Royals Avenge Loss; Take Out Ravens
The Christ the King Royals were able to avenge an early season loss with a playoff win over St. Raymond's on Thursday night in the CHSAA intersectional quarterfinals. The Middle Village School used a big third quarter to overtake the Bronx school and advance to the semifinals next Wednesday at St. John's University.
St. Raymond's was able to get off to a quick start against the Queens school by picking apart the Royals' zone defense. A put-back by Ravens big man Delroy Daley gave Coach Oliver Antigua's squad a 16-9 lead. Coach Antigua's team was able to do pretty much whatever they wanted offensively on their way to a 20-16 lead heading into the second frame.
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Christ the King was able to hang in the game thanks to the inside-outside weapons of seniors Ryan Pearson and Erving Walker.
The George Mason-bound Pearson, playing this game with his future head coach Jim Larranaga in attendance, was able to score inside to keep his team in the game but also found himself in foul trouble. Coach Bob Oliva decided to leave Pearson in with two fouls and got burned, when with 1:02 left in the first half, the wing-forward picked up his third foul. However, a lay up from junior guard Marion Smith tied the game at 31 heading into halftime. Ryan Pearson led all scorers with 13 points, while his fellow senior Walker chipped in with 6 points. West Virginia-bound Darryl Bryant led St. Ray's with 8 points in a balanced attack that also featured contributions from Delroy Daley (7 points) and Kevin Parrom (6 points).
Christ the King started the second half playing tougher inside, as they were able to jump out to a comfortable lead mid-way through the third quarter. A deep pull up three pointer from the Florida-bound Walker gave the Royals a 48-38 lead with 3:29 to go in the third quarter. St. Raymond's guards Omari Lawrence and Justin Alston were able to knock down several outside jump shots to keep the Ravens within arms reach, however the Royals were able to hold a 57-48 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Queens team was able to continue dictating the tempo of the game as the lead guard Erving Walker truly served as his teams "closer," as the head coach Oliva often calls him. Walker was able to break the St. Raymond's press single handedly on several occasions to keep the momentum in the Royals' favor. A lay-up from St. Raymond's junior forward Kevin Parrom curt the lead to 72-65 with 1:29 to go in the game, but that was as close as the Bronx school came, as the Royals were able to survive and advance with an 81-70 victory. Erving Walker and Ryan Pearson combined for 60 of their team's 81 points (Pearson with 33 points and Walker with 27 points). The Ravens were led by the junior guard Lawrence with 21 points, while the senior guard Bryant chipped in with 18 points in the losing cause.
Following the game, Coach Bob Oliva reflected not on the high point contributions of Pearson and Walker, but the impact that several of his role players need to make. "We need these other guys to step up and be able to contribute more than just defensively but they sometimes need to get their scoring going."
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