Beacon 158 Playoffs Wed.

BAYSIDE, NY - Wednesday night saw a packed crowd cram into the gym to see the excellent playoff action at the Beacon 158 Back to School Tournament. Three games were on tap led by a rematch between a classic regular season game that saw Molloy knock off Cardozo by a point.

The playoff rematch though was a different story, and the other two games brought high quality action as well. Here is a recap of the evening's games from Bayside, Queens.

Cardozo 69- Archbishop Molloy 53

The Judges fell by one the last time these two teams met 3 weeks ago, but former Stanner Aaron Walker '16 was the ultimate difference in this quarterfinal matchup as he knocked down 5 threes to end his old schools hopes to repeat as champs.

Molloy actually got out to a quick 7-0 start as Jason Camus '15 buried a three to open the game, and then D'Ante Warren '15 connected on a runner going down the baseline, but Walker then started to lead the Judges back.

The junior Walker hit on back to back threes as the Stanners left him alone on the wing where he calmly sunk the long jumpers. Rashond Salnave '16 then applied pressure on the Molloy guards which led to a steal and easy basket, and after Armando Dunn '15 putback a rare Walker miss with 11:48 left in the half, Cardozo had their first lead of the game at 12-11.

Warren, who shined the last time the Stanners faced Cardozo, was coming up big again as he connected on a stepback jumper and kept Molloy in the game during a shaky time for Molloy. Isaac Grant '16 did a nice job getting in positions for easy scoring chances in the paint as the Stanners retook the lead with 8 to play in the half, but Tareq Coburn '16 came right back down and hit a straightaway three to see Cardozo grab the lead and momentum right back.

Cardozo started to pull away late in the opening half as Dunn showed a variety of skills, going coast to coast in transition for an easy bucket, and then spinning in the lane for a short jumper for a deuce. The Judges took a 30-24 lead into the half as they were pressuring the ball and denying Molloy any good looks from behind the arc.

It was more of the same from Cardozo in the 2nd half as Walker opened the final 20 minutes with a three ball from the left side, and then after Walker again and Salnave both buried three from the corners, it was a 43-33 Cardozo lead, the first time they had been up double digits, with 14:17 to play.

Tahyir Vines '16 attacked the basket and got a bucket to fall to make it 12 and the Cardozo lead grew to as many as 16 in the 2nd half.

Molloy didn't quit though as Warren was able to get into the lane and finish with contact at the rim, and Grant was a force in the paint as well, but 12 threes as a team for Cardozo, and excellent passing and team play led the Judges to a revenge win over Molloy, taking it 69-53.

Walker hit on 5 threes and had 17 points for Cardozo, with Salnave also adding 15 for the winner as well.

Warren led all scorers in the game with 20 points, while Grant was once again a dominating presence in the paint as he added a hard fought 12 points in the loss.

Wings Academy 71- Eagle Academy 59

A pair of PSAL Bronx "AA" rivals met off for the right to advance to Saturday's semifinals, and while Eagle held it close for most of the game, guard Boubacar Kamissoko '16 was just too much in the 2nd half where he had 15 points to lead Wings to the 12 point win.

Eagle actually got off to a good start with Jaquan Strong '15 showing good toughness and leadership to move the ball around as the Bronx team was getting good perimeter looks with Negus Hazel '16 knocking down a pair of first half threes.

Desure Buie '15, who was in the Wings lineup without his teammates Jessie Govan '15 and Randy Corporan '15 who were out nursing injuries, did a great job attacking into the lane and hitting on a pair of floaters, while Jose Perez '17 did a good job on the glass and fighting his way for a couple of buckets in the physical game. Buie hit a late first half three, but Strong hit a baseline jumper right before the end of the half and Eagle was in the game trailing just 34-31 at the half.

The 2nd half got off to a promising start for Eagle as Hazel hit on another three to keep the game close, but Buie hit a pull up three to make it a 48-39 game with 12:10 to go in the game, and just after that is when Kamissoko took over.

In a 6 minute stretch in the half, Kamissoko scored 10 points, getting his way to the rim while also showing a nice ability to score off the dribble. Shaheen Hopson '15 connected on a three of his own and the Wings lead was pushed up to 66-48 and all hope seemed lost for Eagle after a great start.

Marquis DuBose '17 hit a pair of threes after the Wings defense seemed to let up with 2 minutes to play, but Kamissoko stepped up and got himself to the line where he ended it for good as Wings closed the game out strong for the impressive 71-59 victory.

Kamissoko and Buie each had 19 points for Wings in the win, with Hopson chipping in with 12 points as well.

DuBose hit 4 threes and had a team high 17 points for Eagle in the defeat, with Strong and Hazel and adding 10 and 9 points respectively as well.

H.S. of Construction 53- Holy Cross 43

It wasn't a pretty game as neither team shot the ball all that well, but H.S. of Construction, who defeated St. John the Baptist on Tuesday to get to this game, were able to push the tempo and finish around the rim just enough to hold off the Knights by 10.

Both teams got off to flat starts, but Justin Wright-Foreman '15 got Construction going with a slash down the left side, and then sending home a three from the right wing as he and Wesley Nelson '16 led the Red Hawks on a 10-0 run to open up a double digit gap late in the first half.

Chaz Platt '16 hit a three for Holy Cross to stem the tide, but Construction still took a 30-20 lead into the half.

Jermaine Bishop '15 only had 2 FG's in the game as the Red Hawks did a nice job applying pressure on the ball whenever he tried to make a move, and while Christian Wilson '16 was able to get some decent looks at the rim, Construction never allowed him to get too comfortable, and off misses, the Red Hawks were out in transition with Tahleek Weekes '15 and Wright-Foreman hurting Holy Cross and never letting them get back into the game.

It was a double digit game for most of the 2nd half, but the Knights did get the deficit pushed down to 8 with just under 2 minutes to play, and they could've gotten it down to 5 but Bishop missed a big three that really could've put pressure on Construction down the stretch, but Wright-Foreman scored on an up and under layup down the left side, and then Kyle Allman '15 finished it with a pair of FT's to close it out as Construction took this 2nd round matchup 53-43.

Wright-Foreman led all scorers in this one with 20 points, with Nelson adding a solid 12 points as well in the win.

In the defeat for Holy Cross, Bishop paced the Knights with 17 points, with 12 of those points coming from the charity stripe. Wilson added 11 as well in the loss for Holy Cross.

Wings Academy and Cardozo are both now onto Saturday's semifinals, though they will not play each other there. Their opponents will be decided on Thursday when the other two quarterfinals take place. Wings will get the winner of the game that sees George Westinghouse taking on St. Francis Prep, while Cardozo squares off with the winner of the game between Holy Trinity and H.S. of Construction.