O.S.L. Wins The E.B.C.
HARLEM, NY – The Entertainers Basketball Classic at the famous Rucker Park reached its apex on Thursday as Our Savior Lutheran and Cardinal Hayes faced off in the High School championship. The path to the finale for both teams was treacherous but when the dust settled, the independent school from the Bronx toppled the CHSAA champions, 96 – 72.
The always feisty Cardinal Hayes knocked off Christ the King in the semifinal round while O.S.L. decimated Archbishop Stepinac. Although undersized, early on it appeared as if the Cardinals would be able to keep pace with Lutheran utilizing its speed after perimeter shots from Adonis Fishburn, Jared Rhoden and Posh Alexander gave OSL a 11 – 4 advantage.
6'4" Terry Dawkins ‘18, who normally played as an undersized big man with Hayes last season, put his newfound backcourt game on display. Joe Toussaint, last season’s Catholic school’s MVP, along with solid defense by his teammates propelled Hayes on a 12 – 3 run that gave them their first lead.
Lutheran started to inch back into the game after trailing by a point to start the second quarter as Rhoden and Alexander went on the attack by land and by air with high flying dunks. Down by 4 points with 2 minutes left in the half, Hayes tried to end the quarter with a run but Rhoden and Fishburn turned the tables, extending Lutheran’s lead to 48 – 40 at the midway point.
The OSL lead grew to double-digits before Hayes offered a response when Jontay Williams made things happen. Hayes cut their deficit to 4 points with 5:30 remaining in the third quarter but back to back alley opps to Alexander who alley-opped to Rhoden for the dunk set the crowd off and shifted the momentum in Lutheran’s favor for good.
Trailing by 15 points heading into the final quarter, Hayes unraveled. 4:48 was left in regulation and the Cardinals were now in a 21-point sinkhole. With Hayes’s fate all but sealed, team play devolved into a one-on-one contest between Alexander and Toussaint. A battle that 5’10” Alexander would win handily with his acrobatic slam dunks. Overall however, Toussaint put up more points on the board.
Rhoden paced Our Savior Lutheran with 30 points with Alexander and Dashawn Davis netting 19 points each. Toussaint was the high man for Hayes with 28 points with Dawkins adding 23 points and double-digit rebounds.
