MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY - Saturday at Christ the King Regional HS marked the beginning of the CHSAA Freshmen playoffs. In the quarterfinal round, eight teams would enter but only four emerged to advance to the semifinals. NYCHoops.net was there to witness all the action
Scanlan Over St. Raymond, 59 – 55
The Ravens held a sight 24 – 22 advantage with scoring from Jamie Izauierdo and Jody Frica but Scanlan countered with balanced scoring from Kenny Fields and Jaiden Hill. The Crusaders took charge in the third quarter from inside bucket and freethrows by Jabari Phillips to lead by 8 going into the 4th quarter. After a slow first half, speedy guard Khalil Robinson turned on the after burners and kept St. Ray’s in the hunt but it was too little to late for the Ravens.
Phillips led Scanlan with 15 points. Robinson was the high man for St. Raymond with a game high 27 points.
Christ the King edges Iona Prep, 52 – 51
It was a tightly wound game from beginning to end with Christ the King taking the lead with primary scoring coming from Bryce Merchant and DeCorsey Corley. Iona Prep back, spearheaded by offense from Spenser Mohoney but the Gaels who tied the game at 23, still trailed at the half.
Merchant dominated the third quarter and the Royals once again led by six as the final quarter got underway. The Gaels put up a good fight in the fourth quarter with Charlie Schelhammer shouldering most of the offensive load. Down one with 2.1 seconds left, a Hail Mary leave by Ajani Shepard went in but was unfortunately after the buzzer.
Merchant paced Christ the King with 18 points. Sheppard led Iona Prep with 15 points.
Hayes Bypasses St. Peter’s, 57 – 54
In the warm-up quarter, Cardinal Hayes found offense from Tyleek Fields, Michael Owen and Jayden Williams while the Eagles fought back with buckets from Ekene Emeka and Alex Chi. While Hayes led by two at the end of the first quarter, good ball movement and hustle plays earned St. Peter’s a 34 – 32 halftime advantage.
Hayes was led by PG Jose Aubrue while St. Peter’s had identical twin point guards Andrew and Paul Fallah but the Cardinals still managed to overtake the Staten Island squad to lead by five points to begin the fourth. St. Peter’s was a scrappy bunch, tying the game at 51, it was a clutch 3-ball by Fields that sealed the deal for Hayes.
Fields and Owen led Hayes with 14 points each. Chi scored a game high 20 points for St. Peter’s.
Molloy Clobbers Mt. St. Michael, 54 – 32
The Molloy Stanners lead increased exponentially with the Mountaineers appearing to be in quicksand. Unable to score in double digits except in the second quarter, Mount was down 29 – 19 at the half. The Stanners scoring was balance with Jack Guevara leading the charge. Other than sparse buckets from Isaiah Milan and Elijah Williams-Rivera, Mt. Saint Michaels was powerless.
Malachi MacMillan provided a lot of the offensive icing with Joshua DeCady providing the rebounding that sealed the Mountaineers fate. Guevara led Molloy with 11 points. The leading scorer for Mt. St. Michael was Milan who notched 11 points.
The semifinals take place at St. Raymond HS at 5:30pm and 7:30pm with the championship taking place at Archbishop Molloy HS on Saturday
CHSAA FRESHMEN QUARTERFINAL TOP PERFORMERS
