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Published Jan 26, 2009
Bayhawks Rule Judges
Jay Mumford
NYCHoops.net Staff Writer
6-foot-4 sophomore Ahmad Reid is a pure shooter and the leading scorer for the St. Dominic Bay Hawks. Therefore, he has to shoot, regardless of the circumstances.
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"If you're a shooter, you have to keep shooting, shooting and shooting" , said Reid. "And eventually, the jump shots will fall." Fortunately for St. Dom's, the touch came just in time for he and senior teammate PJ Walters to answer a rally from the Cardozo Judges and secure a valuable 57-44 non-league win in the Tom Crotty Classic at Adelphi University.
Low scoring would not be an extreme enough adjective for the early stages of the game. After 6:30 of play, the score remained 3-3, but not at the hands of stifling defense. Both teams shot poorly from the field, but unforced turnovers would hamper St. Dom's, while Cardozo would suffer at the free throw stripe. Walters would then jumpstart a 7-0 St. Dom's run, which the Judges would finally answer after going over 10 minutes without scoring a point. A trey from sophomore Shelton Mickell would provide a life sign for Cardozo, as would contributions from junior Dwayne Brunson and sophomore point guard Chris Gayot. Nonetheless, St. Dom would answer and the 20-12 score at the halfway mark was more reminiscent of a football final score than a basketball game at halftime.
Cardozo Head Coach Ron Naclerio must've lit a fire under the Judges in the locker room, as they began to play with a sense of urgency and slowly chip away at the Bay Hawk's lead. Inside play from Brunson and 6'7 junior Ryan Rhoomes proved effective, as they teamed up to close the gap to two points, 31-29. St.. Dom began to temporarily unravel via foiled fast break opportunities and turnovers, so when Brunson nailed a jumper from the top of the key midway through the half, the score was tied at 31. A bucket from Rhoomes would briefly put the Judges on top , 35-34, but Reid would then defrost his jump shot after one half of cold shooting.
"Shooters go through streaks", said Reid. "And I'm glad that my off streak ended at that point and I started making them." A trey from Reid would give St.. Dom the lead back, 37-35, but Cardozo junior Reynaldo Walters would answer with a bucket to tie the game at 37. Reid and Walters would then nail two three pointers a piece to spark a 16-1 St. Dom run that would end in junior Joe Douglas dunking on a Cardozo guard for exclamation. The Judges were never able to counter the mammoth St. Dom run as the game slipped away.
PJ Walters led all scorers with 18 points, while Ahmad Reid chipped in with 15 points (all in the second half). Dwayne Brunson led Cardozo with 13 points.
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