Wadleigh sends Forest Hills home for good

Flying through the air came Curtis Loving, Wadleigh’s 6-foot-5 swingman, catching a missed shot above the cylinder - and almost a foot above the next closest Forest Hills defender - before emphatically slamming it home.
Two possessions later, William Harrison turned his own aerial trick, reaching behind his head to grab an errant pass and flush it down for an aesthetically pleasing alley-oop dunk.
Many more athletically gifted Tigers rose above the Rangers and completed jaw-dropping baskets Tuesday afternoon, the primary reason for their dominant 70-55 victory in the opening round of the PSAL Class AA boys playoffs in Harlem.
Harrison led the Tigers with 20 points and Loving added 19. Andre Armstrong paced Forest Hills with 18, Alex Hall had 13 and Terry Harrison 10.
In preparing for No. 3 Wadleigh, Ben Chobhaphand thought he properly prepared his players. He knew the Tigers would relentlessly attack the glass and use their size and athleticism around the basket. He strongly urged the Rangers to box out and close up the middle.
Through one quarter, the philosophy was working. Forest Hills was ahead, 14-9. Wadleigh was badly misfiring from the perimeter. However, as their misses piled up in the second quarter, the offensive rebounds followed, in bunches.
The Tigers beat the Rangers press, threw up wild shots at the hoop and converted on almost every second opportunity in the 25-9 stanza that proved to be the difference.
“They had as many offensive rebounds as we had rebounds,” Chobhaphand said. “That killed us.”
It was a lack of execution Harrison deemed the culprit. Chobhaphand schooled them every day in practice since last week’s victory over James Monroe.
“Our coach warned us,” Harrison said. “Maybe our lack of depth came back to hurt us, all the players we lost.”
Harrison was referring to a roster that began with 12 and had been whittled down to eight. The loss notwithstanding, this season represented a positive step for Forest Hills (17-12), who placed fourth in Queens AA - their first year in the super division - and finished among the city’s top 16 teams.
The future is bright. Eight players will return next year. The undefeated jayvee team plays in the borough championship this week and Chobhaphand expects to add a few talented eighth-graders, too.
“This program is on the rise,” Harrison said. “We came a long way from last year to this year. We’re progressing.”
Not enough, however, for Chobhaphand’s liking. He envisioned a better regular season finish in Queens AA, a longer run in the borough playoffs - division winner Campus Magnet knocked them off in the semifinals - and maybe a trip to the quarterfinals of the city playoffs.
“We had a good year,” he said, “but we have higher expectations.”