BRIARWOOD, NY – With the CHSAA regular season in the books, the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan Tournament marks the early rounds of the Class AA playoffs. On Monday, first round action took place at Molloy HS. Here are brief recaps.
Bishop Loughlin Takes Out Holy Cross, 88 – 85
It was the second coming of the NBA All-Star game as 6’5” Jaream Eason ‘22 from Loughlin Lions and the Knights 6’0” Anthony Russo ‘22 did their best Steph Curry impersonation, together draining 5 of the 7 first quarter three pointers. Holy Cross fought valiantly but fell behind early. The result of a balanced scoring attack.
Russo cooled his heels in the second quarter as the Lions successfully defended him. Tyler Castro stepped up aggressively in the second quarter for the Knights but offense by 6’1” Christian Joe ‘22 and defense in paint by 6’6” Daye Kaba ‘24 sustained the Lions advantage as the half ended.
Down 41 – 33 to start the third quarter, light a match Russo got sparked once again from the perimeter. Holy Cross made a run and a bucket by 6’3” Thomas Collison ‘23 sliced Loughlin’s lead to a deuce with three-minute left in the quarter.
The Knights still trailed by four as the fourth quarter took flight, but they were gaining momentum spearheaded by the play of Collison and 6’4” Devin Grant ‘22 and tied the game at 66 with 6 minutes left in regulation. Russo finished with seven trifectas, he was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Conversely, Loughlin was fueled by the play of 6’4” Jakai Sanders ‘24 and Kaba eeked out a three-point victory.
Eason paced Loughlin with 26 points with Sanders and Kaba contributing 21 and 17, respectively. Russo was the high man for Holy Cross with 21 points.
Xaverian Clippers Buzz Cut Molloy, 69 – 52
Tied at five with four minutes left in the opening quarter, Xaverian went on a mini 6 -1 run that Molloy was never able to overcome. 6’1” Nasir Muhammad ‘23 did an excellent job controlling tempo and scoring when necessary. Additional offense from 6’0” Supreme Niles ‘22 kept the Clippers ahead 25 – 22 at the half.
Molloy remained competitive in the first half due to the tandem of 6’3” John McCabe ‘22 and 6’4” Emmanuel Ikioda ‘23. The other Stanners appeared to be asleep at the wheel as Molloy’s deficit grew to 15 at the end of three quarters. Inside play provided by 6’6” Michael Walker ‘23 proved to be devastating to Archbishop Molloy
Xaverian’s lead bulged to 17 in the fourth quarter as Molloy lost its momentum, playing to lose respectfully more than to win. In the waning moments, McCabe became both the primary and secondary scorer for the Stanners. The Clippers kept the pressure on in the 4th with Muhammad living at the foul line and 6'0" Nico Pena '24 scoring the final nails into Molloy’s coffin.
Muhammed led Xaverian with 20 points with Niles and Walker adding 12 points and 11 points. McCabe was the leading scorer for Molloy netting 22 points.
