PSAL City Championships 2nd Round

BAYSIDE, NY -To start the second round of the playoffs, the Cardozo Judges took on Boys and Girls High School from Brooklyn, NY in Queens on Thursday. Even though it was a senior night for the Cardozo players, the Boys and Girls Kangaroos came out to play and were very energetic, while on the Dozo side there wasn’t as much noise.

Although, Boys and Girls won the tip-off, both teams were off to a very slow start. With more than over 2 minutes into the game, the two teams were tied at zero. About 3 minutes into the game, the Kangaroos were on the scoreboard with, guard Najee Scott ‘16 hitting a 3-ball, a fast break lay-up by, guard Nehemiah Boone ’16 and then another 3-pointer by the senior to have an 8-0 lead against the Judges.

Towards the middle of the first quarter, center Malachi Lewis ’17 was fouled and was able to knock down a pair of free throws to finally put the Judges on the scoreboard. Both guards, Aaron Walker ’16 and Dejavaughn Utley ’18 both started taking the ball into the paint. By the end of the first quarter, Boys and Girls lead Dozo 10-9.

Half way into the second quarter, Walker connects with a 3-ball to tie the game at 14 apiece. However, heading back down the other way, guard Gianni Ford ’16 was fouled and helped his team take a 16-14 lead again knocking down two free throws. As one of Cardozo’s floor generals, Rashond Salnave ‘16 ended up being fouled while finishing a lay-up, converting it into a 3-point play.

By this time, both teams were going back and forth while still playing incredible defense. Cardozo ended up leading Boys and Girls 24-21 at the half.

Entering the 3rd quarter, the Monmouth-bound Salnave hit a three-pointer to start it off immediately with Lewis also contributing a lay-up. On the other side, the Kangaroos weren’t scoring. Once the 3rd quarter ended with Cardozo still ahead of Boys & Girls with score of 42-38.

Entering the 4th quarter, Boone connected with two 3-pointers. The Kangaroos came back enough to have everyone on the edge of their seats. Boys and Girls tied the game with only a few second left remaining.

Walker, the savior for Cardozo over the last few games, came through again draining a 3-point buzzer beater from the far corner to give the Judges the three-point victory over Boys and Girls.

Aaron Walker finished with 21 points with Salnave contributing 12 points. Ford, who was the leading scorer for the Kangaroos, finished with a game high 27 points.

Salnave said after the game, “It feels like sophomore year because if everything goes to plan, we’ll have to face four Brooklyn teams to get to and win the [PSAL] city championship.”