Christ the King wins B/Q Chip; Honors Alvarado
MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - Friday night was more than just a CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens championship. It was a night to remember. Before the Royals commenced with tournament play, they retired the jersey number of former Christ the King star Jose Alvarado.
Alvarado is currently an NBA star guard with the New Orleans Pelicans, recently winning the Rising Stars MVP at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. During his number retirement, Alvarado’s family as well as his Pelican teammates were present and the young star stayed on throughout the game, cheering his former high school team to a hard fought 73 – 72 wins over St. Francis Prep.
The Terriers had analytics on their side as they faced Christ the King. It’s improbable that a team would win games in a row to another highly ranked team, so it should be an uphill battle for the Royals. St. Francis Prep led after the first quarter with perimeter scoring from 6’3” Josh Pascarelli ‘23.
A balanced scoring attack spearheaded by 6’3” Devin Vanterpool ‘23, 6’6” Dwayne Pierce ‘24 and 6’5” Bryce Merchant ‘23 turned the tide, giving the Royals a 37 – 33 edge at the half. The third quarter was an all-out war. Even though Christ the King was still without the services if two starters, 6’1” Markell Alston ‘25 ‘25 and 6’9” Brandon Williams ‘23 due to suspensions, their depth allowed them to carry on.
The Terriers threw a zone at Christ the King with the hopes of slowing them down . Vere Anthony pierced that perimeter as did his teammate Pascarelli.. Christ the King, the bigger team, was still down 2 heading into the final stanza.
The fourth was all be a scrum as both teams fought tooth and nail to get the win. Tied at 6-0 with 5:30 left in regulation set the stage. Rising star 6’6” Oesoemana Sacko ’26 came up big with three pointers and shots from the perimeter.
With 1:59 the score was once again tied at 60. The lead bantered back and forth with Pierce and Qin Pang ‘24 leading the way. Pascarelli and Anthony were the primary sparkplugs for the Terriers. 6.3 seconds remained in regulation and the Royals were ahead due to free-throws from Vanterpool. St. Francis tried to respond but Pascarelli was unable to get a shot off as time expired.
Pierce was the high scorer for Christ the King with 22 points. Vanterpool and Pang added 18 points and 15 points. Pascarelli led St. Francis Prep with 19 points.