Teams jockey for position as iS8/Nike heats up

SOUTH RICHMOND HILL, NY- Close and competitive matchups were the story of the day at the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens as the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic shifted over to their secondary site for the action on Sunday, action that from start to finish was high quality and top notch.

Several top stars from New York and New Jersey took to the court on Sunday as teams are now jockeying for playoff position as the tournament nears the end of the regular season.

There ended up being four contests on Sunday, with the final game of the day ultimately done in by a forfeit, but the action in the games that were played was strong, and with NYCHoops.net in attendance from start to finish, here is a recap of the play from Sunday.

The opening game of the day pitted some of Long Island's best talent against The Rens, a team exclusively featuring players from Christ the King H.S.

After a loss last week to Robeson H.S., the Royals were looking to get back on the winning iS8 track, but Savion Lewis (Half Hollow Hills East '18) proved to be too tough to tame as the Thunderbirds standout had 27 points to help propel Team Long Island to the 12-point victory.

It was a sloppy start for both teams as the 9am tip seemed to cause both teams to struggle, with Quaran McPherson '18 being the first player to really find a rhythm enabling Christ the King to push out to an early 11-6 lead.

That lead soon evaporated though as Julien Crittendon (Half Hollow Hills East '18) was able to counter with a three ball of his own, and with Zed Key (Brentwood '20) taking advantage of a Royals frontline that was missing both Kofi Cockburn '19 and Moussa Cissa '21, Team Long Island began to take command, pushing past Christ the King to take a double-digit lead with just over 6 minutes to go in the second quarter.

Lewis was the catalyst as he was able to get by any defender that was put in front of him, showing off great foot speed and impressive handle going left and right to eventually give Team Long Island a lead of as big as 15.

Christ the King rebounded well though as the half wound down with Phillps Joseph '19 stretching out and knocking down perimeter jumpers from the corners, and with a late Tyson Walker '18 triple, the deficit for the Royals was just 36-29 at the break.

With the momentum on their side heading into the third quarter, Christ the King knew maintaining that in the opening minutes of the half would be crucial, but Lewis again was tough to stop in transition, and with Tyrone Lyons (St. Anthony's '18) getting into the act for Team Long Island with an alley oop slam off a feed from Lewis, the lead just three minutes in was once again back up to 10 for the team from Suffolk County.

Even when Christ the King forced the ball out of Lewis' hands, he was able to find Key or Lyons from the elbows, with both of the two wing forwards showing that from the midrange they were just as tough to stop.

Up by 13 heading into the fourth, Team Long Island kept their foot on the gas and built the lead up to as much as 19 with just a couple minutes to go, though Ryan Myers '20 was a major bright spot for Christ the King as he was able to do damage from long range, as well as show the ability to drive and finish going towards the rim.

It was Team Long Island's day though as with Lewis leading the way with 27 points, and Key and Lyons adding 16 and 15 points respectively, they were able to take down Christ the King, 73-61.

Myers had a team high 19 points for the Royals in the defeat showing he is ready to be a major contributor this season for Christ the King, while Joseph finished up with 14 points of his own as well.

In the game that proved to be the most dramatic of the day, 1 Spot held a lead for much of this one, only to see Castle storm back in the closing minutes to pull out a hard fought 1-point win.

It was raining three's early on for 1 Spot as Rob Higgins (Middletown North, NJ '19) was feeling it with 3 threes’ in the opening quarter as he helped push his team to an early 9-point lead.

Souleymane Koureissi (Iona Prep '18) showed off versatility on the Castle end of the floor with improved range from the outside, while Larry Moreno (Brooklyn Law and Tech '18) was dangerous not just from long distance, but also in attacking the basket in transition as well.

Castle did fight back after trailing by as much as 11 in the opening half to grab a one-point lead after a Koureissi three with 2:56 to go in the first half, but Darius Lee (St. Raymond '18) came right back on the other end in putting back a Higgins miss to put 1 Spot back in front, a lead they didn't relinquish again in the half.

Higgins and Ali Sumareh (South Bronx Prep '18) were both hot from long distance, and Isah Mohammed (St. Benedict's, NJ '20) proved to be a dominating defensive force down low, and that trio combined allowed 1 Spot to go into the half maintained a 38-36 lead.

Every time it seemed as if 1 Spot was going to pull away, Castle managed to hang in and stay just close enough to make things challenging. Higgins connected on 3 threes’ in the third quarter, building the lead back up for 1 Spot to 10 at 56-46, but then because of sloppy turnovers and missed opportunities inside, Castle would close the quarter on a 9-0 run to make it a one-point game heading to the fourth.

Koureissi and David Grady (Brooklyn Law and Tech '18) were the backbone of the 3rd quarter run by Castle, but just as quickly as they were back in the game, 1 Spot was able to once again regain what looked to be control.

Higgins connected on a driving layup at a pair of defenders down low, and then back to back putbacks by Lee inside saw the 1 Spot lead grow back to a comfortable territory, but only until it wasn't again.

That's because Castle's Victor Ogbo (Brooklyn Law and Tech '18) got in good positions for a pair of putbacks, and when Koureissi went all the way off a defensive rebound, pushing the ball up the court himself for a bucket with 1:45 to play, Castle had retaken the lead at 67-66.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth in the final minute of play and it looked as if a pair of FT's from Higgins with 19 seconds to play would be enough. Moreno fouled him in the backcourt when it looked as if 1 Spot was holding for the final shot.

Moreno got his revenge though as he was fouled going to the rim with under 6 seconds to play, calmly sinking both to give Castle back the lead at 71-70, and while Higgins had a look on a runner over two defenders, the shot fell off the side of the iron as time expired to give Castle Athletics the hard fought 71-70 victory.

It was a 22-point game for Koureissi as he paced Castle in the win, while the Brooklyn Law and Tech duo of Moreno and Ogbo contributed 15 and 13 points respectively for the winners as well.

In defeat it was Higgins who had 26 points to lead 1 Spot, while Sumareh had 14 points, showing to be a difference maker on both ends of the floor.

It was a 1-1 day for 1 Spot as in their other game on the day they found a way to come back from a deficit of as big as 11 in the 3rd quarter to come back and comfortably down Positive Direction by 11.

A pair of Queens H.S. of Teaching stars in Dwight Reed '18 and Tayejon Lynch '18 got Positive Direction off to a positive start as they were able to meet 1 Spot's long-distance shooters and get off to a strong start, going up 39-34 at halftime.

While the outside forces were going strong for PD Nation, the interior players were holding their own as well as the Our Savior Lutheran bigs of Amadou Syllla '18 and Bernard Kouma '19 were able to get in positions to finish down low, pushing the Positive Direction lead to 48-37 with 5:58 to go in the 3rd.

From that point on though it seemed as if the switch went off for 1 Spot as Sumareh was more aggressive off the dribble, and did a nice job pulling up and knocking down baseline jumpers, and with Mohammed stepping up to block shots and be a defensive stopper, 1 Spot eventually crawled back into the game.

They got the game even at 57 after 3 quarters, and from that point on the game was all 1 Spot's as Positive Direction went stone cold from the floor, going the entire 4th quarter without connecting from the floor, with Lynch's 2 FT's the only points they would score in the final 8 minutes of play.

A putback inside by Mohammed gave 1 Spot the lead in the early moments of the 4th, and from there they got strong play from everyone with great ball movement and getting excellent looks at the basket, connecting more often than not as they would pull away down the stretch for the 71-59 victory.

Four 1 Spot players finished in double digits with Sumareh scoring 18 points, Higgins adding 14 points, and Lee and Mohammed each putting in 10 in the win.

Lynch and Reed both scored 14 points for PD Nation in the defeat, while Sylla showed great finishing abilities in the paint to add 10 points.

Another game with a big momentum shift, 2 The Rack, a team compromised completely of Springfield Gardens H.S. players, had a lead as great as 16, and led by 13 at the half with the offense clicking on all cylinders with Felo Niclas '18 and Thomas Jefferson transfer Tyrik Mitchell '19 each connecting on 3 three balls in the opening half.

They scored 42 points as a team in the opening 16 minutes of game action, but with Jose Perez (Putnam Science Academy '18*) and Jaylen Murray (Cardinal Hayes '20) picking up the offense and scoring a combined 34 points in the second half, Road to Riches were able to close the gap, and eventually take the lead with 3:02 left in the 3rd quarter.

2 The Rack never allowed the game to get away from them as Stanley Silien '20 became a strong offensive weapon from the midrange and deeper, but Perez wouldn't let his team be denied, and with Stephen Takyi (James Monroe '18) scoring 8 in the final quarter himself, they were able to hold on and come away with the 75-69 win.

Perez would finish with 28 points, while Murray and Takyi had 20 points and 19 points each in the come from behind victory as well for Road to Riches.

Niclas had 21 points for Springfield Gardens in the loss, while Mitchell looks as if he will be a valuable contributor for the Eagles after playing for the Orange Wave last season, adding 17 points of his own in defeat.

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