Christ the King Muzzles Terriers
MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY – After a big win against Stepinac, a sign that they were on the right track, the NYCHoops.net #5 ranked Christ the King Royals slipped back into uncertainty with a loss to a then unranked Monsignor Scanlan. That loss allowed the Crusaders entree' into our top ten and caused Christ the King to tumble a bit. On Tuesday, the Royals had a chance for some get-back as they hosted the St. Francis Terriers and they won wire to wire, 70 - 57
After a slow start, CK pumped up the volume in the bottom of the warm-up quarter and only really looked back to see how far ahead they were. Nathaniel Curry ‘19 and Quaran McPherson got the party started offensively with an inside buckle followed by a floater. Baskets by A.J. Lopez, Jr. ‘21 and Justin Hendrick ‘19 kept pace for St. Francis Prep but that scoring became dead in the water as a Sterling Jones '22 3-ball sparked a Royal’s 22 – 2 run.
Ryan Meyers ‘20 chimed in for the Royals' cause and by the second quarter. the Terriers were in a 13-point hole.
St. Francis Prep tried to dig themselves out of a sinkhole with a gallant effort from Hendricks, but the Royals had built momentum and kept Christ the King out front by 12 points after three quarters for play.
Part of the reason for the Terriers loss was due to poor shot selection but they still managed to cut their deficit in half. This was due to Christ the King’s defense which was porous at times. What did help the Royals, although he played sparingly, was 6’6” wide-body Jared Harrison-Hunte ‘19 who had been out as he to many college football scholarship visits. Cuury was a monster on the boards for the Royals as well as blocked shots.
The fourth quarter began with the Royals only ahead by 6 but the tandem of Meyers and the inside presence of Harrison-Hunte took the wind out of the Terriers sails.
Meyers led Christ the King with 20 points while McPherson and Curry 20 -points and 14 points respectively. Lopez, Jr. paced the Terriers with 21
Right now, Christ the King is in 2nd place in the B/Q CHSASA Class AA rankings behind undefeated Loughlin. In the NYCHoops.net ranking, Loughlin is ranked #3 while Christ the King comes in at #5. St. Francis Prep is ranked #5 out of 6 in league play.
