Christ the King trims the Clippers
MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY -After an exhausting and emotional win against Bishop Loughlin on Friday, Royals head coach Joe Arbitello said he was worried his team would let their guard down against Xaverian, an unranked team, they were expected to beat.
Advertisement
It became quicly apparent that there was no letdown in sight on Sunday as Christ the King made short work of the Clippers, beating them 71-51.
The Royals pulled ahead by 5 points early as Jon Severe (14 points, 7 rebounds) and Adonis Delarosa (4 points, 7 rebounds) scored inside. Senior forward, Rob Rossiter (10 points) quickly tied the game at 11 for Xaverian and Sayon Charles (10 points) gave the Clippers their only lead with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Rossiter extended Xaverian's lead to 4 points late in the quarter and it appeared as if the Royals had indeed had a letdown, that is until 5'9" Isaiah Cosbert (14 points) provided an instant pick-me-up from the perimeter. After a CTK bucket, the senior guard splashed a three pointer at the buzzer, relinquishing the Clippers lead for good, giving the Royals a 1 point advantage to start the second quarter.
Cosbert knocked down two more treys in the second quarter and also facilitated additional baskets by his teammates, sparking a 12-0 run. When the dust had settled, Christ the King was ahead 28-15 with 4:30 remaining in the half. The Clippers would get some offensive assistance from Lamel Faison (17 points) and George Lambert (6 points) but the Royals held serve as Andre' Walker (7 points) and Cosbert finished strong, giving CTK 34-25 halftime lead.
Christ the King also dominated the boards using their superior height as Jordan Fuchs (7 points) and Delarosa banged inside. Even though Severe didn't have his best night scoring, he still managed to get to the rim and do damage. Cosbert, was still on fire as he drained his fourth 3-ball from the left corner. PG Malik Harmon (11 points, 6 assists), who hit the game winning shot against Bishop Loughlin, provided a second half boost, giving the Royals an insurmountable 20 point spread as the fourth quarter began.
With Rossiter, Xaverian's most productive post player, saddled with foul trouble since the second quarter, the Clippers really had no answer for Christ the King's relentless onslaught in the paint. 3:30 remained in regulation and the Royals had amassed a 24 point lead. Soon after, coach Arbitello took his team's foot off the Clippers neck and subbed out his starters.
Click Here to view this Link.