CHSAA Intersectional Playoffs (2nd Round)

BRONX, NY – Wednesday’s playoffs at St. Raymond HS were bitter-sweet for many players. The do-or-die nature of CHSAA Intersectionals meant that losing marked the last hoorah for the two teams and the end of their season and a trip to Fordham University to play in the quarterfinals. That being the case, during both games, players left everything on the court. Here’s how it went down.

The game between these two was a wild west metaphor’s fantasy. From the opening tip, it was a shootout. Height challenged, the Royals only chance was of winning was to run n’ gun versus Scanlan and that’s exactly what they did.

Rodney “DJ” Bailey ‘20 put the Crusaders on the board first draining a deuce but for most of the first quarter it was three-point competition. Sterling Jones ‘21 got hot for Christ the King as did Ryan Myers ‘20 and Nicolas Molina ‘20. Dayton-commit Koby Brea ‘20 and Joe Munden ‘20 countered for Scanlan who led six point to end the first quarter.

Both teams gave as good as they got but CTK managed to close the gap with Jones stepping up. The lead changed hands throughout the quarter but with 2:15 left the half, a trey by Brea put Scanlan back up by two. The Royals were determined not to go quietly into the night, knotting the game at 38 at the half.

“[Christ the King] has two all-league players in Sterling Jones and so our strategy was to not let those two beat us,” said Scanlan head coach Dwayne Mitchell. “Ryan killed us in the first half with 17 points but we did a much better job in the second half.”

Three-balls from Jones and Lovell Smith ‘20 put Christ the King once again up by six but the Crusaders surgically evaporated their lead as the combo of Brea and Bailey did work. At the end of three-quarters, Scanlan was back in the driver’s seat, leading by four-points.

For the majority of the fourth quarter, Christ the King played catch-up and as time wound down there was a sense of desperation. The interior presence of 6’7” Hamdel Mohammed ‘20 hampered the Royals on the boards and Bailey did a great job of running the point for Scanlan.

In a six-point hole with 46.3 seconds remaining, Jones netted a clutch trey that cut the Royals deficit in half. Bailey was then fouled but only went 1 for 2 at the charity stripe. On the next possession, Christ the King seeming put themselves in the doghouse when down by four, Zizi Blades ‘21 missed a free-throw.

Scanlan would throw the Royals a lifeline as Munden also missed a free-throw. Down 64 – 63, Myers swished a 3-ball with 19.4 but that would be as close as Christ the King could get before time ran out.

Being my senior year, I wanna go out strong,” said Brea. “I feel like me and my teammates haven’t had the opportunity to play at Fordham and advance so [winning] is really something we wanted to do.

Bailey, who was described as the Scanlan’s engine by an assistant coach led the Crusaders with 21 points with Brea adding 15 points. The high scorer for Christ the King was Myers and Jones with 20 points apiece.

The second game of the evening was more of a slugfest than a track meet like the first game was. From the onset the heavier blows came from Hayes. Whether it was three-balls from point guard Julien Soumaoro ‘20 or alley-oops to Shemani Fuller ‘20, the Cardinals carried the momentum throughout the game minus a few hiccups.

The Mountaineers got some initial traction in the opening quarter from the likes of 6’4” Noah Best ‘22 but Mount St. Michaels was attempting to slug with a slugger. Cardinals Hayes responded and took a 3 point advantage into the second quarter. Although highflyer Ibrahim Wattera ‘20 had his strongest quarter, Cardinal Hayes still managed to extend its lead to 32 – 23 at the half as Fuller and 6’5” Tobe Awaka ‘22 dominated the paint.

The trio of Soumaoro, Fuller and Awaka was simply too much for the Mountaineers to handle. As to how he got his team motivated to take down Mt. Saint Michael, Joe Lods, the Cardinals head coach said, “We talked about this being a rivalry game, how Duke and North Carolina is. They have good games despite their record.”

Lods applauded the play of Soumaouro who he feels is inexplicably fallen below the radar. “What else can he do? The kid takes five charges in the game. There are kids in the league that haven’t taken five charges all year. Tell me a guy who’s second in the league in scoring in the New York City Catholic League.”

Soumaoro led Hayes with 21 points with Awaka and Fuller contributing 15 points and 12 points respectively. Best was the high man for Mt. St. Michael with 16 points.

Sunday's games at Fordham University, here is the schedule:

Varsity "AA" 1/4 Finals

‪Sunday, March 8th @ Fordham University‬‪

1:00 pm - NY #4 Msgr. Scanlan vs. BQ #1 St. Francis Prep ‬‪

2:45 pm - Winner St. Peter's/Molloy vs. NY #2 St. Raymond

‬‪4:30 pm - NY #3 Cardinal Hayes vs. BQ #2 Xaverian ‬‪

6:15 pm - Winner Iona Prep/Loughlin vs. NY #1 Stepinac ‬