South Shore Bullies Brooklyn Collegiate
BROOKLYN, NY - Its early in the season, so now’s the time to make a statement. South Shore hosted Brooklyn Collegiate for both team’s second game of the season. It was the home team that was able to make a statement, and it started early. The Vikings jumped out to a 14-2 lead after the tip and rode that early momentum to a convincing 77-61 win over Brooklyn Collegiate.
South Shore got a significant effort from multiple players, with each player seemingly taking turns doing something productive. There were a few who highlighted the win with outstanding play. Sekou Sylla ‘18 was the tone setter, the senior guard scoring 9 points in the first quarter to get the Vikings out of the gate. He led the team in scoring with 22 points. Isaiah Richards ‘19, a junior forward, was an absolute beast, continuously blocking shots all over the place. Richards (12 points) dominated the game defensively, not letting the opposing big men get anything going. An assistant coach estimated it had to be, unofficially, at least 10 blocks.
Then there was junior guard Femi Odukale ‘19 who had two tremendous dunks in the 2nd half, with both dunks causing the crowd to react wildly after Odukale (9 points) executed the assault on the rim. High school students started to holler, cheerleaders started running around in circles, and even Brooklyn Collegiate fans started running up and down the bleachers. Two brief moments of insanity.
Defense was the key to South Shores fast start, and it remained the main theme throughout the game. Brooklyn Collegiate faced a full-court press and couldn’t keep possession of the ball. South Shore acted like kleptomaniacs in a department store with no cameras or security guards. They made it extremely difficult for the Lions to get the ball up the floor. BC guards looked skilled enough to be able to handle pressure, but not this evening. They couldn’t move it off the bounce, with the pass, and if they did get near the basket, somebody was there to block the shot.
The first quarter was easily won by South Shore, but the score was still close at 17-12. The second quarter saw them get a little cushion highlighted by Sylla scoring 6 points in a row on his own mini-run. They built a 32-19 lead halfway through the period, but BC fought back, and the teams were still separated by 5 points at halftime.
The score was 32-27 when the 3rd quarter began. South Shore went on a 19-5 run and blew the game open during that time. Junior guard Kadary Richmond ‘19 scored 7 of the first 10 points in the run, including a three and a nasty crossover and drive for a lay-up. Richmond finished with 13 points. With about 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the last act of the show began.
Odukale finished a fast break dunk where an unfortunate soul decided to jump when he shouldn’t have. He will remain nameless to protect his feelings. He got slammed on and the crowd lost their minds for a second. He got fouled and made the free throw. On the next offensive possession Sylla drove baseline and found Richards for a powerful dunk. The trifecta came when Odukale got his second dunk, a two-handed tomahawk where he got well above the rim and flushed it. The crowd lost their minds for another few moments.
That was when you saw the air go out of the Brooklyn Collegiate balloon. Three dunks in a row, and all three of them would have been impressive in a college gym executed by college players. Brooklyn Collegiate came to compete, and they played hard. They were led by junior guard Glen Anderson’s 20 points. They just couldn’t overcome the tenacious defense, or stop the offensive attack of South Shore at all.
Teams want to make a statement because this is the best time to do it, when the season is fresh. South Shore was pretty good against Brooklyn Collegiate. The win made them 2-0 in this young season.
