Boys Girls and Cardozo Advance in PSAL Quarters

BRONX, NY - Three times were a charm for Abraham Lincoln but the fourth, sound the alarm.

After losing to Abraham Lincoln twice during the regular season and once during the borough playoffs, Boys & Girls HS rose on the occasion when it mattered most. In PSAL Quarterfinals at Lehman College, the Kangaroos nipped the Railsplitters, 55-54, to advance to the semifinal round.

"We played them and lost but every time it was close," said Gianni Ford '16 who led the Kangaroos with 17 points. Nehemiah Boone '16 (12 points), who hit key buckets down the stretch, said the energy was different on Saturday. "The burn inside us and the practice intensity let me know. This game everybody got down and played their right roles."

Ford said the strategy was to get to the basket and avoid just settle for shooting three-pointers.

Boys & Girls came out fired up led by Ford in the first quarter but Lincoln took a one-point lead at the half buoyed by a scoring from Jahlil Tripp '15 (18 points) and Donald Cannon-Flores '16 (11 points).

The Railsplitters began to impose their will both inside and out as Tripp drew fouls and got to the line and Tyler Bourne '18 (12 points) netted a couple of treys. The Roos remained within striking range due to the inside play of 6'8" Jaquan Lightfoot '16 (13 points) and Jamie Killings '15 (9 points).

Down five points to start fourth, Ford cut the lead to 48-44 with 5 minutes left to play. Boone knotted the game at 48 but Ezekial Charles '15 (5 points) broke the tie. Boys & Girls kept the momentum and tied the game again at 50 with 3 minutes.

Paul Person '18 (6 points) hit a step back with 2:23 to put Lincoln up a deuce but Boone countered with 1:57 and tied for the third time at 52. Lightfoot became a terror on the glass, drew a foul but went 0-2. Lincoln lost the ball committing a 10 second violation

Ford puts Roos up 54-52 with 42.1 seconds from the foul line. Lincoln tried to run a set but Head Coach Kenny Pretlow had to call time with 26.9 seconds on the clock. The Railsplitters clawed its way to within one point but it would be one-point too short

"I wanted this so bad," said Ford. "Everybody wrote us off. They said we'd never get this far. I'm just so happy about this program.

Cardozo advances over Westinghouse, 41-28

In a game whose halftime score resembled a football match, Cardozo would stay the course and put out victory to advance to the semifinal round over the Westinghouse Warriors. "We were expecting to hit shots but our shots weren't falling early," said Rashond Salnave '16."The second half we started attacking the basket"

In the second half, Salnave said the Judges began to stretch out Westinghouse's zone and beating their defender one-on-one.

Westinghouse took an early 3-0 lead as Gerald Williams '16 (10 points) drained a three but Aaron Walker '16 (8 points) and Tareq Coburn '16 (9 points) turned the tide with transition buckets. With 2 minutes left in the first, Cardozo led 8-3 as Amir Tutt '16 scored from the line. Salnave (12 points) also found his stroke as the Judges led 10-5 after one quarter of play.

Turnovers plagued Westinghouse but Dozo was unable to capitalize and the scoreboard was frozen for the first four minutes of the quarter before Arsheen Jones '16 (3 points) hit a perimeter shot Warriors. Salnave finally put a deuce on the board for the Judges who inched ahead as Walker and Coburn also scored late. Cardozo took a 16-7 lead at the half.

Westinghouse gained ground early in the third as Damarri Moore '16 (4 points) and Williams scored sparked a 9-0 run as Cardozo remained stuck on sixteen midway through the quarter. Jaheem Page '15 (5 points) cut the lead to 16-14 with 4 minutes left in the quarter and tied the game at 16 with 2:28. Armando Dunn '15 (6 points) finally put Cardozo on the board with two minutes.

Richard Knowlin '15 (3 points) gave Westinghouse a 19-18 lead with a trey but Coburn countered. Walker would draw a foul with 2.6 seconds and give Dozo a 22-19 advantage to begin the final quarter.

Salnave and Elijah McNeely '15 (4 points) broke the game open at the top of the fourth quarter scoring in succession. With 6:37, the Judges had a 26-19 lead. A trifecta by Coburn extend the lead to double digits. The Warriors tried to make a stab at it but Cardozo controlled the tempo down the stretch and led 37-27 with 1:26 left to play. The Warriors was unable to gain any ground before time expired.