Xaverian survived a late rally by Paul Robeson, edging the Eagles 61-60 at the Brooklyn Bridge Holiday Classic at George Westinghouse High School in Brooklyn on Saturday. The Clippers held a comfortable 58-45 cushion midway through the fourth quarter, but the game turned into a nail-biter after Xaverian inserted their reserves. Robeson proceeded to go on a 15-3 run and found themselves with possession and a chance to win it in the final seconds, even getting a solid look on a baseline drive by Terrell Roberts before the ball rolled off the rim, with Xaverian escaping 61-60.
Xaverian holds on 61-60 over Robeson at the Brooklyn Bridge Holiday Classic. Clippers led this game comfortably 58-45, but the Eagles rallied against Xaverian's reserves and had a chance to win it on the last possession. Xaverian also edged CTK 70-68 last night in Middle Village. pic.twitter.com/CDGtBWsg3M
— HS Box Scores NYC (@hsboxscoresnyc) December 23, 2018
The Clippers entered the game on the heels of an impressive 70-68 win over Christ the King in Middle Village on Friday night, but they struggled early in this one. Robeson built a sizable lead in the first half behind strong perimeter scoring from Naim Scott before Xaverian climbed back within single digits, with Nicholas Folk and Shawn Fulcher scoring 10 of the Clippers' 14 second quarter points. Robeson stretched the lead to 32-21 at the half after a steal and layup by Cha Jones just beat the horn.
Folk opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and the Clippers narrowed the margin to eight at 38-30 on another Folk bucket. Xaverian continued to chip away, and a 3-pointer by William Reyes made it a 2-point affair at 43-41 with 3:14 left in the third, with Robeson calling for time to regroup. Fulcher tied it at 43 on a drive, and his 3-pointer seconds later gave Xaverian its first lead at 46-43, prompting another Robeson timeout. The Clippers took a 50-45 lead into the final frame after a driving score by Folk, the momentum clearly shifting in Xaverian's favor.
Nursing a comfortable 58-45 lead, the Clippers pulled their starters with three and change to play, setting the stage for a Robeson comeback that was fueled by 3-pointers by Roberts and Jamal Simon. A Xaverian backcourt violation gave Robeson possession trailing 61-60 with just a few ticks left, but a reverse by Roberts after a baseline drive rolled off the rim, and Jared Abrenica secured the loose ball for Xaverian as time expired.
Folk finished with 18 points and Fulcher scored 17 for Xaverian, who are now 8-2 overall and 3-2 in CHSAA league play. Anferny Pena led Robeson with 18 points.
Xaverian was ranked 17th in New York State and ranked 10th in New York City by the New York State Sportswriters on December 18th.
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