Soumaoro powers Hayes over Molloy
BRIARWOOD, NY – The #10 ranked Molloy Stanners are dead set on moving up in the rankings Friday night’s game against the NYCHoops.net #9 ranked Cardinal Hayes was to be a steppingstone towards that goal.
Hayes’ 5’10” guard Julian Soumaoro ’20 had an alternate objective which was not to let that happen. When the Stanners seemed to be gaining momentum in the first half, the senior point guard took matters in his own hands, draining four of his seven three-pointers en route to a 66 – 62 win.
“We started good defensively and offensively and then it kinda started to die out so I had to step up and hit shots,” Soumaoro said.
The Cardinals set the stage shortly after the tip-off with 5 – 0 run capped off by an alley-op from Soumaoro to Shemani Fuller ’20. Molloy clapped back with buckets from Christian Bliss ‘23 and Speedy Carcamo ’20 and led by 6 points as the second quarter got underway.
Soumaoro quickly turned the tables, draining two sets of trey bombs that sparked a 14 -0 run. Molloy suddenly found themselves trailing 29 - 21 at the half.
The Stanners tried to close the gap in the second but by then, Cardinal Hayes had captured the momentum with Fuller and Toby Awaka ’22 dominating the boards.
“We have some of the premier big guys in the league with Awaka and Fuller,” said Hayes head coach Joe Lods. “I think you win games at the free throw line and on the glass.”
Down by 8 points as the final quarter got underway, Molloy made a run and Carcamo tied the game at 62 with 39.4 seconds left in regulation but subpar free throw shooting came back to haunt the Stanners down the stretch.
Awaka drew foul as time wound down but the 6’7” sophomore was almost pure from the charity stripe. While Soumaoro only netted one three-ball in the fourth, the point guard controlled the pace of the game.
“Julian is one of the most under recruited guards in the city,” said Lods. “I’m of the belief that height doesn’t measure heart. He leads the league in charges taken. He makes tough shot after tough shot. Defenses are focusing on him and the kid average 25 points per game.”
Soumaoro paced Hayes with 24 points with Awaka and Fuller adding 18 points and 12 points respectively. Bliss led Molloy with 24 points with Carcamo contributing 17 points.
