Bronx & Queens Split in CHSAA "AA" 2nd Round

FRESH MEADOWS, NY - The 2nd round of the CHSAA “AA” Intersectionals got underway on Wednesday at St. Francis Prep H.S. With team’s seasons on the line, the stakes were high. Both games involved at Bronx school vs a Queens school and one squad from each borough advanced to the next round.

What started as a battle royale began to look like the makings of a massacre by halftime as Hayes surged ahead by 19 points over the Knights. 6’2” Tyrese Williams ‘18 and Joe Toussaint ‘19 punished Holy Cross early and often but the Flushing, NY squad refused to go quietly into the night.

“What a tale of two halves,” said Hayes Head Coach Joe Lods. “I didn’t think we could play better than we played in the first half but I guess Coach Tarpey gave a better half time speech than I did because we came out and laid an egg and they were riled up.”

The Knights comeback was not spearheaded by its starters but by 6’0” Sahdique Watkins ‘18 and 6’4” Joel Morris ‘17. 6’3” Jonas Cooper ‘17 and 6’2” sharpshooter Elijah Perry ‘19 soon chimed in by the start of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were on the butt end of a 25 – 10 Holy Cross run and only ahead 55 - 51.

Smelling blood in the water, Watkins, Perry and 6’2” Hassan Diarra ‘19 pounced on Hayes and soon took a 4-point lead before the Bronx high school could even score a point. After relinquishing a large lead, many teams throw in the towel but the Cardinals regrouped and fought back.

5’10” Jontai Williams 18 came up clutch as late in the fourth quarter with a trey that regained for Hayes. The junior then got a key steal and the assist to Toussaint that put Cardinals up by three points with 2 minute left to play.

The momentum appeared to have shifted toward the Bronx team who had a 4-point advantage but a malfunctioning shot clock buzzer slowed the action to a stop with about 30 seconds left to play. When action finally resumed, Cooper scored to cut Holy Cross’s deficit to a deuce. J. Williams was then fouled by Hayes in desperation and after hitting both free-throws, Cardinal Hayes would ultimately advance to the next round and a game against Mt. Saint Michael.

“Guards win these games,” said Lods. “They say you have to get that big kid but come playoff time guards win it and we have a D-I backcourt. Joe Toussaint is very good and Tyrese is very good and whatever Jontai had for lunch was very effective cuz he led us in scoring.”

Both J. Williams and T. Williams led Cardinal Hayes with 20 points apiece with Toussaint adding 18 points. Cooper was high man for Holy Cross with 19 points.

The final game of the evening featured a legendary Queens vs. Bronx match-up that also pit two of the city’s top point guards against each other. With both Georgia Tech-bound Jose Alvarado ‘17 and Minnesota commit Isaiah Washington ‘17 potentially playing their last high school game, both seniors were committed to doing everything in their power to not let that happen. Unfortunately for the Ravens, Christ the King simply had too much bigness in the form of 6’10” Goliath Kofi Cockburn ‘19. Combine that with Alvarado's determination to get to a specific rematch and the Royals could not be stopped.

From the onset, Cockburn was slaying all defenders as he not only got to the rim but when fouled, hit most of his free-throws. St. Ray’s began to counter late in the opening quarter as Omar Silverio ‘18 connected from the perimeter but in a low scoring warm-up quarter, CK held a 2-point advantage.

In the second quarter Cockburn again asserted his dominance in the paint and the Royals lead grew to 5 points even with offensive push back from 6’5” Darius Lee ‘18 and Washington. The center’s game reached a crescendo on one sequence as he blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound that initiated a fastbreak then slammed down a one-handed putback dunk on the other end.

While the packed gym was a gassed, the Ravens quietly took a one point lead as Washington and Lee scored. Tyson Walker ‘18 regained the lead for Christ the King and three-point plays by Washington and Alvarado left the Royals still out front by two. The half would end with 6'5" Phillips Joseph '19 draining a bucket, extending the Royals lead to 29 – 25.

To start the second half, 6’3” Jaylen Davis ‘19 and Walker got lit and with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, Christ the King’s advantage grew to 11 points. St. Ray’s received offensive production from 6’5” Nicholas Rivera ‘18 but the Ravens found themselves basically exchanging baskets.

Ahead by eight points as the fourth quarter commenced, Cockburn, Alvarado and Davis pushed the Royals lead to 15 points with 4:57 left in regulation. With his team’s season hanging in the balance, Washington went into offensive overdrive but a porous defense allowed the Royals to maintain a double-digit point spread. Ahead by 10 points with 1:32 remaining, the Royals killed the clock until the clock ran out.

“I swear I love my teammate,” said Alvarado after the game with regard to Cockburn. “My big man doing his thing. If it wasn’t for him. I think we’d be in trouble.”

Alvarado said he wasn’t ready to end his season unless it could be with a City Championship. Along the way, the senior also has his sights set on a rematch against archrival Bishop Loughlin who beat them twice during the regular season with the last loss resulting in his coach, Joe Arbitello, getting ejected from the game under mysterious circumstances. “I’ll see them when I see them and it’s gonna be payback,” he stated.

Cockburn finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks with Davis adding 16 points. Alvarado finished with 13 points and 6 assists. Washington led St. Raymond with 24 points with Lee adding 14 points.

The Royals will face Archbishop Stepinac in the next round.