SNY Invitational Semis Exceed the Hype

NEW YORK, NY - Friday was the opening day of the 9th annual SNY Invitational at City College. Not only did both games not disappoint, one provided a major upset for a tournament regular that has yet to be subjected to a consolation game.

The St. Anthony Friars, coached by the legendary Bob Hurley, were riding a 41-game winning streak before losing to the Patrick School (NJ). Even with that loss and another out -of-state loss, the Friars were 11 – 2 this season coming into their game against a struggling Ravens team.

After getting manhandled by Archbishop Molloy earlier in the week, the prevailing thought wasn’t if St. Ray’s was going to lose but how much they were going to lose by. Beating the Ravens up would simply be a stepping stone for St. Anthony’s to get back to their winning ways, right?

It would indeed be a stepping stone. A stepping stone for the Friars to play the consolation round for the first time of its participation in the event as the Ravens somehow, someway eeked out a 64 – 63 win overcoming incredible odds.

“I told our guys, we’ve got to be disciplined on both sides of the court,” said Ravens head coach Jorge Lopez. “Traditionally, St. Anthony’s is a tough scrappy team and something we needed to do is be tougher than them.”

With starter Dallas Watson ‘18 out with for the season with a broken arm, the Ravens were already in an uphill battle but when their two go-to-guys Isaiah Washington ‘17 and Omar Silverio ‘18 had shooting woes, it made the possibility of winning a herculean task but Darius Lee said he wasn’t going to let those obstacles deter him. “I wanted to win this game so badly because this is the biggest thing I’ve played in in my life so far and I felt like I had to get my name out there,” said Lee.

The junior forward got the ball rolling for St. Raymond, scoring back-to-back three-pointers as the Ravens pushed the pace. 6’2” Alexander Rice ‘19 finally countered for St. Anthony but Washington drained another three for the Ravens lifted them up 9 – 3. St. Ray’s still led by six points to start the second quarter.

An assist from Washington to 6’5” Nick Rivera ‘18 kicked off the quarter but the Friars began to surge as Nigel Marshall ‘19 began assert himself in the paint. The 6’5” sophomore guard singlehandedly closed the gap to 2 points with 2:26 left in the half but the Ravens fought back. An and-1 by Silverio along with baskets by 6’1” Khari Taylor ’19 and Watson’s younger brother DeMarcus Watson ‘19 more than counter the Friars output by 6’0” RJ Cole ‘17 and Rice. A buzzer beating 3-ball by 5’6” Anthony Monti ‘18 sent St. Ray’s into the halftime locker still up, 30 24.

The expectation of most were for St. Anthony to come out of the locker room to start the second half with brilliant strategic adjustments because after all, we’re talking about a team that rivals the UConn women’s basketball team in winning percentage. In the third quarter, the Friars would not disappoint.

Ramping up the pace, St. Anthony’s went at the Ravens with a sense of urgency. Led by Marshall, 6’2” Itheil Horton ‘18 and Cole, the Friars went on a tear. Rice eventually gave St. Ant’s its first lead at 41 – 40 with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

St. Raymond’s hole grew to 6 points and was in danger of widening but Lee kept the Ravens within striking range. Only down two, as three-point Hail Mary at the buzzer by Horton extended St. Ray’s deficit to 52 – 47 entering the final round.

With Washington shooting poorly at 5 for 13 and Silverio at 2 of 9, Lee put the team on his back, getting a steal driving to the hole on two occasions to knot the game at 58 with 2:16. Cole would respond with a runner but Lee and Rivera netted back to back to retain the lead for St. Ray’s and for the first time you saw it in the Friars eyes -Desperation.

Down by a bucket and emerging from a time-out, St. Anthony tried to run sets to get open but fell prey to the one aspect of New York State basketball that makes it more high pressured than New Jersey basketball. The shot clock violation. Unable to get a shot off in time, the turnover put the ball back in hands of the Ravens with 6.9 seconds left in regulation.

The Friars fouled Washington who promptly made both free-throws. Down by four, 5'11" Brandon Redondo '18 did net a trey at the buzzer but it was too little too late.

Washington led St. Raymond with 23 points with Lee adding 18 points and 9 rebounds. Cole was the high scorer for St. Anthony with 17 points. Marshall contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds.

The theme of role players stepping up continued into the second semifinal game of the SNY Invitational. In a hard-fought match, The Royals would come from behind to prevail over the Mt. Vernon Knights, 60- 55 thanks to input from younger players.

It would be a battle of the big men as Greg Calixte ‘17 put Mount Vernon on the score board first with a power move inside followed by basket and a dunk from Kofi Cockburn ‘19. Both sides fought hard but baskets by Noah Morgan ‘17 and Demetre Roberts ‘18 gave the Knights the early 5-point advantage after the first quarter.

Complicating matters for Christ the King was the mounting foul trouble on its senior point guard Jose Alvarado ‘17. Early in the second quarter the Georgia Tech-bound team leader was already saddled with 3 fouls and forced to sit but the Royals turned a negative into a positive.

Tyson Walker ‘18, who ran the point when Alvarado sat told his fearless leader that he had his back. “I told him that we need him. That this was his team and he had to step up big. No more fouls.” Alvarado would pick up his fourth but played gingerly for the remainder of the game.

Paced by Walker and sparked by a three-ball by 6’3” Jaylen Davis ‘19, the Royals pulled to within four points. A three-ball from 6’6” Phillips Joseph ‘19 then ignited a 13 – 0 run that gave Christ the King a 35 – 26 halftime lead.

Mt. Vernon did manage to close the gap to 7 points at the end of three quarters but Alvarado, Cockburn and Walker kept extending its lead back to double-digits. Never fully recovered from the Royals run in the second quarter, Mt. Vernon made one final attempt while down 57 – 47 with 1:50 left. An 8 – 1 run by Knights cut Christ the King’s lead to three-points but subpar free-throw shooting by the Knights put the final nail in their coffin.

“That team that was out there was next year’s team,” said Royals coach Joe Arbitello applauding their ability to handle adversity. “The young guys are becoming fearless.”

Walker paced Christ the King with 17 points and 7 assists with Davis and Cockburn adding 11 points/3 assists and 10 points 9 rebounds respectively. Morgan led Mount Vernon with 15 points and 7 rebounds with Calixte adding 14 points and 6 rebounds.

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