Alvarado/CK run Hayes out the building
MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY – Sometimes it’s just one of those days when the basketball rim is the size of the Atlantic Ocean and everything you throw up goes in. Friday was that day for Jose Alvarado ‘17 when Christ the King hosted Cardinal Hayes. Netting 20 points in the first half alone, the Royals senior point guard led CK to an impressive 75 -63 win.
“I think I got my swagger back,” sang Alvarado with a smile. “I don’t know, I just felt it,” he added.
Royals head coach Joe Arbitello concurred saying, “[Alvarado] was efficient. He only took 16 shots today.”
Alvarado admitted that the season has been rollercoaster as he leads a very inexperienced 10 - 6 team. “We got young sophomores so it’s gonna be ups and downs. That’s how we grow. I just tell them to keep their heads up.”
Christ the King made its move early in the game as 6’3” Jaylen Davis ‘19 and 6’5” Jared Harrison-Hunte ‘19 got the ball rolling. A pull-up by Alvarado finished off a 9 – 2 run to start the warm-up quarter. Cardinals would not find the bottom of the net again until there was only 3:13 left in the quarter and trailed by seven to begin the second quarter.
Thing went from bad to worse for the Cardinals as Alvarado began to heat up. Back-to-back-to-back three-pointers interspersed with two point counters by Hayes elevated the Royals lead to 10 points midway through the second quarter.
In the latter part of the half, 6’10” Kofi Cockburn ‘19 began to dominate the paint for CK and drew attention away from Alvarado. A bucket by the big man along with offense for Davis resulted in a 10 – 0 run that put the Queens County Catholic school on the verge of going up by twenty points with 2:05 remaining in the half.
Late offense by 6’2” Tyrese Williams ‘18 and 6’3” Terry Dawkins ‘18 reduced Cardinal Hayes’s deficit to 37 – 24 at the midway point.
Williams knocked down a three- ball to begin the second half and Hayes was now only down by ten-points but a trey from Alvarado ignited another 7 – 0 from the Royals. 5’10” Jontai Williams ‘18 tried to push back as did Dawkins but each time the Cardinals made inroads, the Royals had an answer. Even when Alvarado wasn’t scoring, he was running the show and facilitating as a good point guard should.
“He’s absolutely killing us,” said assistant coach Tim Phelps to Head Coach Joe Lods regarding Alvarado who put his best defenders on the senior.
Ahead by 14 points at the top of the fourth quarter, the Royals extended its advantage to 21 point with 2:12 left to play. Coach Arbitello subbed out his starters and coasted to the win.
Christ the King was fired up to play today,” said Coach Lods. “Unfortunately, we weren’t.” Lods said that he believes his team was paralyzed by how well Alvarado was playing and did execute well. “It was paralyses by over analysis,” said Lods, equating the Cardinals play to that of a deer stuck in head lights.
“Alvarado certainly separated himself from us today and showed why he’s headed to Georgia Tech and we’re headed to the bus right now,” said Lods.
Alvarado finished with 32 points which included five trifectas. Cockburn added 17 points. T. Williams was high man for Cardinal Hayes with 18 points with Dawkins contributing 16 points. Hayes point guard Joe Toussaint '19 was limited to a deuce.
