By Anthony Bosco
Though all 10 ‘A’ league boys’ varsity basketball teams in the Catholic High School Athletic Association are housed in the league’s “Super League” this year, the old Bronx/Manhattan teams seem to be holding a distinct advantage over their Brooklyn/Queens counterparts.
This weekend the two top teams in Queens, Archbishop Molloy and Christ the King, were upended by St. Raymond’s and Rice, respectively, and stayed a step behind in the race for first place in the two five-team divisions.
Rice managed to top the struggling Royals, 65-58, despite a poor performance by hobbled 7-foot-2 center Shagari Alleyne, staying a perfect 5-0 in CHSAA West action.
Mitchell Beauford led the Royals with 17 points, followed by Japhet McNeil with 12, but Christ the King could not hold onto a seven-point first half lead. Steve Burtt led the Raiders with 25 points, while teammates Christian Brown and Jason Wingate added 10 points apiece.
CK rallied briefly in the second half, taking a four-point lead in the third quarter, but the Royals, now 9-9 overall and 1-5 in league play, simply could not hold off Rice.
The story was much the same for the Stanners, who lost a heartbreaker to St. Raymond’s, 77-75, in overtime, when Kevin Hamilton’s three-pointer clanged off the back of the rim with no time left.
Hamilton finished with 19 points — including four three-pointers — and Marlon Smith led the way with 23, but the Stanners could not pull it out, falling to 5-4 in league play, with all of the team’s losses to former Bronx/Manhattan schools Rice, St. Ray’s and All Hallows.
Queens resident Daon Merritt, who finished with 12 points, hit two free throws to break a 75-75 tie in overtime with 7.8 seconds remaining to give St. Ray’s the win. Brian Laing and Miguel Garcia led the Ravens, now 8-2 in league play, with 22 and 18 points, respectively.
Monsignor McClancy 63, Dwight School 39. Elvis Damjanovic and Wesley Matthews led the way for the Crusaders with 18 and 17 points, respectively. McClancy improved to 8-11 overall with the win.
Christ the King 53, Allentown Catholic (Pa.) 42. The Royals got 14 from McNeil, 13 from Beauford and 10 from Justin Marshal in this non-league matchup.
St. Francis Prep 52, Holy Cross 48. The Terriers (7-11, 2-6) swept the season series against crosstown rivals Holy Cross behind 18 from Brian Geffen and a nine-point effort from Rich Henderson.
St. John’s Prep 48, Xavier 46. The Red Storm got 18 from Desean Burke, including the winning basket, while Eddie Moore and Christian Geraldo added 14 and 12 points, respectively. St. John’s improved to 15-4 overall and 8-3 in CHSAA ‘B’ action.
Archbishop Molloy 86, St. Peter’s 67. Smith scored 25 and Kevin Diffley poured in 18 for the Stanners in this non-league battle last week.
Christ the King 40, Monsignor McClancy 36. The Crusaders nearly gutted out the win, but CK did just enough, as McNeil and Mike King both scored nine.
Bishop Loughlin 64, St. Francis Prep 59. The Terriers nearly upset the Lions last week, but fell just short as Kirk Bunn and Andrew Wright each had 13 for the winners.
Nazareth 61, St. John’s Prep 59. The Kingsmen upset the Red Storm last week, despite 26 points from Burke in the loss.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
