Christ the King Body Slams Hayes

MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - In front of a big crowd featuring many of the former Royals great, Christ the King played host to Cardinal Hayes on Friday night.

It was expected to be a heavyweight battle between two of the CHSAA's top teams, but from the very start, CK was able to use their speed and their athleticism to take it to the Cardinals. Add in the fact that one of Hayes' top players got into foul trouble immediately and it proved to be a long night for the visitors as the Royals showed why they are the class of the league at this point with the 64-46 victory.

It's never easy for Christ the King to find motivation against an opponent. They are always considered and thought of to be the top team so to want to really beat someone to get back at an opponent is usually difficult, but that wasn't the case on Friday as Royals star guard Rawle Alkins '16 remembered back to this game last season for motivation.

"Coach (Joe Arbitello) talked about the beating Hayes gave us last year around this time," Alkins said referring to the Cardinals 69-48 victory over CK during the regular season last season. "It was in front of our fans here just like this, and we wanted revenge."

If revenge was what CK wanted, revenge is what they got. Right from the tip when guard Jose Alvarado '17 went in for an easy bucket, you could see that the Royals were primed and ready. Alkins drive down the right side and finished while being fouled, and then Alvarado connected on a driving bucket while getting hacked inside, and before you could blink it was 14-4 in favor of Christ the King just 4 minutes into the game.

Things got worse for Cardinal Hayes with 1:13 to go in the opening quarter when Cardinals guard Clive Allen '16 picked up his 3rd foul reaching in on Alvarado, which put him to the bench for rest of the half, and changed the way they played which was big according to Alkins.

"Jose played excellent defense and attacked him really well," Alkins said. "He got the foul calls which were big because they then had no point guard."

Without Allen in the game the CK defense turned up the intensity and pressure even more, and even though the Cardinals weren't letting the lead get away, that was because the Royals themselves were struggling from the floor, but defensively they limited Hayes to just 16 first half points to take a 27-16 lead at the break, and Arbitello knew just how impressive that first half defensive performance was.

"I thought it started in the defensive end," Arbitello stated. "To hold a varsity team to 16 points in a half, you know you are doing something right."

Arbitello did feel that they could've been up more, throwing a few points away in the opening half, but he was pleased because it was the defense that had gotten them the double digit lead.

After sitting for the entire 2nd quarter, Allen came back in to start the 3rd for Cardinal Hayes, but just 90 seconds into the quarter, Alvarado took a charge on Allen that gave the talented guard his 4th foul, putting him back on the bench once again, and Hayes coach Joe Lods noted that without Allen on the floor for such large stretches of time absolutely threw off the offensive rhythm of his squad.

"We only scored 16 points in the first half so I'd say yeah it had an effect on our offense for sure," Lods said.

The CK lead ballooned up to 24 points at 46-22 with 2:20 to go in the 3rd when Alvarado on a 3 on 1 fastbreak lofted the ball up that Alkins caught and threw down for the monster slam, and that just seemed to punctuate the entire evening for Hayes.

The Cardinals didn't quit though as big man Ak Ojo '15 had a solid 4th quarter, putting home a putback slam as well as swatting an Alkins dunk that had the crowd on their feet, but the strong plays for Hayes were too few and far between to make a real dent in the game's outcome.

Add in the fact that Jared Rivers '16 was connecting on midrange jumpers in transition, and Tracy Cleckley '16 was playing excellent in the open floor, and it just was CK's night as they were able to comfortably take down Cardinal Hayes in front of a packed gym in Queens, 64-46.

Alvarado had 11 first half points, and finished with a game high 18 points in the win for Christ the King, while Alkins added 15, and Rivers chipped in with 10. The Royals had multiple weapons going for them on Friday, and it's that kind of team effort that Arbitello seems to love to see out of his team.

Hayes was paced by the 9 points of Chris Middleton '15, with Allen, who was saddled with foul trouble from start to finish, ending up with 7 points in the loss.

It was not the game that Lods had envisioned for his team on Friday, but at the same time, he knows he is playing with a young and inexperienced team that he has in a sense, thrown into the fire with their tremendously tough early season schedule, and from these challenges, he believes will come some very good things later on.

"Sometimes you have to wait until the evening to see what a beautiful day it has been," Lods explained. "We have a young team this morning, but by the evening, in February or early March, I think we will see a beautiful day."

Lods hopes his team will prove to be better as the season goes on, but for now, it's Christ the King who looks again to be the beast of the CHSAA.

Arbitello even admitted that at this point of the season his team is better than what he expected them to be, and that's all because of chemistry in his eyes. The chemistry is making his team not just one of the best in New York, but one of the best in the country, and at least on Friday it got to be enjoyed by a host of former CK great from Jon Severe and Terrell Hunt, to Jordan Fuchs and Travis Atson, and that's what Arbitello also says makes his team so special.

"It's something we are trying to build here, a family atmosphere. I think we had 15 former state champions here tonight, which is great for the program, great for Christ the King, and I think, great for our guys."