Boros gain bragging rights over Burbs

BRIARWOOD, NY - Basketball wherewithal from both within and outside of New York City descended upon Archbishop Molloy HS on Sunday evening.

The 2011 Metro Classic Boys Game featured talented players from both the Boros and the Burbs.

Despite several absent Boros players, the game certainly lived up to hype surrounding it. The final score was 119-105 and even though the Burb's went down, they didn't go down without a fight.

The Burb's got off to a quick start behind a basket from Mount Vernon senior Isaiah Cousins (17 points) and a dunk from Kentan Facey (23 points), but the Boro's took control in the middle of the period when Pathways junior power forward Jordan Washington (16 points) checked into the game and began to wreak havoc on both ends of the floor. He blocked shots defensively and bullied the Burb's defense around the rim for a few easy scores and the Boro's had a 4-point, 22-18 lead heading into the 2nd quarter.

St. Raymond's senior Daniel Dingle started off the 2nd quarter with a quick lay-in for the Boro's while Facey (L.I. Lutheran, 2013) became acclimated with the rim for the Burb's, throwing down two put-back slams after a few Travis Whitfield (St. Mary's, 2012) missed lay-ups.

Behind their pressure defense and ability to slice their way to the tin and get to the line the Boro's were in control for much of the 2nd quarter. At one point they went on a 9-0 run, which was capped off by a well-timed Washington block defensively and a forceful put-back score by the power forward at the other end, resulting in a 47-34 lead.

However, the Burb's fought through the Boro's effectiveness in the form of 5-8 point guard Shaquille Mosley's (Uniondale, 2012) own mini-run, with two free throws and a lay-in, which were the principal elements of a 6-0 run for the Burb's. At this point the Boro's led by the score of 47-40, but the Burb's kept the pressure up defensively and found just enough answers offensively for the rest of the half to knot the game up at 51.

The Boro's didn't let their end-of-the-half let-down get to their heads, as 2012 Boys and Girls forward Leroy Fludd (16 points) connected early with a behind-the-back bounce pass to 2012 Christ The King shooting guard Omar Calhoun for an easy deuce to start things off on the right foot. Randy Stephens (Mount Vernon, 2012) began to heat up in the third quarter, hitting a Boro defender with a calculated hesitation crossover and a smooth finish to give the Burb's a 60-59 lead, their first since the early moments of the game.

After Stephens lay-in, it was the Boro's quarter the rest of the way. Nkereuwem Okoro (St. Rays, 2012) and 5-10 Tyliek Kimbrough (Boys and Girls, 2012) converted easy back-to-back lay-ins to extend the Boro's lead to 10, 80-70. The city team simply got to the rim with greater ease than their opponents. The Burb's 6-5 forward Mike McCahey (Clarkstown HS, 2012) kept the Burb's within striking distance heading into the fourth quarter with a few put-backs around the rim, and the score was 88-78 after three.

Though the Burb's found a way to chop into the Boro's lead by way of a few careless turnovers and a few Kirkland Ottey (New Rochelle, 2012) floaters, the fourth quarter belonged to none other than the 6-4 UConn-bound senior shooting guard, Calhoun, who hit a trey from the left corner to extend a 4-point lead to 7 (96-89) and then repeated this feat from the right side to extend the Boro's lead to 102-94 with just over 5 minutes to go.

Thaddeus Hall (16 points) put the proverbial, "icing on the cake" when he left his feet, looked to his left, and found a streaking Kimbrough underneath the rim for a deuce to enhance the Boro's lead to 12 with 1:50 to play.

The Boros would take care of the ball and went on to win.

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