Tru-Ballaz Preseason Action (Thursday)

BRONX, NY - NYCHoops.net checked out two of the four games played during the Tru-Ballaz Preseason H.S. Classic. The first game was played at Eagle Academy while the second took place at Frederick Douglass Academy III H.S.

The writing was on the wall early as Byram Hills entered the arena without its high scoring star 6’1” Skylar Sinon ‘18 who was sidelined with a twisted ankle. Although the Armonk, NY school put forth a valiant effort, they were sinking in quicksand as Iona Prep increased its lead quarter by quarter.

Byram Hills tried to keep pace as Jack Lorenzo ’18 and Willy Samson ‘19 scored inside and from the perimeter but the athleticism of Bryce Wills ‘19* along with the length and range of Souleymane Koureissi ‘19 became overwhelming. Sixteen first half points by Wills help put Iona Prep ahead 38 – 18 at the half.

Samson provided some offensive resistance in the third quarter but Byram Hills was simply treading water, as their porous defense resulted in an exchange of baskets. Ahead by 23 points as the final quarter began, Iona Prep managed to increase its advantage to 31 points while in cruise control.

Wills was the leading scorer for Iona Prep with 24 points with Koureissi adding 17 points. Samson paced Byram Hills with 14 points.

The final score of this game was not indicative of how close it actually was throughout with Cardinal Hayes crawling out of a hole and stay afloat long enough to pull off the victory. Apparently, Monroe had been talking trash and was lathered up and ready to pull off the upset and for a while, that scenario appeared to be within the realm of reality.

Monroe’s tag team of Stephen Tayki ’18 and Surakata Jawara ’18 were instrumental in giving the Bronx PSAL “AA” school a 7-point lead as the warm up quarter ended. Hayes was without two of its starters, Terry Dawkins ‘18 and Tyrese Williams ‘18, but in highly competitive basketball, that is what’s defined as a personal problem and losing would simply be a reflection of a team’s lack of depth.

James Monroe H.S. held onto its lead until midway through the second quarter until recent Wings Academy transfer Jaylen Murray ’20 activated from long range. Ending the half with back-to-back trifectas, Hayes led at the midway point, 18 – 15.

To their credit, the Monroe Eagles did not go down quietly. Tayki was continuously aggressive as he attacked the rim. An and-1 by the senior with 4:44 would regain the lead for the underdogs but Murray quickly tied the score at 28 apiece with yet another three-pointer.

This theme played out over and over with Hayes pulling ahead followed by Monroe tying the score. The Cardinal took a 2-point lead into the final quarter which included 5 of Murray’s seven three-balls. Without the weapons to continuously battle Hayes, Monroe began to show signs of wear and tear. Joe Toussaint ‘19 began a three-point aerial assault as Murray’s became human and drained deuces in the fourth. Turnover began to plague the public school as the gap widened to double-digits as time ran out.

Murray, who recently picked up offers from Manhattan College and Quinnipiac, was the high man for Cardinal Hayes with 25 points with Toussaint contributing 10 points. Tayki drained 20 points for Monroe.

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