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PSAL Borough Championships (Part Two)

FLUSHING, NY -Cardozo and High School for Construction were the top two seeds in this year’s Queens borough championship. They both did what they were supposed to do and made the Queens final. They played each other twice this year in Queens AA matchups, and both times Cardozo came out the winner.

Familiarity with your opponent can be helpful and Construction was taking full advantage of that familiarity. The game was close throughout, and Construction led early in the fourth quarter. The fact that Cardozo was missing arguably their best player and the stage was set for Construction to finally beat Cardozo this season.

The stage was set, but the script didn’t change. Cardozo was able to regain the lead with a pair of three pointers and eventually pull away to win their 2nd Queens Borough Championship in the last 3 years. The final score was 64-55 in a game that was truly closer than the final score might indicate.

Ron Naclerio, head coach for Cardozo, was happy for the victory because he knew Construction would be a tough matchup for his team, but the players stepped up and played well.

“You got to be good, you got to be lucky. I think we were pretty good today. I think we made some of our luck… I take my hats off to Construction” Naclerio said after the game.

Marcus Hammond finished with 25 points
Marcus Hammond finished with 25 points (R. Rozier)
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Cardozo’s 6-2 senior guard Marcus Hammond did some work in this game. He basically picked up the Judges and put them on his slender shoulders, making big shots or the right pass at key moments all game long. Hammond, who recently committed to play for Niagara, finished with a game high 25 points.

In the second quarter it was almost like an individual battle between Hammond and Construction junior guard Ezra Burnett. Burnett made a triple in the period to give the Red Hawks a 24-20 lead. It was part of nine straight points by Burnett, but Hammond wasn’t about to be outdone. He answered Burnett’s three-pointer with a lay-up, beginning of his own personal 8 point run to close out the half. Hammond’s last bucket, a pull-up jumper, gave Cardozo a 28-27 lead at the intermission.

Construction controlled the game for most of the third quarter, with Burnett and fellow senior guard Legacy Wallace doing most of the damage. Wallace forced a Cardozo time out after finishing a fast-break and putting Construction on top 41-35. There was 2:28 left in the third and Hammond answered the bell once again.

Hammond finished a tough lay-up while getting fouled, even though he missed the free throw. Then he ended the quarter by finding junior Donte Ager in the right corner for a three. The quarter ended with Cardozo leading by a slim 42-41 score.

The fourth quarter began with Construction guard Jasiah Wright getting an old-fashioned 3-point play that made it 44-42. Wright finished with 19 for Construction, including 4 three-pointers. However, the Construction lead was short lived.

Naclerio said his team made their own luck, and that’s what they proceeded to do at that point. Junior guard Jaylen Davis (13 points) made a triple from the right elbow, and subsequently Ager made his second and last three of the game to put Cardozo up 48-44. Those were the two daggers that finally killed the beast, and Cardozo finished up strong, eventually coasting to a well-deserved 64-55 win.

“It’s a great team effort, it’s great to be Kings of Queens again, that’s one of our goals” Naclerio said. “We have another goal that…everybody dreams of… that we’ve done three times in my career. Could it be four? I don’t know”.

Cardozo will have a better chance at maybe winning Naclerio’s 4th city championship going forward. Dejavaughn Utley, one of Cardozo’s best players, will be finished with his 4-game suspension when the playoffs start. Utley was suspended for 4 games for his role in an altercation with Campus Magnet.

W.H.E.E.L.S. Win Manhattan Over Thurgood Marshall    

Washington Heights (W.H.E.E.L.S.) has become a regular participant in the final round of the Manhattan Borough Championship. On Saturday afternoon, Washington Heights ambushed Thurgood Marshall Academy early and held on a furious comeback late, to win the Manhattan Borough title for just the second time in school history.

Washington Heights held on for an 81-74 win after going up by as many as 18 points in the second half. Head coach Joshua Krinsky was asked how he and his team felt after winning the Manhattan title.

“This is great. We won this tournament 4 years ago and I thought we could win it every year” Krinsky said on the sideline after the game. “I realized how hard it is to win, and it took us four years to get back. We’ve been back, we’ve been here 4 out of the last 5 years but haven’t always closed it. But tonight, the guys really came together and closed it out.”

Ryan Pye
Ryan Pye (R. Rozier)

They definitely came together as 5 players scored in double figures. Junior guard Ryan Pye scored a game high 21 points for Washington Heights. Pye was on fire in the first half, making all 4 of his three pointers in that time frame. In general, the whole team dominated, and it didn’t look like it would be a game when Washington Heights went into halftime leading 42-29.

In the second half TMA made a big run to get back into the game. They cut a double digit lead all the way down to 2 points with 2 minutes left in the game. However, Washington Heights started to get put on the free throw line and they capitalized on their opportunities. They never lost their composure despite almost losing the entire lead they had jumped out to.

But according to Krinsky, the team has been through a lot this season.

“When our backs are against to the wall, we always bring our best.” Krinsky said.

They brought just enough of their best Saturday afternoon, and the result was the first Borough title in 5 years for Washington Heights.

Junior Francis Estrella scored 16 for Washington Heights, while senior guard Kevin Greene added 15 points of his own.

TMA was led by senior Justyn Huger, who scored 19 points while hitting 3 triples. Junior guard Jaylen Denny, who had a huge third quarter to get his team back into the game, finished with 18 points.

Recaps Part One

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