Christ the King Shatters Hayes
BRONX, NY – On Sunday, the stage was set. The Cardinal Hayes HS gym was packed with fans but included the likes of Kentucky head and assistant coaches as well as Syracuse and St. John’s assistant coaches. NBA legend Carmelo Anthony was also on hand to support his son Kiyan Anthony ’25.
In the never-ending quest to affirm who’s number one in the state, NYCHoops.net #1 ranked Royals preferred to show and prove. After playing two competitive quarters, CTK proceeded to raise their level of play spearheaded by the play of Brandon Williams ‘23 and smashed the ranked Cardinals en route to a, 78 – 48 win.
When asked what went right and what went wrong, Hayes head coach Joe Lods said “What went right? There wasn’t any traffic on the way to Hayes today. What went wrong is everything else.”
The Cardinals jumped out front as Ian Jackson ‘24 got to the rim but buckets by Dwayne Pierce ‘24 and Williams countered, giving the Royals a slight advantage after the warm-up up quarter ended.
In the second half, Jackson pumped up his volume of play, highlighting his offensive repertoire but once again porous defense by Hayes was exploited by the Royals. Tied with a minute remaining in the first half, an emphatic dunk by Qinfang Pang ‘24 seemed to shift the momentum in favor of Christ the King who led 33 – 30 as the third quarter began.
Like a volcano, Williams erupted early in the second half, scoring inside and from mid-range. Along with the play of Devin Vanterpool ‘23, the Royals surged ahead and increased their lead to 19 points at the end of three quarters. With its heart completely removed from its chest, Cardinal Hayes was unable to regain any forward movement. Both teams subbed out with a few left in regulation. The Cardinals ultimately fell into a 30 point hole before the final buzzer went off.
“We played solid in the first half and then I don’t know. We had nothing in the tank. I don’t know why,” Coach Lods said. He added that the Cardinals need to find their identity soon. “We’re not use to being 2 and 5.”
Williams paced Christ the King with 21 points. Pierce added 15 points with Pang and Vanterpool adding 12 points apiece. Jackson was the high scorer for Cardinal Hayes netting 21 points with Elijah Moore ‘24 contributing 12 points.
