By Anthony Bosco
Beauford's game-winning trey came moments after the Lions went ahead 44-43. Peedy Nelson brought the ball upcourt and passed to Beauford with about six seconds remaining. Beauford took aim and fired, draining the long-distance shot and preserving the win.
“I thought he would work the ball closer to the basket, but he just turned around and shot it,” said Christ the King head coach Bob Oliva, who saw his Royals improve to 8-7 overall and 4-1 in league play with the win. “If he would have been on the wing he would have been out of bounds.”
Nelson led the way for the Royals with 17, followed by Rob Barrett with 12.
The Royals came into the game coming off what Oliva called his team's best performance of the year, an 81-67 win over the Holy Cross Knights last Tuesday, in which Beauford hit 6-of-7 from behind the arc for 24 points and Nelson added 22.
“That was our best game,” Oliva said. “We just played our best. We've struggled offensively this year. We've been playing good defensively in every game. It's our offense we have to work on and figure out how to put points on the board.”
After the Royals' scheduled make-up game against Xaverian Tuesday, Christ the King will host red-hit Archbishop Molloy Friday night in Middle Village.
St. Francis Prep 82, Monsignor McClancy 70. After coming close in back-to-back games, the Terriers of St. Francis Prep finally got their first Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan victory Friday with a 12-point win over the McClancy Crusaders.
Prep gave Christ the King all it could handle on Jan. 14, losing 54-52 and nearly upset the Xaverian Clippers last Tuesday, before falling 59-55. The Terriers finally broke through against Don Kent's Crusaders, lifting their record to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in league play.
“We've been playing better and were due for a win,” Leary said. “We're getting there.”
Rashad Bell, a senior out of Cambria Heights, led the way, scoring 33 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. Bell, Leary said, is being heavily recruited by numerous mid-major college programs, but will most likely not make a decision on where to play next year until after the season.
Archbishop Molloy 81, Monsignor McClancy 56. Senior Wendell Gibson had another monster game for the Stanners, scoring 27 points and pulling down 21 rebounds, keeping Molloy perfect on the year in league play. Thomas Harrison added 11 points in the win.
Xavier 53, St. John's Prep 52. Kino Smits' game shot with one second remaining in regulation closed the door on coach Jimmy Gatto's Red Storm team. Smits finished with 12 for Xavier.
