Boro Bounce February 6, 2020

As we head into the home stretch towards the end of the regular season, here's your update on the high school hardwood action around the boroughs and beyond.

Cardozo made school history by finishing its regular season schedule with a perfect record of 24-0. The Judges edged PSAL Queens AA rival John Bowne 45-44 last Tuesday and followed that up with wins over Springfield Gardens (73-50) and Francis Lewis (56-42). Chamarri Baskerville scored 15 points in the win over Bowne. The Judges finished league play with a record of 16-0, while Bowne came in at 14-2, both losses coming to Cardozo. The Judges are currently ranked 26th nationally in the Ballislife Fab50.

Boys & Girls finished league play in the prestigious PSAL Brooklyn AA Division with a record of 11-3, with Khalil Brantley hitting a game-winning 3-point buzzer beater to carry the Kangaroos past Brooklyn Collegiate 66-63 on Tuesday. Brantley, who finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds, hit a similar game-winning buzzer-beater exactly one month earlier, giving Boys & Girls a 65-64 win over Brentwood on January 4th.

 

Brooklyn Collegiate completed league play having dropped 8 of their last 9 games, the sole win during that stint being a 69-66 squeaker over George Westinghouse (1-12). The Lions will close out their regular season schedule with a non-league home game against Dr. Susan McKinney on Thursday. Although McKinney is a PSAL A Division constituent, the Kings are no pushover, having taken Benjamin Banneker, the top-ranked Class A team in the state, to the wire on January 13th (76-74).

South Shore edged Canarsie 67-63 in the Vikings' last league game on Tuesday, finishing 11-3 in the PSAL Brooklyn AA standings. Without the forfeit that vacated their win against Boys & Girls on January 14th, South Shore would own the PSAL AA regular season crown outright with a record 12-2. With the forfeit, both Boys & Girls and South Shore come in at 11-3, with the Kangaroos taking the honors due to two regular season wins over the Vikings (the first 75-67 on December 5th), making the forfeit the proverbial elephant in the room. The possibility reportedly exists that South Shore will appeal the forfeit ruling, so stay tuned.

Brooklyn Collegiate and South Shore both suffered losses to CHSAA teams at the Apparel Challenge in Middle Village, Queens on Saturday.

Cardinal Hayes topped Brooklyn Collegiate 66-53, with Tobe Awaka (17 points) and Shemani Fuller (16 points) leading the way for the Cardinals.

Hayes entered the game on the heels of a 60-59 home loss to nationally-ranked St. Raymond on Friday night. The Ravens, currently ranked 24th in the Ballislife Fab50, took care of business at the Apparel Challenge, topping Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA A Division contender Chaminade 78-56. St. Raymond followed that up with a convincing 83-56 home win over CHSAA New York Archdiocese foe Mount Saint Michael, improving their league record to 11-1 and their overall record to 16-3. Senior frontcourt standout Gary Grant surpassed the 1,000 career point milestone in the Ravens' win over Chaminade. 

Christ the King earned an impressive 71-61 win over PSAL Brooklyn AA powerhouse South Shore on Saturday, with Lovell Smith (20 points) and Sterling Jones (19 points) leading the way for the Royals. Dontae Prescott scored 19 points for the Vikings. Christ the King followed up Saturday's win with a 73-68 home victory over Monsignor Scanlan on Tuesday. After dropping their first four league contests, the Royals have now won 3 of their last 4 league games and 6 of their last 7 games overall. 

Christ the King (4-6, 9-8) will host Archbishop Stepinac (9-3, 12-7) on Thursday at 5:30 pm in a rematch of last year's CHSAA AA championship that will be televised by ESPNU. 

 

The Crusaders are coming off a 66-61 loss to rival Iona Prep in front of a capacity crowd at the Hynes Center at Iona College. Stepinac is still playing without national prospect and Duke commit Adrian Griffin Jr, who has been sidelined with a knee injury suffered during the first game against Iona Prep played at the Westchester County Center on January 3rd. The Crusaders were 7-2 before Griffin's injury but have gone just 5-5 since. Stepinac is led by North Carolina commit and McDonald's All-American RJ Davis, who is the CHSAA's leading scorer at 27.6 points per game.

The Lady Royals will host St. John Vianney at 7:00 pm, with the game being televised by ESPN3.

St. Francis Prep suffered a setback on Tuesday, falling to Nazareth 66-63 in Brooklyn. It was the first league loss for the Lady Terriers, who will visit Bishop Loughlin on Thursday. South Shore topped Truman 57-20 in a rematch of last year's PSAL AA championship on Wednesday. The Lady Vikings, who won their first league meeting with Truman 62-25 on January 8th, will close out their league schedule at Midwood on Thursday. 

Switching back to boys hoops, Archbishop Molloy earned an impressive 57-54 home win over CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens AA frontrunner Xaverian on Tuesday night. The Stanners improved their league record to 5-8, while the Clippers remain in first place in the CHSAA B/Q AA standings at 8-4. 

Holy Cross suffered a 62-36 setback to nationally-ranked Long Island Lutheran on Tuesday. After back-to-back wins over Molloy and PSAL A Division contender Stevenson, the Knights have now lost 4 of their last 5 games. On a positive note, Holy Cross senior Tyler Chapman reached the 1,000 career point milestone in the Knights' 71-64 loss to Monsignor Scanlan on Saturday, just the tenth player in school history to attain the honor.

Liam Murphy had back-to-back 40 point performances for St. Peter's, as the Eagles defeated Port Richmond 67-53 last Wednesday and LaSalle Academy 75-72 in OT on Tuesday.

On the topic of 40 point performances, Senior Marquis Tubman put up 40 for Erasmus Hall in Ehall's 87-49 win over Fort Hamilton on Senior Night on Wednesday.

Benjamin Banneker continues to look like the team to beat in the upcoming PSAL A Division playoffs, as the Warriors registered a lopsided 100-50 win over a contending Harry Van Arsdale squad. Taquan Simpkins scored 23 points for Banneker. 

Hillcrest handed Eagle III its first league loss of the season, improving to 13-1 in the PSAL A East II standings with a 58-49 home win. Eagle III bounced back with a lopsided 111-50 win over Middle College HS on Wednesday, resulting in a dead heat finish in the PSAL Queens A East II, with Eagle III and Hillcrest each finishing 13-1 with a split of their regular season series.

St. Edmund Prep earned a quality road win on Tuesday, topping Xavier 58-46 in Manhattan. Both teams sit at 10-3 in the CHSAA A Division standings, with CHSAA A Division constituent Monsignor Farrell boasting a league record of 7-1, the one loss coming to St. Edmund Prep (67-66) in Brooklyn on January 3rd.

Uncommon Charter improved to 21-2 with an impressive 65-43 win over Achievement First on Tuesday. Ahzariah Douglas had 16 points for Uncommon Charter.

Townsend Harris remains unbeaten at 21-0 heading into their regular season finale against Queens HS Complex on Thursday. Jahdon Jerome scored 33 points in the Hawks' win over Cambria Heights Academy on Monday. 

Salesian is 10-0 in the CHSAA B Division standings, and the Eagles have a chance to lock-up the regular season crown when they host rival Regis (7-3) on Friday.

Camar Neil is averaging 16.2 points per game for the Eagles. Salesian, who topped PSAL B Division heavyweight Fannie Lou Hamer 75-61 last Wednesday, has compiled an impressive overall record of 16-4 heading into Friday's home game against Regis.