Christ the King Wins CHSAA B/Q Chip

MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - Rawle Alkins '16 said he came into Friday's game with one singular purpose. To win. "I hate to lose," he told NYCHoops.net. Against a highly competitive Xaverian Clippers team, the talented junior led Christ the King to a 66-59 victory to capture the CHSAA "AA" Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan Championship.

Alkins navigated through early foul trouble and still managed to knock down 27 points to go with 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Two of those blocks were against 6'7" Najee Larcher '15, one of Xaverian's go-to-guys. "He tried to dunk on me," Alkins exclaimed.

Christ the King got the ball rolling as Alkins drained a trey and free-throws but Xaverian responded as 5'10" Doyan Isaacs '15 (11 points) and 6'5" Sayon Charles '15 (13 points) got to the hoop. The Royals pressured the ball but the Clippers kept it close. With 5:18, Charles, who was aggressive to the hole, drew a foul and Xaverian only trailed, 10-9.

On defense, CTK was in a two-three zone. Xaverian still managed to get inside and Larcher gave the Clippers their first lead, 13-12 as Alkins picks up second personal foul with 4 minutes left to play in the opening quarter. Coach Joe Arbitello rolled the dice, keeping his star wing in the game unscathed until the 3 minute mark when he took Alkins off the court.

Tyrone Cohen '16 (8 points) held up the slack for the Royals, scoring from midrange and Jose Alvarado '17 (10 points & 6 assists) scored back-to-back giving Christ the King an 20-13 lead at the 2 minute mark. After solid defensive stands, Alvarado finished off a 13-0 run, draining a three-ball to end the opening quarter ahead 25-13.

Larcher, who led the Clippers with 21 points, ended the Royals run at 15 straight points, scoring early in the third quarter but the Clippers were down 12 points. Midway through the quarter, Alkins re-entered the game. 5'10" Bard Featherson '15 drained a trey as Xaverian put together a 9-2 run. The Clippers were soon within 7 but with 3:49 left in the half, Alkins netted one from the top of the key.

White hot, Alkins scored his fourth three-ball of the half before being seated again by Arbitello to avoid picking up a third foul. Isaacs and Larcher would once again bring the Clippers to with seven but Larcher would go down and out, injured with 1:58 left in the first half.

6'3" Tracey Cleckley '16 would score quickly with 1:16. Down 39-30, Charles scored for the Clippers with 39.9 seconds and Christ the King only took a 39-32 advantage into the locker room at the half. Alkins led the Royals, although he rode the bench often, with 17 first half points.

Larcher re-entered the game for the second half and quickly went at Alkins who had to give way due to foul troubles. The Royals was trimmed to 4 points with 6:02 as the pace quickened. Both squad looked for transition points. 6'3" Nyontah Wissah '16 (8 points) slashed to the hoop and the Clippers were only down 44-42 but soon after Charles would collect his third foul as Jared Rivers (17 points & 4 assists) got to the foul line.

The point spread remained at two as CK held on to the lead by a thread. Rivers did a good job drawing fouls and putting points in the Royals column. With 2:34, Xaverian still trailed 48-46 and Isaacs drained a trey to give the Clippers the lead 49-48. Alvarado tried to respond but picked up his third foul off a charge. Alkins would give the Royals a 50-49 lead to end the third as he went coast-to-coast

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Xaverian gained the upper hand as Larcher scored back-to-back in transition. Isaacs then drilled a trifecta and the Clippers were ahead 56-50 with 6:50 left in the fourth. Coach Arbitello burned a timeout to settle down his troops. Alkins came on the floor and tied the game at 56 with sequential catch and shoot three-pointers.

It was now Xaverian Head Coach Jack Alesi's turn to call a time out with 5:59. A Clippers turnover led to a monster putback dunk by Alkins to regain the lead for CK. Alkins then had back-to-back blocks on Larcher and with 3:00 Christ the King led 64-57 as Rivers capped off a 14-1 run.

CK remained in the 2-3 to preserve fouls but Xaverian managed to slither through. 1:08 left and Christ the King led 64-59. A missed shot by Featherstone with 34.9 seconds gave the Royals possession. Missed opportunities by Royals gave Xaverian two shots at 3 but the Clippers were unable to convert

While Alkins clearly spearheaded Christ the Kings success, he credited teamwork for winning another after losing to Bishop Loughlin last season. "Jared, Tyrone David Cole and Jose. They were upset that they didn't make the [CHSAA] All-city team so they took it personal."

Now that the Royals have gotten past one team who beat them once during the regular season, Alkins now said he wants to avenge another loss during the upcoming CHSAA Intersectionals. "Who I really wanna [now] face is Iona Prep. It's time for revenge [on] them."