Deer Park’d; Dozo drives by to next round
BAYSIDE, NY - Former heavyweight boxing championship Mike Tyson once said “Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face.” It was Deer Park’s plan on Monday to push the pace and hit the open man as the EYAC Beacon 158 Classic playoffs began. That strategy worked well in the first half but failed miserably in the second half after the players from Cardozo H.S. hit back.
The entire game was chaotic but Queens PSAL School was able to harness the confusion in the second half and used it to their advantage. Conversely, Deer Park spiraled out of control en route to a 62-39 blowout.
Just like a prize fight, both Cardozo and Deer Park exchanged offensive blows during the opening half. Freshman point guard Malik Edmead ’20 did a good job at setting the pace for Deer Park, balancing when to score and when to distribute the rock amongst his teammates. As a result, the Long Island squad surged ahead.
DejaVaughn Utley ‘18 and Zion Stephens ‘17 pushed back for Cardozo after Deer Park extended its lead to 19-7 with three minutes’ left in the opening half. Recent Cardozo transfer Taj Anderson ‘19 closed out the half strong and the Judges began winning the battle on the offensive glass. A clutch three-pointer by Anderson cut Deer Park’s lead to 3 points before Edmead countered with one-second left.
Down by 5 points to start the second half, Dozo rallied sparked by an emphatic dunk by Collins Onyane '18. Anderson then tied the game at 27 with 15:59 still left to play. Utley would finally put the Judges on top. Deer Park responded briefly but then went into free fall as Cardozo’s momentum mounted.
A 13-3 Cardozo run would be the proverbial punch in the face for Deer Park. A blow that a time-out by Head Coach John McCaffrey could not undo. Buckets by Brett Talbert ’18 temporarily stopped Deer Park’s bloodletting but a slam dunk in transition by Anderson punctuated Dozo's second half dominance, a half that produced a subpar 14 points for Deer Park.
Anderson was the high man for Cardozo with 19 points with Utley and Onyane adding 10 points and 7 points respectively. Talbert led Deer Park with 18 points with Edmead contributing 10 points
In other playoff action:
Q.H.S.T. eats Far Rockaway, 85-45
A first half spearheaded by C.J. Kelly’s 18 points put Far Rockaway in its rear view mirror early. Kion Hill ’17 and Dwight Reed ‘17 poured in 14 points a piece for the players from Queens H.S. of Teaching.
St. Anthony’s eliminates St. Mary’s, 40-30
The combination of St. Mary’s JV and freshmen teams was no match for St. Anthony. Ahead 21-13 at the half, John Harwood’s 13 points led the Friars to the next round of the playoffs.
