PSAL Semis Did Not Disappoint

FLUSHING, NY – Sunday at Queens College was a day of soring eagles and orange waves as the PSAL City Playoff semifinals took place to determine which two teams played in the championship on Friday at the Barclays Center. Two Eagle Academy squads entered the playoff arena having two bites of the apple but only one would earn the right to play on.

It was a grind it out process from start to finish as the Eagles battled the larger Viking’s team tooth and nail. South Shore was handing out a steady dose of offense as Kyrone Alexander ‘23 displayed his mastery of the backboard. Eagle Academy countered with perimeter scoring from Eddie Munyak ‘24 along with buckets from SF Trey Whitfield-Shepp ’23 but trailed by three points after the opening quarter.

“We’ve gotta pick up the intensity,” said Eagles head coach Kevin Hamilton, Jr. “We’ve got to crash!” The Bronx squad responded and started rebounding by committee. Their increased application of pressure on both ends of the court began to yield results. Transition baskets by Shepp along with baskets by Eric Acker ‘23 offset the seemingly unstoppable scoring by Alexander. Tied with seconds left in the quarter, an Acker dunk at the buzzer sent South Shore to its locker room at the half, trailing 24 – 22.

One might think the Eagles lead at the half against the defending PSAL champs was a fluke or simply a blimp on the screen. The harsh reality however is that South Shore never regained the lead again. Down two points at the end of the third quarter, the additional second half offense provided by Jarret Dingle along with Alexander was only a mask of the Vikings inability to match the Eagle’s fury.

With 3 minutes left to play, Eagle Academy II had amassed a 10-point advantage and South Shore never recovered. Shepp was the high scorer for Eagle Academy II with 16 points with Munyak and Acker contributing 15 points and 13 points respectively. Alexander paced South Shore with a game high of 27 points.

With Eagle Academy II winning the first semifinal match-up, it would now be incumbent for the Eagle Academy Eagles from the Bronx to create the first Eagle vs Eagle championship. To accomplish that feat however, the Eagles needed to defeat a Jefferson Orange Wave squad. A team that likens themselves to vicious dogs.

Jefferson applied wave after wave of relentless pressure and for three quarters, it appeared as if the Eagles were hanging tough. Jaryn Bull ’23 and Jaden Zimmerman ’23 were masterful at getting to Jefferson’s sweet spots and knocking down mid-range shots. The Orange Wave responded with a four guard plus one big line-up that was the definition of pit bulls.

Big man Anthony Isaac ’23 was a beast in the paint for Jefferson while Connor Savaughn-Sprattley ’25 and Tywan Evans attacked the Eagles frontcourt. After all was said and done, the combatants were tied at 29 at the midway point.

All indications pointed to smooth sailing for the Eagles who seemed to have withstood Jeffersons turbulence. They even held a two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but that was merely the calm before the storm.

With 6:42 left in play, Jefferson head coach yelled to his team “PRESSURE!!!” and his team immediately responded, swiftly unleashing a full court defense so brutal that small children should have been escorted out of the gym. With 1:43 left in regulation, the Eagles were suddenly in a 20 point hole. “We’re dogs,” said Pollard satisfied with the temperature increase of his team.

Anthony was the high man for Jefferson with 24 points. Sprattley and Evans netted 14 points apiece. Zimmerman led Eagle Academy with 20 points.

Thomas Jefferson will play Eagle Academy II in the PSAL Class “AA” Playoff Championship on Friday 3/17 at 7pm at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY