No Gray Area; Dozo Trounces Edison

Usually the absence of gray against a blue and white landscape forecasts a bright day. But, this was not the case for Thomas Edison H.S., decked in their home white uniform with blue trim, as it was railroaded by Queens, N.Y. rival NYCHoops No. 5 Cardozo High 92-57 on Tuesday.

Edison starting forward Josh Gray suffered an allergic reaction before the start of the game and had to be escorted to the hospital in an ambulance. Instead, the Inventors opted to go with a three-guard line-up in Kris Owens, Jahvaughnn Johnson and Cavon Baker, coupled with forward Stephen Nwaukoni and swingman Osamuede Egharevba.

Cardozo got off to an early 10-4 start, sparked by senior forward Ryan Rhoomes' interior strength and senior guard Reynaldo Walters' passing and penetrating ability. Edison squared up and brought the game within one, 10-9, on a three-pointer by Egharevba with 3:44 remaining in the first period.

"From the get-go we wanted to get out here, get our win, play hard and leave," said Rhoomes.

Cardozo and Edison seemed to match intensities as they both went horse for boards, but the Inventors had difficulty finishing close to the rack. Cardozo, on the other hand, kept up the pressure on the defensive end and converted in transition. The intense play by the Judges resulted in a seven-point advantage extension.

Back-to-back plays by Owens and Egharevba brought the game within three with 15 seconds left to the period, but an inbounds play by Rhoomes closed the period with a five-point lead for the Judges, 22-17.

By the second phase, Cardozo was spreading the floor extremely well. Cardozo took advantage of the mistakes Edison was making on the offensive end, as the Inventors prematurely executed the offense with outside shots and ill-advised mid-range jumpers. Edison was no match for Cardozo, as the Judges went on a 10-3 run to lead the Inventors by a 12-point margin, 32-20, with 3:23 remaining before the break.

Cardozo went on to extend the lead by the close of the half 41-26.

Edison opened the second half with a 8-0 surge, bringing the came within seven points, 41-34, at the 6:50 mark of the third period. However, a 12-2 run by Cardozo, featuring a highlight reel by senior forward Dwayne Brunson, brought the Judges up by 17 points, 53-36.

Edison's weakness on defense dictated its offensive flow, as scoring became a hard thing to come by in half-court sets and Cardozo's transition defense stifled the Inventors' fastbreak opportunities. One of the highlight sequences of the game included a trey by Walters after a Nwaukoni outlet pass was intercepted by Cardozo junior guard Shaquille Pearson.

As exhibited by this one play, the Judges were extremely unselfish with the ball throughout the contest, finding gaps in the Edison defense for second and third passes to earn high-percentage shots at the cylinder

The third phase ended with a 18-point advantage for Cardozo, 60-42.

The Judges continued the routing by outscoring the Inventors 32-15 in the fourth quarter. At the 3:33 mark of the final phase, the Judges notched its highest point differential of the game, 81-51, on a 3-pointer by Walters.

"We wanted to show everybody what we got," said Rhoomes. "So, everybody went out there, played hard, did what we had to do, and it's on to the next one now."

Cardozo had four players in double figures. Rhoomes finished with about 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, while Brunson netted, roughly, 16 points.

Shelton Mickell and Walters each finished with approximately 15 points a piece. Mickell recorded three 3-pointers in his second-half performance.

Edison's Egharevba scored, roughly, 13 points and grabbed nine boards, while teammate Nwaukoni posted about 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

In other Top Ten action:

#4 Boys & Girls defeats Robeson, 77-64. Antoine Slaughter scored 17pts along with 13 assists. Leroy Isler scored 21pts and pulled 11rebs.

#6 Abraham Lincoln took down ENY Transit Tech, 75-67. Shaquille Stokes led with 23pts. Kimari Murphy scored 12pts with 11rebs in his first game.

#8 Thomas Jefferson stomped Canarsie, 69-41. Eric Turpin scored 21pts with 13rebs. Shamel Williams hit 16pts with 13 rebs. Davontay Grace DNP due to ankle injury and is out indefinitely.

#9 Wings cruised past Gompers, 76-54.