PSAL Playoffs (2nd Round): Bowne Puts Robeson Down
FLUSHING, NY -John Bowne has had a nice season this year. The Wildcats moved up from the A division and proved to be a force in their first year in Queens AA. They were runners-up in the league, but they did win the Borough Championship. Because of that, John Bowne H.S. was rewarded with the 3rd seed. It means Bowne is expected to make it to the semifinals, but they have to get there first.
Bowne trailed Robeson early in the fourth quarter before going on a 15-0 run to close out Paul Robeson H.S.. Eventually Bowne went on to win 70-57 and advance to the quarterfinal round. Last season in the A division, they made it to the semis. Bowne’s head coach John Tsapelas said his team was confident even though he admitted the AA was a different animal.
“We’re young, we’re energetic, we don’t back down from anybody” Tsapelas said after the game. “We didn’t have a great game today, but nonetheless, we wore them down and we pulled it out in the end”
The game was close throughout. Robeson had a strong first quarter and led 16-13 after the first 8 minutes. Then the game got really exciting in the 2nd period. Both teams had players who were scorching the nets from deep. A three by Robeson senior guard Keith Swinson gave Robeson a 24-18 lead with 4:45 left in the first half. It forced Bowne into a timeout, but they came out of that break on fire and went on an 11-2 run.
Sophomore guard Alejandro Vasquez immediately hit a deep three from the right elbow. Senior guard Roderick Fennell (9 points) followed with a right corner pocket three, and then Vasquez made the crowd go into a mini-frenzy after draining another triple and giving his team a 27-26 lead. The run was finished after small forward Christian Hinckson was able to score inside after driving into the lane.
But Swinson stole the show in the period. He drained 4 more bombs from behind the arc. He was on fire. He hit three of them from the right side, the last one out of the corner and giving his team a 38-36 lead going into the half. Swinson eventually finished with a game high 28 points, 17 of them in the 2nd.
The teams grinded it out the entire third period and Bowne was the team on top when the fourth started. An inside basket by junior Taiquan Benjamin gave the Eagles a 51-50 lead. However, a put back by sophomore big man Teequan Holley gave Bowne the lead for good. It also was the beginning of their huge 15-0 final run. Most of the points were scored from the charity stripe as the referees were kept busy. But the end of the run involved two big baskets. One was an out of control, full court drive by another sophomore, forward Kareem Reid. Reid slipped and dribbled all the way from the mid court stripe, going once behind his back, to get all the way to the rim. Reid missed the shot but grabbed the rebound and scored.
Also, senior guard Stephan Mcleish, made a three from the right side of the court after a mad scramble near the sideline and the ball found its way into Mcleish’s hands. It had to be a nice moment for the guard to be able to contribute because Mcleish appeared to be battling cramps for most the game. Still he was able to get his legs working and he delivered when he was needed. His triple basically put the fork into Robeson. So, a tough game generally turned into an easy one in the span of a couple of moments.
Hinckson was the high scorer for Bowne, netting 22 points for Bowne. Vasquez, who is the one that inspires the most ooh’s and ahs by the student spectators, was able to drop 20 points himself.
Bowne’s nice season continues, and is expected to continue, for a little while longer. The committee believes they should get as far as the semis, so anything less will be a disappointment. But perhaps the most important thing besides the ability to make it to Madison Square Garden for the championship is the ability to win the championship.
Bowne is one of the few teams in the city that passes the eye test. They are legit contenders for the city title. They have some good players and they passed their first test today. They passed with a little struggle, but they pulled it out in the end.
