BROOKLYN, NY – On Saturday, Thomas Jefferson Campus played host to the 17th Annual Hersh H.S. Tip-Off Classic. The two-day event historically signals the beginning of the PSAL Class AA and Class A season. NYCHoops.net was on hand for Day one action.
Jefferson Downs Curtis in OT, 75 – 71
The Jefferson Orange Wave had to take the Curtis Warriors into deep water to finally take the Staten Island power down for the count. It would be a combination of team work and true grit on the part of the team from the East New York section of Kings County.
Jefferson took an early 4 – 0 lead with help from lone senior big man Stephen Moncrieffe ’18 but perimeter shooting from Muhammadou Diokhane ’18 along with an offensive attack from Malik Martin ‘18 quickly turn the tide. What evolved into a 10 – 0 run by the S.I. squad put the Warriors up by six midways through the opening quarter.
The Orange Wave eventually got up off the mat by initiating an aerial assault as Kareem Welch '19 and Thomas Porter '20 launched trey bombs to knot the game at 10 and again at 14. A block by 6’7” Kevin Perez ‘19 along with a buzzer beating trifecta from Dashan Crittenden ’19 gave Jefferson the momentum and a 5-point advantage to end the quarter.
The momentum remained with the host team throughout the first have of the second quarter but the tandem of Martin and Diokhane reemerged to narrow Curtis’s deficit to 32 – 20 at the half.
With the Orange Wave’s go-to-guy Marcus Burnett ‘20 unusually ineffective with only 3-points and potentially inactive for regular season league play, it would take a concerted team effort to get the job done. In the third quarter, Jaquan Carlos ‘20 stepped up to the plate contributing on offense to keep Jefferson ahead by 3 points as the third quarter ended.
The Warriors were far from finished fighting as Martin pumped up the volume. A three-point at the buzzer by Adeleye Oyekanmi ’19 sent the game into overtime tied at 64 apiece and Curtis even managed to take an early lead in the opening minutes of the overtime.
The lead swung back and forth as the hour glass slowly emptied but slightly superior free-throw shooting by the Orange Wave and a clutch bucket by Crittenden gave them a 3-point lead with 51.5 seconds left in OT. A strong defensive stand by Jefferson along with missed free-throws and turnovers by Curtis finally closed the casket on the Warriors for good.
Carlos led Jefferson with 18 points while Crittenden and Welsh contributed 17 points and 13 points respectively. Martin and Diokhane were high men for Curtis with 18 points apiece.
In other Action:
*Eagle Academy edges Westinghouse, 54 – 52*
The Eagles eventually evicted a hard charging G-House Team who at one point were on the verge of pulling off an upset. Eddie Cintron ’19 who netted a team high 12 points and Matayus Kola ’19 who came up big down the stretch with an MVP performance sealed the victory
*W.H.E.E.L.S. runs over M.S.I.T., 77 – 68*
The Wolves knocked off McKee/Staten Island Tech utilizing a balanced scoring attack led by Kevin Greene ‘18 with 29 points and an aggressive defensive posture.
*Bedford Academy overthrows Fannie Lou, 65 – 61*
In another Class A competition, it would take an all-star MVP performance from Wahaad Johnson ‘18 that allowed one Panthers team to take down another Panthers team. The senior guard led Bedford Academy with a game high 34 points.
*Brooklyn Law & Tech smashes KIPP, 82 – 61*
The NYCHoops.net # 10 ranked Jets went HAM on the KIPP NYC College Prep Bulldogs. In what would become a Class A mismatch-up, four of Brooklyn Law & Tech’s starting five scored in double-digits paced by Joseph Pena ‘19 with 21 points with Victor Ogbo ‘18, Larry Moreno ‘18, and David Grady III ‘18 adding 19 points, 18 points and 16 points.
*Wagner Decimates Banneker, 76 -49*
In what ended up being the beatdown of the day, the Class A Susan Wagner Falcons, representing the only win for Staten Island teams, pummeled the Benjamin Banneker Academy Warriors mercilessly from start to finish. Nick Taylor ‘18 led the way, scoring a day-one event high 35 points.
Sunday - Day Two JV Games
10:30 am Wagner vs KIPP
12:00 pm W.H.E.E.L.S. vs South Shore
1:30 pm Wings Academy vs Westinghouse
3:00 PM BCAM vs Medgar Evers
4:30 PM Curtis vs Jefferson
