By Dylan Butler
After missing the first free throw, Hampton buried the second foul shot with 6.1 seconds left in overtime to lift Christ the King to a remarkable 81-80 win over Rice Sunday.For the second time in nine days, Christ the King, ranked No. 6 in the country, rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat No. 9 Rice.”I was trying to keep my composure, try and stay calm,” Hampton said. “I watch a lot of NBA games and I watch a lot of big-time players smiling.”The Royals were down by as many as 17 and trailed by 15 in the third quarter but again roared back. The catalyst this time was Larry Davis, who scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter.Like Hampton, Davis too was smiling for much of the fourth quarter and overtime, and he had good reason to be happy.The highly-touted junior guard, who has drawn interest from several top Division I schools, was fouled by Joe Vines on a 3-point attempt from the top of the key with 5.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Christ the King trailing 72-69.It was the fifth and final foul for Vines, who also fouled Akeem Gooding with 0.8 seconds left in overtime in the Royals' 69-68 win at Christ the King Jan. 28.After flexing his left elbow, trying to shake off the pain from the foul, Davis nonchalantly knocked down the first two free throws before Rice coach Mo Hicks called timeout. But the attempt to ice Davis didn't work. He buried the third free throw to send the game into overtime.”It was a great feeling playing them in a type of game like this a second time,” Davis said.Davis was 14-for-16 from the foul line and as a team Christ the King was 35-for-42. The Royals had 25 more attempts and made 23 more free throws than Rice, which was 12-for-18.”I thought we were fouled a couple of times too but I can't blame the refs because we didn't attack the basket like we should either,” said Hicks, who sat alone in the balcony and attempted to rationalize yet another gut wrenching defeat. “We have to do a better job of getting to the rim like they did.”On another made free throw, this by Hampton completing a 3-point play, Christ the King (19-1, 8-0) led 77-74 with 2:59 left in overtime, its first lead since early in the first quarter.Rice (17-2, 11-2) tied the game at 80 on a Curtis Kelly dunk and a pair of free throws by Edgar Sosa, who scored 17 points apiece.Davis came down court and was stripped by Taskico Brown, who fell on the loose ball. But Ahmed Allen, who scored 10 points and frustrated Kelly with his physical play inside, dove on the floor as if chasing a fumble. The referees called a jump ball and Christ the King maintained possession with 24.8 seconds left in overtime.On another scramble, Hampton was fouled underneath the basket by Sosa, his fifth foul. His free throw gave the Royals an 81-80 lead. Rice had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but Kerek Walker's 3-pointer bounced harmlessly off the backboard.As was the case nine days earlier, Rice raced in front early and built up a 34-17 lead when George Williamson's layup with 1:57 left in the first half capped a 14-4 run.”We were down 11 with a minute left in the last game so if we're down 17 with a whole half to go, it shouldn't be much to overcome,” Hampton said.The Raiders led 48-33 with 4:42 left in the third quarter when Sosa's bounce pass found Brown on the break. But the young Rice guards tried to do too much, failed to get Kelly enough touches inside and Christ the King chipped away at the Raiders lead.Rice still led by 10, 64-54 early in the fourth quarter but Christ the King went on a 7-0 run to get within 68-67 on an Allen free throw with 1:34 left. The Raiders led 72-69 on a Kelly putback with 22 seconds left before Davis sent the game into overtime with his three free throws.After two classics, everyone in the standing-room only crowd wants to see the two teams meet again, this time for the CHSAA city championship at Fordham March 6.”I would love to see them again, it's a great, fun thing,” Davis said. “It's not like going at each other's heads, it's having fun on the court. I would love to play them again.””I don't know, let's hope we're there,” Christ the King coach Bob Oliva said. “If they win that, then they win the series.”Molloy 74, Holy Cross 55. Milan Prodanovic had 28 points, including six 3-pointers, George Kunkel had 15 points and 15 rebounds and Kenny Kelly added 11 points for Molloy (12-10, 2-7), which won its third straight Friday night at Holy Cross. The Knights, which dropped its third straight and fell to 15-7, 4-5, were led by Laurence Jolicoeur (20 points) and Kevin Ogletree (14 points).St. Francis Prep 58, Fordham Prep 43. Mike Marin and Ray McKie scored 14 points apiece for St. Francis Prep (12-10) Friday night.Cathedral Prep 71, Scanlan 61. Cathedral Prep rallied from 16 points down at the start of the fourth quarter, outscoring Scanlan 28-10 in the final quarter and forced overtime on J.T. Sprague's running layup at the buzzer. Mike Liander had 18 points, Danny Raphael had 13, Rob Ehreshman had 12 and Sprague added 11 for Cathedral Prep.Christ the King 79, St. Raymond's 65. Scott had 20 points, including 6-of-6 from 3-point range, and Martin added 18 for the Royals Friday night.Cardozo 60, Long Island City 55. Devin Epps scored six consecutive points for the top seeded Judges (20-5) in a win over fourth seeded LIC in a PSAL Queens semifinal at Bowne. LIC (22-4) received 17 points from Preston Bell.Campus Magnet 67, Springfield Gardens 58. Evan Thomas scored 17 points for third seeded Campus Magnet (21-5) Saturday in the other semifinal at Bowne. Second seeded Springfield Gardens dropped to 21-3.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
