Boro Bounce January 22, 2020

Your weekly update on the high school hardwood action around the boroughs and beyond.

We start off with some disturbing news from the Bronx, where gunshots were fired at the famed Gauchos Gym during a game between Our Saviour Lutheran and Putnam Science Academy, sadly on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thankfully there were no reported injuries.

Sad news from beyond the boroughs emerged on Wednesday, when it was announced that Hall of Famer Morgan Wootten, former head coach at DeMatha High School in Maryland, passed away on Tuesday evening. It was Wootten's DeMatha team that snapped Power Memorial's 71 game winning streak in 1965. It was the only game that Power Memorial lost during Lew Alcindor's sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

Cardozo improved its overall record to 19-0 with league wins over Van Buren (88-53) and Campus Magnet (53-35) last Tuesday and Thursday, and a non-league 57-45 win over John F. Kennedy on Monday. The Judges, the only remaining unbeaten AA team in the boroughs for some time now, have a league game against Construction on Friday and then a non-league contest against New Rochelle on Saturday.

John Bowne is now 15-2 and the Wildcats have not lost a league game since falling to Cardozo on December 17th. The Judges will host Bowne on January 28th for Round 2 between the heavyweights of the PSAL Queens AA.

Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio was pictured with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at the Barclays Center during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pre-game ceremony preceding the Nets Sixers game on Monday. For those unaware, Coach Naclerio's father, Dr. Emil Naclerio, was one of the surgeons who successfully treated Dr. King at Harlem Hospital after he was stabbed in the chest on September 20, 1958.

Cardozo aside, the action in the PSAL has been unpredictable thus far, with one New York high school basketball publisher describing it as "absolutely bonkers".

Brooklyn Collegiate, who entered last week with a perfect 9-0 league record in the elite PSAL Brooklyn AA Division and just one loss overall, dropped three straight games: back-to-back league contests to Eagle II (76-75) and Canarsie (77-67) on Tuesday and Thursday, and a non-league loss to Eagle Academy of the Bronx (57-53) on Sunday. Notably, the Lions were without senior point guard Majesty Johnson for the last two losses.

After taking down Brooklyn Collegiate on Sunday, Eagle Academy was edged by Eagle II 55-53 on Monday. DaMarco Watson, who put up 41 points in Eagle Academy's 80-65 win over JFK on Friday night, scored 23 in the loss to Eagle II. 

South Shore has pulled even with Brooklyn Collegiate atop the PSAL Brooklyn AA at 9-2, but that task proved to be a challenging one, with the Vikings edging Jefferson 100-96 in double overtime on Thursday. Boys & Girls is just a game back at 8-3, with the Kangaroos surviving a 75-71 scare at George Westinghouse, which remains winless in league play. Khalil Brantley had 38 points for Boys & Girls.

Canarsie rounds out the top half of the Brooklyn AA standings, with A'Mag Tate and Alpha Bah continuing to make headlines for the Chiefs. Canarsie, playing its first season at the grueling Brooklyn AA level, is 6-5 after taking down Brooklyn Collegiate 77-67 on Thursday, with Tate and Bah registering 27 points apiece.

WHEELS continues to play up and down, earning a quality 48-47 road win over JFK on Thursday and then falling to Westinghouse on Saturday. At 8-3 in the PSAL Manhattan AA, the Wolves have no margin for error and will need help in order to catch Thurgood Marshall Academy (11-0) with just three league games left. For WHEELS, they have Truman (home), James Monroe (away) and TMA (away). For TMA, it will be Wadleigh (home), Eagle Academy (away) and WHEELS (home). If WHEELS wins their first two and TMA drops their first two it will set up a game for all the marbles at TMA on February 4th. 

St. Raymond improved its league record to 8-1 after a decisive 76-56 road win at Iona Prep on Friday night and an 89-61 home win over Archbishop Molloy on Monday. Reggie Hudson scored 18 points to lead the Ravens over Iona Prep and Malachi Smith had 21 in the win over Molloy. The Ravens lead the way in the CHSAA NY Archdiocese standings, with Archbishop Stepinac a half-game back at 7-1 and Iona Prep at 6-2.

The Crusaders took care of business with an 68-55 win at St. Francis Prep last Tuesday, but suffered a 70-52 setback to East Catholic (CT) at the prestigious HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts on Sunday. After dropping 4 of 5, Stepinac, still playing without Adrian Griffin Jr., bounced back yesterday with a 67-57 road win over Mount Saint Michael. RJ Davis, the CHSAA's leading scorer at 26.5 points per game, had 33 points in the win. The Crusaders will host Cardinal Hayes on Friday.

Iona Prep dropped a 76-52 contest at Long Island Lutheran on Monday, and even though they have now lost three of their last four, the Gaels, led by Keeshawn Jones (15.7 ppg) and RJ Greene (14.7 ppg) are still in the mix for the regular season CHSAA New York Archdioscesan crown. Iona Prep's next two are road games at Monsignor Scanlan on Friday and at Molloy on Sunday, and the Gaels still get another shot at Stepinac (February 1), St. Raymond (February 7) and Cardinal Hayes (February 14).

Hayes suffered a 52-48 road loss at Xaverian on Friday, but bounced back with a convincing 64-46 win at Monsignor Scanlan on Monday. Shemani Fuller scored 18 for Hayes in the loss to Xaverian. The Cardinals have an opportunity on the road on Friday night, when they will take on Stepinac in White Plains.

Despite a 58-57 road setback at St. Francis Prep, Xaverian remains the only team in the CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens standings with a winning league record (6-3). St. Francis Prep, Holy Cross and Molloy are each 3-5, Loughlin is 2-5 and Christ the King 1-5. Things will certainly get interesting this week, as Xaverian will host Stepinac on Sunday and St. Francis Prep will host Holy Cross in the Battle of the Boulevard on Friday night. Behind RJ Davis of Stepinac (26.5 ppg), Tyler Chapman of Holy Cross is the second-leading scorer in CHSAA's AA ranks at 18.2 points per league contest, while frontcourt standout Anthony Walters is averaging 12 points per league contest for the Knights. The Terriers are led by Latiek Briscoe (13.6 ppg), Todd Rochelle (13.4 ppg) and Chance Morrish (11.5 ppg). 

Molloy managed to turn a 14-point fourth quarter deficit into a one possession game against Holy Cross on Friday night, putting themselves in a position to tie the game on a 3-pointer in the final minute, but the comeback fell short, as the Stanners were edged by the Knights 73-66 in Briarwood. Chapman (22) and Walters (20) led the way for Holy Cross, while Christian Bliss scored 18 points for Molloy, which visits Christ the King on Friday night.   

Christ the King's program was inducted into the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions Hall of Fame in Missouri over the weekend, with the Royals taking fifth place in a spectacular high school basketball scene. CTK dropped their opener to Vashon 69-33, but rebounded with back-to-back wins over Kickapoo (71-66) and Greenwood (71-67 in OT). Ryan Myers scored 23 points in the overtime win and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Bishop Loughlin dropped both of its games in Pittsburgh over the weekend (65-43 to St. Benedict on Saturday and 65-57 to Chester on Sunday), falling to 4-11 overall. The Lions, who have now lost six straight and 8 of their last 9, will host St. Raymond on Friday night.

In girls hoops, St. Francis Prep remained unbeaten in league play at 6-0 with wins over Xaverian (60-51) and Archbishop Molloy (60-48). JeAnna Cunninhgam scored a game-high 20 points for the Lady Terriers in the win over Molloy.

After edging KIPP on a buzzer-beater last week, Stevenson topped Lehman 76-74 to take sole possession of first place in the PSAL Bronx A East with a league record of 12-1. The Ambassadors dropped a non-league constest to CHSAA B/Q AA contender Holy Cross on Monday (69-53), but will return to league play on Friday, when they will host Taft. 

Benjamin Banneker survived a 76-74 scare at Susan McKinney last Monday, but the Warriors followed that up with decisive wins over Automotive and Midwood, with a test lurking on Friday, when they visit Erasmus Hall. Banneker is 14-0 in the PSAL Brooklyn A5 standings, looking to be one tough out in the PSAL A Division playoffs.

Murry Bergtraum is a perfect 12-0 in the PSAL Manhattan AI standings after lopsided wins over Eleanor Roosevelt and Stuvesant. The Blazers, lead by standout point guard Dior Davis, who is the PSAL's assist leader in league play to date, will visit Bayard Rustin on Friday. 

Jeremy Moranta put up 46 points for Transit Tech in their 109-96 win over Wingate last Monday, part of a triple-double that included 15 rebounds and 10 assists for the senior.

Beacon remained unbeaten in PSAL league play, improving to 14-0 after a quality 66-61 home win over Graphics Campus last Monday and a lopsided victory over Environmental Studies on Wednesday. Graphics Campus rebounded with a 74-59 home win over defending PSAL A Division Champs Frederick Douglass Academy. Damani Claxton scored 27 points and Alassane Karamoko had 21 to lead Graphics Campus, who are now 12-2 in the PSAL A NW II standings. 

Van Arsdale earned an impressive 62-48 win over Eagle III on Saturday, with Jaheem Tyson scoring 16 points and grabbing 8 rebounds for the Cardinals. Eagle III remains unbeaten in PSAL league play at 10-0, tops in the PSAL Queens A East II standings. Hillcrest is just a game behind at 9-1, and Eagle III and Hillcrest will face each other in the league finale on February 4th.

Monsignor Farrell earned another quality win on Monday, topping Xavier 64-58 on Staten Island. Justin Zieris scored a game-high 27 points for Farrell, which improved to 7-1 in CHSAA league play and 14-2 overall. That sole league loss came to St. Edmund, which improved its league record to 8-2 on Tuesday after edging Fordham Prep 60-59 in Brooklyn. Xavier is now 7-2 in CHSAA league play.

Uncommon Charter remained unbeaten in league play at 12-0 with a 57-54 win over Spring Creek Campus on Tuesday, with Ahzariah Douglas scoring 13 points and Deandre Abrams 11 for the Sabers.

South Bronx Prep, the defending PSAL B Division Champs, are also 12-0 in league play, tops in the Bronx B3 Division. Steven Turner is averaging 29.1 points per league contest for the Cougars.

Fannie Lou Hamer head coach Marc Skelton reached the 300 career win milestone on Saturday, as Fannie Lou Hamer defeated Evander Childs 78-49.

Kayla Williams of Medgar Evers College Prep became just the third Lady Cougar in the school's history to surpass the 1,000 career point total last Wednesday, as Williams scored 16 points in MECP's win over Van Arsdale.