Christ the King Rises; LuHi Falls

BROOKVILLE, NY - The "Must Win" game of the regular season took place at Long Island Lutheran HS on Wednesday and both combatants, L.I. Lutheran and Christ the King did not disappoint. It would be a knock down drag out heavyweight battle but when the dust settled, Christ the King was the victor, 69-66.

"I thought that was a really special high school basketball game," said Royals head Coach Joe Arbitello. With Christ the King coming off a recent loss to Iona Prep, Arbitello felt this win was especially significant. "This shows that we have that championship mentality where we can get blown out and step in and play hard against a really good team."

CK's sophomore point guard Jose Alvarado, who struggled against Iona Prep, regrouped and came up clutch versus LuHi, one of the top teams on Long Island. Alvarado said this win against the Crusaders made his team more cohesive. "It's official now. We have a team that really works together."

PG Chris Atkinson '15 gave LuHi the early lead in a helter skelter first quarter but Tyrone Cohen '16, who was a key player throughout the contest, stroked a trey from the top of the key, giving the Royals a lead with 4:15. Shortly thereafter, Alvarado hit a follow up three-ball and the Royals were up 10-6 with 3 minutes left in the quarter.

Devonte Green '16 finally responded for L.I. Lutheran but the Royals matched their intensity as Rawle Alkins '16 came on board offensively with a flush, taking Green off the dribble. Marvin Prochet '15 fought back and kept the Crusaders deficit manageable at 16-13 to begin the second quarter, scoring back-to-back to end the first.

Prochet quickly knotted the game at 16 and with 6:05, Chris Barkley '15 regained the lead for LuHi. The battle raged on the boards as each team sought to gain a tactical advantage. Alvarado nailed a fallback jumper but Prochet countered. The sophomore upped the ante, scoring once again and shouting to the crowd, "I'm back!"

The game was tied at 24 with 3:21 left in the half but the Royals took control with 1:05 as Alkins scored on a nice crossover move. Prochet cut into CK's lead but Christ the King led at the half, 32-29.

Lutheran scored at the top of the third quarter but supreme defense by both squads froze the scoreboard at 32-31 until Prochet took the lead for LuHi with 5:30. The lead changed hands twice but was tied at 36 with 4 minutes.

Alvarado hit clutch basket with 2:07 as the Royals initiated a 2-3 zone on defense. Cohen put CK up by 4 and Alkins gets fouled attempting a three. With 53.5 seconds left in regulation Christ the King led by six and entered the final stanza with a 48-43 advantage.

Arbitello credited the Royals use of a zone defense for changing the dynamic down the stretch. "We got out on their shooters and when the zone came, [LuHi] didn't have such a free lane to score the ball," he said.

Rojaye Campbell '16 and Prochet still managed to close the gap to 1 and with 6:45 with interior play and Green got steal and hits a trey, putting LuHi back on top 50-48. Green then draws foul to increase the LuHi lead. Alvarado rose to the occasion with and-1 to tie game at 51 with 6:02. Green scores an acrobatic layup but again CK responded.

The Royals pull ahead 61-55 as Jared Rivers '16 scored some tough shots. At the 1:38 mark, Alvarado increased the lead and sealed the deal or so it seemed. The Crusaders would not go down quietly as Green momentarily resuscitated his team and the partisan L.I. Lutheran crowd with a monstrous alley-oop dunk followed by a steal, cutting the lead to four.

Christ the King sought to close the show but Prochet slowed their roll. LuHi still trailed 67-63 with 11.7 and was forced to foul. Alkins would finally pull the plug from the free throw line as the hour glassed emptied on L.I. Lutheran.

Coach Arbitello said he was glad to see how his team responded to adversity. "You know they're all juniors, one sophomore and when they step on the floor you wonder how they'll react. To see if we're just gonna feel bad for ourselves or if we're gonna step onto the court and compete. I told them before the game we need to compete, we need to play hard [and] we need to be physical. I think they did all those things."

Alvarado paced Christ the King with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists with Cohen adding 17 points and eight rebounds. Alkins notched his second triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Green was high man for L.I. Lutheran with 17 points with Prochet and Atkinson contributing 15 points and 13 points respectively.

Christ the King's record improves to 16 - 4 while Long Island Lutheran falls to 14 - 5.