PSAL Brooklyn AA heavyweight Thomas Jefferson dropped a non-league road contest to nationally-ranked Long Island Lutheran on Saturday, falling to the Crusaders 84-60 in Brookville. LuHi, currently ranked 9th in the USA Today Super 25, held Jefferson standout Jaquan Carlos to just 8 points and one field goal, and the Crusaders wielded a balanced offensive effort against an ordinarily disruptive Orange Wave defense.
Halftime: LuHi 43 Thomas Jefferson 27 @LuHiBasketball #PSAL #HSBB pic.twitter.com/xcd210oKOS
— HS Box Scores NYC (@hsboxscoresnyc) December 14, 2019
LuHi got 16 points from point guard Andre Curbelo, 13 points from sharpshooter Hugo Bergstrom and 12 points apiece from Ohio State commit Zed Key, frontcourt mate Kacper Klaczek and wing Paul Jordan. Rafael Pinzon was the 6th Crusader in double figures with 10 points.
LuHi pulled away in the second quarter, amassing a double digit lead when Jordan scored 9 of his 12 points in the frame.
With Carlos being smothered on virtually every touch, Jefferson was unable to put a dent in the deficit the rest of the way despite an 18 point performance by Kevin Tabb and 16 points and 4 triples from Ramsey Saleh. The Orange Wave extended their defense in the second half to try and climb back in it, but Key went to work on a baseline, converting lobs over the top, including an alley-oop dunk that put LuHi ahead 76-50 with just under 5:00 to play.
End of 3rd Q: LuHi 69 Jefferson 43@LuHiBasketball #PSAL #HSBB pic.twitter.com/6c4PL8DWG1
— HS Box Scores NYC (@hsboxscoresnyc) December 14, 2019
LuHi improved to 3-0 on the season and will travel to Hawaii to play in the Iolani Classic during the upcoming week.
Now it's off to the @iolaniclassic, where we open up against a very good Kamehameha team (9-1) on Wednesday 12/18, 1AM EST. You can tune in on @BallerTV. #LuHiBasketball pic.twitter.com/9ImRMOprgX
— LuHi Basketball (@LuHiBasketball) December 15, 2019
Jefferson's PSAL league schedule is complete for 2019, and the Orange Wave currently find themselves in the middle of the pack in the Brooklyn AA heading into the holidays. At 2-2, Jefferson sits in 4th place in the standings behind Brooklyn Collegiate (5-0), Boys & Girls (4-1) and South Shore (3-2). Jefferson handed Boys & Girls its first league loss on Thursday, topping the Kangaroos 97-92.
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