BROOKLYN, NY – On Saturday morning at the Barclays Center, the South Shore girl’s teams set the stage to what would be a clean sweep of the PSAL Class AA City Championships by both the girls and boys teams. After the Lady Vikings knocked off Murry Bergtram, the boys team followed suit, beating Benjamin Cardozo in a decisive 78 – 66 victory to collect their own Class AA championship hardware.
Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio said he did his usual intense advance scouting which included watching multiple South Shore games. Even with extensive prep and strategizing, he knew it would still be a heavy lift for his Judges against an athletic, lengthy and hungry Vikings squad. “Now they just have to execute,” he said about his team before the tip off.
The Vikings, however, immediately knocked Cardozo on its heels. A pull-up jumper by PG Kareem May ‘20 set the tone as Sekou Sylla ‘18, Feme Odukale ‘19 and Isaiah Richards ‘19 set the Judges back by 12 as the second quarter got underway.
Marcus Hammond ‘18 and Dejavaughn Utley ‘18 tried to close the gap but team turnovers and inferior rebounding on the offensive boards left them like a hamster on a wheel making no real head way. Coach Naclerio implored his players to rise above saying repeatedly throughout the game, “You gotta believe” but at the half, Dozo's deficit grew to 35 – 22.
The athleticism and height advantage of the Vikings was a constant obstacle for Cardozo to overcome and the Judges unprecedented 19 turnovers didn't help matters, almost always translated into transition buckets. Hammond led the way for the Cardozo in the third quarter but Odukale and Sylla countered relentlessly and Vikings lead grew to 20 points as the final quarter got underway.
As senior desperation began to set in, the Judges actually had one of their more effective offensive quarters. Utley knocked down shots as did Hammond and Collins Onyeike ‘18 but the Vikings mountain was just too high to climb. South Shore’s lead grew to 28 points as May grabbed an offensive rebound and dribble drived to score an and1 with 3:19 left in regulation. With about two minutes on the clock, the Vikings subbed out and held on for the win.
“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” said an emotional Vikings Coach Shawn Marc who said his team came out with an attitude of “we’re not gonna lose in Brooklyn today.”
Odukale who earned MVP honor led South Shore with 18 points and 6 rebounds with Sylla contributing 17 points and 3 rebounds. Richards had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Hammond led Cardozo with 21 points while Onyeike added a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
