Cardozo Gets Stiffed By Q.H.S.T.
BELLEROSE, NY – Historically, Benjamin Cardozo H.S. and Coach Ron Naclerio have been able to mop up a lot of easy regular season league victories, playing in a sub-par Queens PSAL AA League. This season, with the emergence of stiffer competition in the borough, the Judges have so far been a bit brittle.
After getting shellacked by # 9 ranked John Bowne H.S. before the holidays, Dozo took yet another hit to start the New Year. Never leading, the Judges became the judged, on Tuesday, as #5 ranked Queens H.S. of Teaching ran Cardozo down, 88-75, handing them its second loss in a row against ranked Queens teams.
Still undefeated, C.J. Kelly ‘17 said that the Q.H.S.T. Tigers wanted to deliver a message. “We’re number one in Queens. #1 in New York,” he said confidently.
After the crushing loss to Bowne, Tigers Head Coach Mike Shelton said he knew that Cardozo was itching for a win. “I think they definitely wanted to come out and make a statement to show that that [loss] was just a fluke but it was a statement win for us.”
Implementing Shelton's defense-first strategy, Queens H.S. of Teaching quickly engulfed the Judges as William Ellis ‘17 attacked the rim while Jamie Nurse ‘17 and Kelly swatted away many shot attempts by Cardozo. The swarming transition play put Q.H.S.T. out front with a 21 – 6 first quarter lead before Dozo knew what hit them.
Dejavaughn Utley ’18 orchestrated a brief 7 – 0 Cardozo run along with teammate Jayson Robinson ‘18 which help to deter the game entering blow-out status. They even got their deficit down to 7 points with a minute left in the second quarter as Robinson netted perimeter shots while Noah Semple ‘19 scored inside. Nurse and Justin Steed ‘17, however, countered in the paint and a Steed trey at the buzzer left the Judges still trailing 35 – 23 as the first half ended.
As the third quarter got underway, Kelly and his cohort, Kion Hill ‘17 began to put on a show and soon pushed the Tigers advantage to 19 points. Marcus Hammond ‘18 offered some offensive resistance but Dozo was still in the hole by 19 points at the end of the third quarter.
The Judges fought to the bitter end and as Hill rained down a couple of celebratory dunks for good measure, Dozo took advantage of Q.H.S.T. taking its proverbial foot off their neck. Unexpected back-to-back three-pointers from Mathew Meikle ’17 sparked Cardozo who got its deficit down to 10 points with 3 minutes left to play.
The Judges possessed the momentum and could have theoretically pulled off a miraculous come from behind win but with 2:45 the wind would leave their sails for good as Utley blew two clutch free-throws that would’ve cut Q.H.S.T.’s lead to eight-points.
The Tigers quickly recalibrated as Dwight Reed ‘18 drew fouls and calmly and coolly went 4 for 4 from the charity stripe. Queens H.S. of Teaching’s lead was back up to 14 with 2:08 left in regulation and Cardozo’s gas tank was on empty for the remainder of the game.
Coach Shelton elaborated on his team’s strategy saying it was to rebound and get back on defense. “We knew they were a fast-paced team. They like to push it so we knew we had to rebound and slowdown their offense.”
Ellis paced Queens H.S. of Teaching with 19 points with Steed and Hill adding 17 points and 16 points respectively. Kelly only scored 14 points but his presence was felt. “Today I didn’t think he had his best offensive game but he did a lot of facilitating,” said Shelton.
Robinson was high man for Cardozo with a game high 23 points with Utley contributing 20 points.
The Tigers improve to 12 – 0 and remain the only undefeated ranked NYC team while Cardozo falls to 7 – 2.
