By Marc Raimondi
Ryan Pearson knows the reputation of his teammate, Erving Walker. The Christ the King senior guard is instant offense, a human highlight reel and notorious for his one-man, fourth-quarter comebacks.
“We put the ball in his hands and he just makes miracles happen,” Pearson said.
It happened when Christ the King was playing in Missouri last week and the Florida-bound Walker was at it again Friday night against Holy Cross in Middle Village. He had 19 second-half points to bring the Royals back from 13 down with 2:43 left in the third quarter – but this time Pearson was the miracle man.
With his team down three and 2.1 seconds left, Pearson wrestled a court-length in-bound pass by Ihsaan Davis away from three Holy Cross defenders, turned at the top of the key and hit a left-handed, three-point hook shot to send the game into overtime. Christ the King would somehow prevail, 92-87, in two extra sessions.
“It was like the Christian Laettner shot in reverse,” Bob Oliva said of the famous buzzer beater shot by the Duke forward against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. “Laettner went right, Ryan went left.”
Pearson, who was nursing a stomach virus, ended up with a game-high 35 points.
“I was just determined to get the ball,” he said. “I really just wanted to get a shot off. That it went in was just a bonus…That was the biggest shot I ever took in my life.”
Holy Cross senior Sylven Landesberg (34 points) made a shot almost as big with 10 seconds left in the first overtime, driving past Davis and laying in a reverse to tie the game at 84. Landesberg, who had flu-like symptoms and threw up three times after the game, also had a huge steal with 5.1 seconds left in regulation, then went on to hit two free throws to put the Knights up, 74-72. He went to the line again three seconds later with the score the same, but missed the first. It was that miss – the only foul shot Landesberg missed all game – that allowed Pearson to hit the equalizer.
“He was really amazing tonight,” Holy Cross coach Paul Gilvary said. “I don't want to be dramatic, but he was really sick.”
Walker finished with 33 points and Anthony Martin had 14 points for Christ the King (14-2, 5-2 CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Class AA), but the contributions of Davis were key. He drew two charges on Landesberg, assisted on Pearson's buzzer beater and didn't hurt the Royals on offense, either. Davis was only playing significant minutes because starting guard Sean Johnson was sitting out due to a suspension he incurred against St. Francis Prep last week.
“He wasn't even in the rotation until two weeks ago,” Oliva said of Davis.
Holy Cross (12-4, 4-2), which came into the game ranked No. 21 in the country by USA Today, got 12 points from Ernest Freeman, 11 points from Kayvon Roberts and 10 more from Tim Beinert. Roberts also had a huge block of a Walker shot in the first overtime, one that would have give CK a four-point lead with 30 seconds left.
The Knights also had an unheralded hero: Tyshaun Russell, who played on Cross' varsity 'B' team last season, was forced into major playing time when starting point guard Blaise Ffrench got into foul trouble. Ffrench, a senior, fouled out with 4:12 left in regulation and Russell took over from there, scoring five points and hitting a three-pointer in the first overtime to tie the score at 78.
“It's a long way from playing on the varsity 'B' team to playing against Christ the King here,” Gilvary said.
There certainly have been some classics in Middle Village over the years. But this one certainly stands out: two fierce rivals, double overtime and one of the most dramatic shots one could ever hope to see.
“I won't ever forget this,” Martin said. “I'll be old telling people about the shot [Pearson] hit that got us into overtime.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
