Upsets @ Beacon 158 Tuesday

BAYSIDE, NY - Tuesday at the Beacon 158 Back-to-School Tournament saw the first real big upset of the tournament, in a game that should open eyes for the team that pulled off the shocker.

All three games were tight single digit games, so the competition continues to remain fierce in week two. Here is a recap of the action from Tuesday.

H.S. of Construction stuns St. Mary's, 66-65

Construction, who welcome a new coach to the sidelines, with Cory Semper coming aboard from Bayside to guide the first year "AA" team. On Tuesday assistant Mike Salamanca coached the Red Hawks, and after trailing for the entire game, a pair of FT's from Justin Wright-Foreman gave Construction their first, and only lead with 7.6 seconds to go, and St. Mary's were not able to get off a final shot as the Red Hawks pulled off the shocker.

It started out real well for St. Mary's as they jumped out to a big 26-12 lead midway through the first half with 6'9" big man Jessie Govan scoring 12 of the teams 26 in the early going, dominating the paint, scoring time and time again with a short righty hook that Construction couldn't stop early on. After a timeout by the Red Hawks with 10:14 to go, it seemed like a new Construction team came on the floor. Marlon Alcindor started to really show off his range, and offensive aggression, hitting on a pair of threes, while also attacking the basket with ease, going right at the combo of Govan and Stephen Milhaven in the paint. It was a 13-2 Construction run that Alcindor led to help them get right back in the game. Mary's seemed to get away from getting the ball inside and settled a bit too much late in the half, but Patrick Jackson and Devonte Green each did a nice job connecting from deep as the Gaels took a 41-30 lead at the half.

Alcindor got the 2nd half started with a very long three that could've been construed as a bad shot, but it went in so all was ok. Every time Construction made a run, St. Mary's had an answer for. It was 52-40 for the Gaels with 12 minutes to go when Construction truly made their move. Alcindor started to light it up, connecting on 7 straight shots, while Wright-Foreman also showed good range with his lefty shot. They weren't getting much help offensively, but Justyn Gardner started doing a solid job on the boards, helped to sway the rebounding totals back in favor of Construction. Slowly but surely, 52-40 became 56-51, and then 63-59, and before you knew it, the Gaels lead was just 65-62 with 39.6 seconds to play. The high intensity defense, along with the potent offensive abilities of Wright-Foreman and especially Alcindor, were bringing Construction all the way back.

With 39.6 left Wright-Foreman hit the 3 ball to get them within 3, and a Green turnover gave Construction the ball back. The Red Hawks didn't rush it though, instead they found Gardner on the inside for an easy two to make it a one point game. Construction applied the heavy press, trying to force a turnover before fouling, and the plan worked for the Red Hawks with Green traveling while being doubled in the backcourt with 16 seconds left. Construction moved the ball and at 65-64, Wright-Foreman put up a three that missed, but Jackson was called for the foul on the shot. Three shots from the line awaited Wright-Foreman with 7.6 to go. He made the first two, but missed the last. Construction was now leading 66-65, Govan got the board, got the outlet pass to Green who found Jackson in the corner but he was stripped and the final horn sounded before St. Mary's could get off a last shot, and the H.S. of Construction pulled off the shocker against the highly thought of Gaels.

Alcindor, the St. John's Prep transfer, proved himself to be a major offensive weapon, and a player to watch all year long, finishing with a game high 34 points. Wright-Foreman, a transfer from Christ the King, added 21 as well for the victors. In defeat Govan led St. Mary's with 21 and Jackson chipped in 19.

Thurgood Marshall over St. John the Baptist 49-42

It was a defensive struggle in the early going in the night's final game. Daquaan Washington scored on a crazy and one falling down early in the half that had the crowd buzzing, and Dimencio Vaughn scored going in down the right side for his own and 1 play. TMA's offense though stalled for much of the opening half after that though as they struggled to find Vaughn and big man Bryan Assie inside, settling instead for contested jumpers on the perimeter that led to easy Baptist scores. Evan Hubbard scored on three straight possessions late in the half, attacking the rim, using his wide body and strength to his advantage as St. John the Baptist took a 24-18 lead at the half.

TMA got down 33-21 with 15 minutes left in the game when Panthers coach Darryl Jones got hit with a technical foul, the T, which is normally a bad thing, seemed to spark TMA as Vaughn went on a personal 6-0 soon after, and star incoming freshman Jalin Suber made a couple of beautiful interior passes to help see the Panthers go on a 16-2 run and take the lead with 6 minutes to go, 37-35. Kevin Crockett scored on a midrange pull up jumper to tie the game back up, but Dawann Hodges became a focal point for TMA, as Vaughn was doubled, Hodges took advantage on the block, scoring on back to back trips up the floor. Brendan Ehrhardt connected on a three from the right wing to get it within 3 late, but Vaughn sealed the deal from the FT line late to give the Panthers the 7 point win.

Vaughn led all scorers in the game with 21, with Hodges adding 11 in the win. Hubbard and Tavon Ginyard each tallied 12 for SJB in the loss.

Bishop Ford 43 tops St. Francis Prep, 43-40

In the middle game of the three, the Falcons went on an 11-0 late in the 2nd half, and took their first lead with 1:34 left in the game to take the 3 point win.

Devin Dingle and Ramon Rosado led Bishop Ford with 10 a piece, while the Terriers, who looked good for most of the game, running crisp offensive sets most times up the floor, were paced by the 14 points of Jordan Santiago.

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