BROOKLYN, NY- Conventional wisdom says it's quite rare to see a Class A school have a top four seed and the chance to host a Class AA school in the PSAL Borough Playoffs, but that's exactly what happened this year in Brooklyn as the #3 seed was Class A power Brooklyn Law and Tech, giving them the right to host #6 seed, Class AA Paul Robeson, at the Hebrew Educational Society in Canarsie.
It was a chance to show those who may not yet believe in Law and Tech that they can compete with the best of the best in the PSAL, and with Larry Moreno '18 going off for 6 threes and a game high 28 points, the Jets were able to make a statement and ground the Eagles on Tuesday, 73-70 in the Brooklyn Borough Quarterfinals.
Law and Tech head coach Kenny Pretlow admitted that he has heard from people who thought that the Jets being the 3 seed in the PSAL Brooklyn Borough Playoffs was too high. With Thomas Jefferson being the 4 seed, Boys and Girls the 5 seed, and Robeson the 6 seed, all being AA schools, he said there was a thought by some that they didn't play anyone this season, and didn't deserve the chance to have a home game on their home court.
He believed those people were all wrong though, believing that his team was always capable of playing against the best, though with so many people still feeling it was a reach to have Brooklyn Law and Tech as the 3 seed, Moreno said that it was time for the Jets to go out and make a statement to the haters.
"We just try to prove everyone wrong because they keep saying we are an A school and shouldn't be seeded 3rd so we are just trying to prove everyone wrong," Moreno said about the motivation going into Tuesday's game.
The game began as a true back and forth contest, like two boxers trading shots back and forth. The size advantage inside for Robeson was big as both Abou Ousmane '19 and Prentice Miller '18 were able to score on second chances against the undersized Law and Tech front line, but the perimeter shooting of the Jets were able to keep the game close.
With 3:46 to go in the half, a corner three by Moreno gave Law and Tech a 28-24 lead, but Miller was able to take over for the Eagles in the final three minutes of the quarter as he scored 8 points in that time span, with 6 of those points coming on putbacks down low that were able to give Robeson momentum going into the half as they went up 35-30 at the break.
Down but not out, Moreno said the message from the coaching staff at the half was to buckle down on defense, and make shots.
It was a simple message, but one that Pretlow felt was necessary as he admitted that they practice on perimeter shooting a lot, and felt that more was needed in the second half, while he also felt the defensive intensity wasn't to where it needed to be, wanting his Jets to step it up if they wanted to come out of this one was a win.
While most know the likes of Moreno, Mikko Johnson '17, and Victor Ogbo '18 on Brooklyn Law and Tech, the star of the 3rd quarter for the Jets was little known Joseph Pena '19 as the undersized forward was able to knock down 3 of the 4 three point attempts he took in the quarter, rallying Law and Tech from down 5 at the half, to up 3 after three.
Having not been playing organized basketball for very long according to Pretlow, the extra time in the gym that Pena has put in over the course of this season came up huge on Tuesday as he was an underrated weapon whose contributions were enormous in terms of allowing the Jets to the lead back on their side heading to the 4th.
Pena may have carried them for a stretch in the 3rd, but the 4th quarter for most of this season has been Moreno time, and with the game still in doubt, it was the 5'10" left guard who rose to the challenge knocking down three consecutive three balls, with all coming from nearly the exact same spot to give Law and tech a 59-49 lead with 5:39 to play.
It was a huge momentum shift towards the Jets, and when Moreno has that feeling the way he did during that stretch, Pretlow says it's always best to feed him the ball.
"Larry when he gets on fire like that I say let's just go to his side because that kid locks in," Pretlow explained. "And when he locks in he is unstoppable."
He was close to unstoppable for a near 4-minute span in the 4th quarter, but Robeson to their credit didn't back down as they came roaring back with Aquarn Butler '18 and Keith Swinton '17 both connecting from long range, with the guards also able to find more room to get to the rim when Ogbo fouled out with just over 3 minutes to go in the game as well.
In the closing minutes, it was Pretlow's hope that the Jets could just weather the storm with Ogbo out of the game, and the interior presence for Law and Tech nearly completely gone. The Eagles were able to get good looks at the rim late, and while the Jets were solid from the FT line for the most part, Moreno did miss two FT's with 6.7 seconds left in a 73-70 game giving Robeson one last chance.
Swinton pushed the ball up the floor and was able to get a decent look just before the buzzer sounded, but it hit off the right side of the iron, missing just slightly to allow Brooklyn Law and Tech to pull off one of their biggest wins in school history, knocking off Paul Robeson, 73-70.
It was a sharpshooting effort for the ages for the Jets as Moreno had an aforementioned game high 28 points, hitting on 6 three pointers, while Pena added 14 points, connecting on 4 three pointers.
The dynamic shooting duo weren't alone though as Ogbo was able to finish with a solid 12 points and 12 rebounds, and even though he may not have had a major scoring performance, Johnson was able to contribute a little bit of everything by scoring 9 points, dishing out 15 assists, and grabbing 8 rebounds in the victory.
For Robeson, they had a balanced scoring attack that was led by Swinton and his 17 points, while Miller added 16 points, with Ousmane and Butler each chipping in with 14 points apiece as well in the hard-fought defeat.
A sure-fire statement had to be made to the rest of Brooklyn, and the PSAL overall that Brooklyn Law and Tech are absolutely the real deal as they knocked off a Class AA team to prove they are without a doubt among the best teams the PSAL has to offer.
Getting a win was without a doubt special to this group of Jets, as they will now hit the road to take on South Shore on Thursday in the Brooklyn Borough Semifinals, and while Pretlow doesn't know what will happen against the Vikings, he is just happy to be have more games to play, and see what else his team can do.
"It's just Law and Tech playing. It's extra games instead of having 3 weeks or whatever off until the City Playoffs, so we go play some AA schools and raise some hell."
