By Dylan Butler
But an hour before the Red Foxes Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference battle with Siena College before a packed house of 2,833 at the James J. McCann Recreation Center Sunday in Poughkeepsie, Kennedy pulled himself out of the lineup, suffering from lower back injuries.
Whittenberg saw his opportunity for extended playing time and he seized it. The former Hillcrest High School standout had eight points and just one turnover in 26 minutes, sparking Marist's second half rally en route to an emotional 62-58 win over the Saints.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore nailed a three-pointer to tie the score at 44, capping the Red Foxes comeback from an eight-point deficit. Whittenberg also got it done from the free throw line, going 3-for-4 and nailing two key free throws in the final minute to help ice the win.
Former St. Francis Prep star Drew Samuels had another monster game for Marist. He had a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the year. The 6-foot-5 senior forward, who leads Marist averaging 19.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, also came up big from the charity stripe, also nailing two free throws late in the game.
Former Christ the King standout and Howard Beach resident Mary Kacic is certainly making up for lost time. After missing last season with a torn ACL, the 5-foot-6 Manhattan junior has come up big late in games for the Jaspers this year. Last week, she hit a big three down the stretch to help Manhattan to a 55-52 come-from-behind win over Bronx rival Fordham.
Sunday at Draddy Gymnasium against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Rider, Kacic nailed a game-tying trifecta with 10 seconds left in the second half to send the game into overtime and then went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 10 seconds of the extra session to lead the Jaspers to an 89-85 win. Kacic came off the bench to score 12 points in the win.
CUNY hoops on the tube
CUNY men and women's basketball games will be seen weekly on CUNY-TV, the cable television station of The City University of New York. The first game was aired tape-delayed Sunday at noon and replayed at midnight on Monday on Time Warner Cable's channel 75.
The Staten Island vs. York game played Tuesday will be aired on Dec. 24 and 25. Other Queens games include: Thursday's Queensborough Community College women at Borough of Manhattan Community College to be shown on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1., the men's game between the two schools, also on Thursday, will be aired on Jan.7 and 8.
The York women's basketball team's game at Lehman on Jan. 10 will be broadcast Jan. 14 and 15. The men's game between York and John Jay on Jan. 26 will be shown on Feb. 4 and 5 and the Cardinals game at Staten Island on Feb. 10 will be aired on Feb. 18 and 19. The Community College finals, which will take place on Feb. 16 will air on Feb. 25 and 26 and the Senior College finals on Feb. 23 will air Mar. 4 and 5 and Mar. 11 and 12.
SJU swimmers sweep St. Francis (NY) in home finale
The St. John's men's swim team remains undefeated and the women won their second straight duel meet Saturday at Alumni Hall. The men's team earned a 108-70 victory while the women won 102-84.
The men (5-0) won six of the eight individual events en route to the victory. Among the winners were Daniel Wells in the 200 Free (1:48.40), Jaak Savvi in the 100 Fly (51.92), Daniel Miyoshi in the 100 Back (56.62) and Michal Szapiel in the 500 Free (4:58.82).
The women (3-3) had four individual winners, including Jen Alger in the 200 IM (2:15.28), Laura Nuudi in the 100 Fly (1:00.01), Beth Mallnowksi in the 500 Free (5:15.23) and Denise Telford in the 100 Breast (1:09.24).
Two SJU volleyball standouts earn All-Northeast honors
Freshman Robyn Kurasaki from Milliani, Hawaii was named the 2000 Northeast Region Freshman of the Year and senior Olga Roudovski from Brooklyn was selected to the All-Region first team.
Kurasaki, who was already the first in the program's seven-year history to garner Big East Rookie of the Year honors, was also the first from the Red Storm to be named Northeast Region Freshman of the Year.
For Roudovski, the school's all-time kills leader, her All-Region selection comes on the heels of being named to the Big East first-team. Both honors were also firsts for the volleyball program headed by Bellerose native and St. Francis Prep grad Joanne Perisco-Smith.
Men's basketball
Ulster Community College 85, Queensborough Community College 52. Jeffrey Boone had 12 points and four blocks for the Tigers (1-7, 1-5 Region XV) in a 32-point loss Saturday. Queensborough has lost five straight games.
York 76, SUNY-Purchase 51. Jason Daniel had 15 points for York (4-3) while Chris Johnson had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Purchase (1-11) in the game Saturday.
Women's basketball
York 78, Kings Point 40. Freshman Ineisha Roberts scored 23 points and Tamara Taylor, the CUNY Player of the Week, added 22 for York (7-1).
York 50, Brooklyn College 48. Taylor continues to lead the Lady Cardinals, scoring 30 points and grabbing four rebounds in the two-point win Friday. Nicole Perry's putback with seven seconds left iced it for York.
