Royals cruise receives some stormy weather
SOUTH RICHMOND HILLS, NY – In the final game of the day at the Boys & Girls Club, The Rens took on LVBR Beasts (PA) on Sunday at the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic. Even though the Rens were fully loaded with talent from the Christ the King Royals, LVBR didn’t travel for two and half hours to get their butts handed to them easily. While the Rens would eventually cruise to a 75 – 60 win, it was after a bumpy ride in the 3rd quarter.
The Rens jumped out to an 18 – 5 lead as Kofi Cockburn ‘19 dominated the paint with peripheral firepower from Tyson Walker ‘18, Ryan Myers ‘20 and Phillips Joseph ‘19. It appeared as if the LVBR Beasts were merely cruisin’ for a bruisin’.
The Beast bore the burden of The Rens’ abuse in the second quarter as well as sharpshooter Jaylen joined in the onslaught. Down by 16 points at the half, the Pennsylvania squad need to get mad and get even. Baskets by Tyler Henry, Zach Sobel, Savion Jackson and Bryce Dehl did just that.
A 17 – 0 run by the Beasts suddenly closed the gap to a deuce early in the third. While LVBR received balance offense, its defense is what got them into the game. Unfortunately for the out of state team, playing catch-up can be exhausting.
Baskets by Davis, Walker and Quaran McPherson ’20 along with a slew of dunks by Moussa Cissa ‘21 and collective defensive intensity reestablished Rens dominance with a 23-point advantage heading into the final quarter. The LVBR Beasts fought mightily in the fourth quarter but by that time had simply taken too many proverbial blows to the head, eventually losing by 15.
Cisse was high man for The Rens with 18 points with Walker and Davis adding 13 points and 10 points. Henry paced LVBR with 9 points.
