Beacon 158 Back-to-School Classic Day 2

BAYSIDE, NY - The Beacon 158 Back-to-School Tournament continued on Tuesday with three more games. A couple of the games did not disappoint, with high level action being displayed from start to finish.

Some big time players were also on display on Day 2 of the tournament, so here is a recap of the day's action from Tuesday.

Deer Park rebounds over Far Rockaway, 46-36

While most in attendance probably only knew of UMass-Lowell bound Aaren Edmead of Deer Park, it was the underrated stars of Far Rockaway that stole the show in the early going. Williams Overo was a lanky wing for the Sea Horses, and he used an explosive first step to score going baseline in the early going, while David Bastien was a force on the inside coming up with a couple big blocks, along with some impressive post moves in the paint to score nicely around the rim. Far Rockaway built up an impressive 19-11 lead over Deer Park with 4 minutes to go in the half, but Edmead started to get in a rhythm knocking down two threes off the dribble late in the half to bring Deer Park back to within 21-18 at the break.

Edmead started getting some help offensively early in the 2nd half, with Karon Blackwell scoring on a nice dribble drive move down the left side for an and 1, which gave Deer Park their first lead of the game with 7:30 to go. The Falcons really turned up the defensive intensity as well, trapping in the backcourt and forcing turnovers by Far Rockaway which led to a Deer Park 11-0 run late in the final half to all but put the game away. Edmead, Blackwell, and Angelo Riley were major forces in swarming the Sea Horse guards and turning the tempo of the game around. Sharif Fordham scored a couple baskets late, including a nice three from the right wing, but it wasn't enough as Deer Park overcame the early deficit to go home with the 10 point victory.

Edmead led all scorers in this one with 21, while Blackwell added 9 for the winners. Fordham paced Far Rockaway with 13, with Bastien adding 9 in the loss.

St. Mary's beat back Queens H.S. of Teaching, 54-47

It was the St. Mary's coaching debut of Lloyd Desvigne in this one, as the longtime Holy Cross JV coach, who was thrown to the side by an unappreciative new regime at the Queens school, is the new JV coach for the Gaels, and his debut was a winning one, but not without some trying moments late in the game.

The Gaels looked like they were going to run away with this one as Devonte Green was torching the nets from deep, while Jessie Govan and impressive young 6'5" freshman Chris Coalman were dominating the paint, with St. Mary's leading at the half 26-10. Nothing was going right for QHST, but they weren't going to quit, and made what looked to be a blowout, into a tight game late.

Masia Phillips became a pain to stop for St. Mary's, as the QHST guard used his explosiveness to fight in the lane, and finish against the much bigger front line of the Gaels. Daniel Isaacs was another unafraid guard who showed good range from the outside, along with a soft touch using either hand going in. St. Mary's started to get sloppy handling the ball with Green and Patrick Jackson struggling against the pressure applied by the new PSAL Queens "AA" school. The Tigers were able to go on a 15-2 run and cut the deficit to as little as 47-42 with 3:40 to go. They had a chance to cut it to 3 or even 2, but Phillips had the ball stolen by Green, who then found a cutting Govan for a dunk inside. Another steal on the ensuing possession by Coalman led to the youngster going all the way for the hoop and the harm. It was really a backbreaking couple of possessions for QHST as they weren't able to get any closer. They fought valiantly, but ended up falling short, as St. Mary's held on for the 7 point victory.

Govan was a true force in the inside finishing with a game high 22 points in this one, with Green adding 16, and Coalman, a very promising freshman chipping in 12. Phillips led the way for the Tigers with 12 points, 10 of which came in the 2nd half, while Isaacs put in 10 as well in defeat.

St. Francis Prep routs H.S. of Law Enforcement, 58-25

The Terriers were able to jump out to a commanding lead early on and never looked back in this one en route to the easy 33 point win. Conor Bacci paced Prep with 14 points, while Michael Fields and Shane Herrity added 12 and 10 respectively in the win. Aaron Clark had a very good game in defeat for Law Enforcement, leading the Leopards with 12 points.