Dozo smashed by Bowne instead of smashing record

FLUSHING, NY- Coming into Tuesday's game, all the talk was about Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio trying get career win number 755 to pass legendary former East Hampton head man Ed Petrie and become the all-time winningest public school coach in New York State. The Judges opponents, John Bowne had their own ideas about what would happen.

They wanted to take the chance to not only spoil Naclerio's night, but to make a statement of their own that they too need to be not only considered among the best in Queens this season, but among the best in New York City overall.

From the opening tip, you could tell that this was not going to be Naclerio's night to make history as the Wildcats, in front of a packed gym of John Bowne supporters, got off to as good a start as anyone could've hoped going up 33-7 after one, and leading by as many as 42 late in the 3rd quarter before coasting home to a 99-79 victory.

It was pretty well known by most that when Cardozo beat Campus Magnet last Thursday that Naclerio tied Petrie's New York record with 754 wins by a public-school coach. Tuesday presented him the chance to break it, but while he wasn't exactly sure if his team knew about it, Bowne head coach John Tsapelas admitted that he had an idea that they did and that it could've been a motivating factor to not let it happen on their turf.

"I did not say anything to my guys about it. I wanted them to stay focused and not get caught up in that moment but it's been out there so I am sure that most of them, if not all of them, were aware," Tsapelas said.

Wildcats wing Christian Hinckson '17 said that he did know about it and that while that did help motivate them a bit, it was the fact that people around school weren't fully confident in their team's ability to beat Cardozo that he felt motivated them even more.

"People were doubting us so we just wanted to prove our doubters wrong," Hinckson stated.

Hinckson, a recent addition back to John Bowne after having started this season at South Kent School in Connecticut, was going to be key if they did want to pull off what some considered to be an upset going in, but by very early on you did realize this wasn't an upset as the Wildcats are very good and proved it from nearly start to finish.

Early on to start it was back to back threes from Bowne by guards Alejandro Vasquez '19 and Taijay Good '20 that got the Wildcats gym rocking, but it didn't stop there. They were dominating the glass, controlling the boards and then pushing out quick, catching the Cardozo defense sleeping at the wheel as it was Hinckson who threw down a pair of wild dunks, and with Kareem Reid '19 also getting in on the act it seemed as if anyone who wanted to score for John Bowne could.

Up 33-7 after the opening quarter, Bowne continued to attack and finish in transition as they were doing whatever they wanted against a Judges team that seemed overwhelmed by the atmosphere, the moment, and the John Bowne team.

With 1:38 to go in the half the Wildcats scored their 50th point of the game as the offense was clicked on all cylinders with Vasquez dominating from the perimeter, and Hinckson and Reid combining to do whatever they wanted around the rim as Bowne took a 55-31 lead into the half.

While he knew his team was in a massive hole, Naclerio felt that if his team could get a couple stops early in the 3rd that if they stepped up their intensity they still had time to make a charge and possibly get him win #755 on Tuesday, but again it was evident that it wasn't going to happen as Reid finished with authority off a lob pass from Good to start the second half, and Vasquez off a steal finished on a 2 on 1 break, all in the first 30 seconds of the 3rd.

The 3rd quarter may have been the most dominant quarter of the game for John Bowne as they expanded the lead up as much as 42 when the Wildcats took a 90-48 lead with 1:01 to go in the period after a wing three ball by Vasquez who was having a night to remember.

It was such a big lead that even Tsapelas admitted that he looked at the scoreboard with amazement by what his team was doing as the 4th quarter was about to begin.

"I kept looking at the scoreboard and I wasn't sure that I was looking at it right," Tsapelas said with a smile.

He knew that his team was doing something special, and it seemed as if the only thing left was for John Bowne to eclipse the 100-point mark since they only needed 10 more heading into the 4th, but credit to Cardozo for not quitting when it could've been very easy to when you are down by as many as they were. The Judges applied a lot of pressure in the 4th, showing pride in trying to not allow Bowne to get to 100.

Even though the game wasn't in doubt, Dejavaughn Utley '18 had a major final quarter as he was aggressive defensively, and was finishing with ease once he got into the lane, and while Bowne tried and tried, they couldn't seem to get much offensively going in the 4th as they couldn't quite hit that 100-point threshold, falling just 1 point short in the end as they coasted down the stretch to take the 99-79 victory.

Vasquez had a team high 30 points in the win for John Bowne, while Hinckson added 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Reid chipped in with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocks.

On the other end for Cardozo it was Utley who finished with a game high 32 points in the loss, while Nasan Ayala '18 added 12 points of his own as well for the Judges.

When the game started many thought, history was soon going to be made, but what ended up happening was a coming out party for NYC's new hottest team in the John Bowne Wildcats, and while they have been an "A" Division team for many years they are now a team to reckon with in Class "AA", and a team that forced Naclerio to get win #755 elsewhere as Hinckson said they weren't going to let it happen in their building, and they didn't.

"You can't come into our house and win."