S.T.'s Will Ellis '17 (14 points). New Heights received a late spark from Saquan Singleton '17 (14 points) to regain the lead for New Heights at the half.

Down 39-36 to begin the third quarter, the Malo Foundation clawed its way back to knot the game at 39 as Hill drain one of his seven three pointers. 7’0” Moses Brown '18 (8 points) and Isaiah Washington '17 (17 points) fought back and New Heights was soon back in front by four points.

The tide slowly turned in the third quarter as New Heights began to gain momentum. Ahead by eight points to start end the third quarter, they got a push from Keith Williams '17 (15 points) and Singleton along with Washington.

3:20 remained in regulation and the New Height lead grew to 15 points. The Malo Foundation ultimately lost by 22 points.