Thomas Jefferson Cashes A Reality Check

BROOKLYN, NY - Thomas Jefferson Campus was projected to be one of the top four teams in NYC by NYCHoops.net. With two Division One seniors at the helm in Shamorie Ponds '16 and Rasheem Dunn '16, the Orange Wave was expected to leave all opponents beached.

An opening season non-league home loss to then un-ranked Queens H.S. of Teaching in a tournament they hosted would throw a monkey wrench in that presumption.

"[In] that opening loss, my boys approached it like a scrimmage or like those guys was the Washington Generals," said Jefferson head coach Lawrence "Bud" Pollard referring to the team that the Harlem Globetrotters always beats. "They took it to us and outplayed us at home." Pollard vowed that will never happen again in his career.

The following day, Jefferson sought to avenge that loss and ended their run in the Hersh Tip-Off Classic by pounding Brooklyn Collegiate in a 46 point win. On Tuesday, the Orange Wave took on a hungry Bedford Academy squad who came into Jefferson's house hoping to repeat Q.H.S.T.'s feat but fell far short of that goal, losing 105-79.

During the warm-up quarter, it appeared as if Déjà vu might be happening all over again. Ponds was leading the charge, dropping 10 points but he was saddled with two quick fouls. Jefferson only led by 5 points at the end of the first quarter. The St. John's commit and team's leader was forced to sit out the remainder of the half leaving the outcome in the hands of his teammates.

The Orange Wave was up to the task as Curtis Smith '16 stepped up to the plate and delivered the lion's share of offense that propelled Jefferson to a 56-41 halftime advantage.

Bedford Academy put up an intense fight as Anthony Munson '16 powered the Panthers throughout the contest but they were extremely deficit in the frontcourt and were slowly but surely getting trampled inside. Frustration set in as Bedford Head Coach Robert Phelps and an assistant coach picked up technical fouls, contesting the physicality and their perceived lack of equity in foul calls.

By the end of the third quarter, the Orange Wave's lead had swollen to 21 points as Dunn chimed in along with Ponds who had reentered the game in the second half and continued where he left off.

In the final quarter, buckets from Munson along with Angelo Stuart '18 and PG Anthony Gibbs '16 closed the Panthers deficit to 85-69 with 7 minutes left in regulation but that's as close as they'd get. Few second chance opportunities due to the Panthers size disadvantages along with punishing Jefferson offense would soon put a victory way out of reach for Bedford Academy.

Ponds finished with 30 points for Jefferson with Dunn adding 24 points. Munson paced Bedford Academy with a game high 32 points.

Coach Pollard said the loss to Q.H.S.T. was an eye opener. "[The] guys said they [were] asleep but now they're awake!!"