Deuces for South Shore: PSAL City Champs Again
NEW YORK, NY - The top two seeds in the PSAL Class “AA” playoffs traveled down the postseason road to Madison Square Garden for the chance to win the city title. Defending champion South Shore came in as the #1 seed and matched up against #2 Jefferson in the last game of the season.
Trailing by a single point, South Shore guard Femi Odukale dribbled the length of the court, made a spin, and then found himself in front of the basket. The only thing left to do was dunk the ball, which gave South Shore a 71-70 lead. That became the final score when a last second attempt by Jefferson missed and South Shore was able to hold on and repeat as city champions.
The basket was the final score in a game that was as exciting as any recent PSAL championship games. South Shore had built up a double-digit second half lead only to see Jefferson fight their way back. Two free throws by Jefferson sophomore guard Jaquan Carlos gave the Orange Wave a 70-69 lead with 19 second left. That was when Odukale went the distance and dunked after receiving the inbounds pass. He was asked what he was thinking when the play unfolded.
“When I was driving to the rim, I was thinking about laying the ball up. But laying the ball up, it could be 50-50, the [ball] could come out and I realized I really want it, and this is what I played for, so I did the spin move and I had to dunk”
South Shore held the lead for most of the game, all the way through the first half and most of the third quarter. The score at halftime was 37-32 in favor of the Vikings. Halfway through the third quarter, Jefferson started to come back and eventually took a brief 47-46 lead. Dwight Davis Jr. quickly changed that with a three-pointer that started a 12-0 run through the beginning of the 4th quarter. Davis drained another triple during the run, which was followed by two lay-ups by Kadary Richmond.
South Shore built their lead to 58-47 before Jefferson counter-punched for the 2nd time and started to comeback. Kareem Welch and Carlos went off in the final quarter, putting their team on their back and going to work. Welch scored 12 of his game high 27 points in the final period, including 3 three-pointers. With 0.9 seconds left, Welch tried to get his fourth from the corner which would have won it for Jefferson, but it was off line and the game was over.
Welch was a monster for Jefferson all game. In addition to the game high, he led the team in rebounds and assists, grabbing 11 rebounds at 6-0 tall, and dishing out 6 assists. Welch is a senior and played his last game for the Orange Wave.
Carlos was able to get into the paint and finish a couple of tough lay-ups on his way to 23 points. The sophomore is already one of the top guards in the city and he didn’t disappoint. He gets to come back and try this again for another two seasons.
Senior wing Philips Joseph, who was the third South Shore player in double digits with 11 points, gave Jefferson credit for playing tough and making it a game.
“Honestly, I have to give a shout out to Jefferson” Joseph said in the post-game press conference. “They played their hearts out and honestly, they’re a very strong team. Even though they’re smaller, they make up for it in which the way they all come together and rebound, they play together and make up for it”
Still, South Shore was the better team on this Saturday afternoon, although it was only one point better. As a team, they shot 52% from the field, which was highly efficient.
The top two scorers for South Shore never came off the floor, playing the entire 32 minutes in the game. Davis Jr. shot 6 for 12 with 3 triples to finish with 19 points. Richmond was the high scorer for the Vikings with 23 points, making 9 out of 14 shots. He drained a few jumpers, there was a point in the 2nd half he got hot, but he was a problem getting into the paint too. The 6-5 senior point guard is crafty and uses his length well. There aren’t too many high school guards in this city who can stop Richmond from getting his shot off.
Odukale only scored 6 points, but two of those obviously delivered the chip to South Shore for the 2nd year in a row. But don’t think because Odukale was light in the scoring column, he wasn’t heavy in other categories. He dished out a game high 10 assists, meaning he was directly responsible for 10 baskets from his teammates. He also pulled down 7 rebounds.
South Shore is the new mini-dynasty in the PSAL AA division. All you need is a couple. They are loaded with seniors, so it remains to be seen if the titles will continue to go through South Shore in the near future.
However, it’s not over for South Shore. There is still something to play for. They’re going to get back in the gym and prepare for the State Federation Championships. According to the South Shore players, the state title is the ultimate goal, not taking anything away from the city chip.
