PSA Cardinals Hand NY Rens First Defeat
BROOKLYN, NY - It was fitting that a matchup between the PSA Cardinals and the New York Rens closed out the opening session of the Nike EYBL Session One held this weekend at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
A pair of local area teams, both of whom were 2-0 to start their EYBL campaigns squaring off for NYC supremacy, and with 50+ Division 1 coaches surrounding the court watching it proved to be a game that very much lived up to the hype.
While most of the top players for each team played well, the game ended up being a showcase for proving just how good PSA Cardinals big man Mohamed Bamba (Westtown, PA '17) truly is as the 6'11" forward finished the game with 16 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 blocks in dominant effort to help his squad pull away late for the 63-55 victory.
In a game filled with future high major stars it was The Rens who got out to the quick lead as Jordan Tucker (Archbishop Stepinac '17) and Jordan Nwora (The Park School '16) each were able to knock down long range threes from the wings in the opening minutes to give their team an 8-3 lead.
PSA came back on the other end with a two handed throw down by Bamba, and then Quade Green (Neumann-Goretti, PA '17) was able to drive and attack the rim and finish strong to see the Cardinals close the gap to 2 with just over 5 minutes to go in the half.
Jose Alvarado (Christ the King '17) was able to make a strong move to the rim himself and finish over defenders, while Nwora would knock down his second 3 of the half as well, but the size of PSA started to take control as the opening half wound down.
Bamba was able to eventually give PSA Cardinals their first lead of the game with 3:26 to go in the half with another dunk, and then Deng Gak (Blair Academy, NJ '17) got involved and finished strong inside as the dynamic duo of 6'11" big men were able to use their size advantage over a smaller Rens team and build a 6 point lead at 27-21 in the closing seconds of the half.
A big bucket came just when The Rens needed it though as just before the buzzer sounded, star guard Hamidou Diallo (Putnam Science Academy, CT '17) was able to hit on a three from the left wing to see them down just 27-24 at the half.
The problem that The Rens were having was on the glass, though a great shooting performance in the 1st half was saving them and keeping them within striking distance of the Cardinals.
Behind buckets from Bamba on a putback and a short jumper from guard Walter Whyte (St. Luke's, CT '17), PSA built their biggest lead of the game at 33-25 early in the 3rd and it seemed to be a point where The Rens could be in trouble, but that's when Tucker came down off a timeout and connected on another important triple for his team to bring momentum back to their side.
It was back to back to back threes by The Rens as the run was closed out by Nwora's 3rd three of the game to see the deficit once again down to just 2, but when a play needed to be made there always seemed to be Bamba, this time getting out in transition and throwing down yet another big time dunk to push the lead to 38-34.
The game was brought back to even at 40 after Nwora's 4th three, but even though The Rens were making the most of their opportunities from long range, they were giving up some of their own as Green would come back down on the PSA end and rattle home a 3 ball of his own to put the Cardinals back on top, and it's a lead they never relinquished again.
To The Rens credit they kept it close for the whole game, and were even within 3 late, but Bamba grabbing an Alvarado runner out of the air punctuated just how tough it seemed for them to make any headway trying to get to the rim, and when the long balls started to rim out late in the game, PSA were able to pull away and take control.
Green was huge at the FT line late connecting on 9 of 10 from the charity stripe from the game, while Whyte and forward Hasahn French (Commonwealth Academy, MA '17) also proved to be vital. The Rens did have looked late but missed their last 5 three point attempts which all but sealed the deal late as the PSA Cardinals closed it out late to take New York City bragging rights in taking down a very talented New York Rens squad, 63-55.
Bamba didn't just have 16 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 blocks, but he shot 6 of 6 from the floor and was altering shots going to the rim left and right, causing problems for The Rens all over the floor. Green also had a double-double for the PSA Cardinals as he added 18 points and 11 assists, while both Whyte and guard Cole Anthony (Archbishop Molloy '19) added 7 points in the victorious effort.
For The Rens it was Diallo, who had some impressive throw downs and highlight reels dunks all weekend long, pacing the way with 17 points and 5 rebounds, while Tucker added 14 points and Nwora, who will be doing a postgrad year next season, chipped in with 12 points in what was a defeat, but a defeat that showed that they could compete with anyone in this there first Nike EYBL season.
The PSA Cardinals finish the first EYBL Session 3-0 joining another New York team in Albany City Rocks with an unblemished record, while The Rens fall to 2-1 heading to next weekend's second EYBL session which will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana where all the New York teams will once again look to make noise and prove that they are among the best EYBL teams in the country.
