By Anthony Bosco
Before Omar Cook blew out the birthday candles on his cake Friday, the senior point guard at Christ the King blew away the Archbishop Molloy Stanners, carrying the Royals to a 84-78 win.
The Stanners held a 15-point third quarter lead before Cook began to sizzle. The St. John's signee scored a career-high 42 points with 10 assists and six steals and kept Christ the King on pace with Bishop Loughlin for first place in the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan.
“It's probably one of the best performances in Christ the King history,” said Royals' head coach Bob Oliva.
Oliva put Cook's performance right up there with the one former Royals' star Khalid Reeves put up on Jan. 12, 1990, against Xaverian, when he scored 51. Reeves is the all-time leading scorer in school history and scored 40 points or more four times, but “None had the magnitude of this game,” Oliva said.
Molloy coach Jack Curran echoed Oliva's sentiments.
“Omar played extremely well,” he said. “I don't think he can play any better. I hope he can't play any better.”
The game did not start out as the Omar Cook show. In fact, Molloy's slow and steady power game seemed to be the deciding factor through two and a half quarters.
Wendel Gibson, a 6-foot-7 junior, and 6-foot-8 senior Din Tolbert did most of the damage early for Molloy. Gibson had 17 first half points for the Stanners, who took a 41-40 lead into the break. That lead became 15 with just more than five minutes to go in the third when John Sikiric, who finished with 20, converted a three-point play.
“We were up 15 because we were playing exceptionally well and making our shots and they weren't making their shots,” Curran said.
But that would not last for long. Cook's passing ability, which Oliva has called the best he has ever seen, set the tone for a 22-5 run, capped by a three-point buzzer beater which gave Christ the King a two-point lead, 57-55, at the end of the third.
Molloy did not close up shop right away. After hanging in with the Royals in the early moments of the first half, the Stanners finally succumbed. An 8-2 run, keyed by Anthony Negreanu's three, shut the door on Molloy.
The Stanners were coming off an emotional win last Wednesday when they defeated Bishop Loughlin, 67-62, the only team to defeat the Royals in league play this season.
“It's always important when you got down there and play Molloy,” Oliva said. “They are always a challenge.
The closeness of this game and others between the Diocesan's top four teams, Molloy, Christ the King, Loughlin and St. Francis Prep, had both Oliva and Curran pointing to the league's exceptional balance this season.
“It's a very well-balanced league, more so than other years,” Curran said, adding that the division's three remaining teams, Holy Cross, McClancy and Xaverian, are not too shabby either. “On any given night they're capable of beating anybody.”
“They can all beat each other,” Oliva added of the league.
Christ the King will finish the league season against its three nemeses over the next three Fridays, all at the Middle Village School, starting with St. Francis, then Molloy and Loughlin to wind up the league season. The Royals will also play Holy Cross down the stretch.
Molloy will visit the Knights Friday.
Holy Cross loses three at tournament
The Holy Cross Knights did not have an easy time of it at the Mountain State Coal Classic in Beckley, W Va. last week. The Queens team lost all three of its games at the annual tournament, which featured the nation's top-ranked team, Oak Hill Academy.
“It was really one of the best tournaments we've ever been to,” said head coach Paul Gilvary. “We just didn't play well and as a result we didn't win any games.”
After playing well in the opening half of its first game at the competition, Cross went on to lose to Charlotte Christian, 65-54. The Knights also fell to Capital High School (W. Va.), 72-53, in the second round and closed out the Classic with a 64-50 loss to Princeton High School (W. Va.), 64-50.
“When you go to a tournament like this you have to put your best foot forward,” Gilvary said. “I wasn't happy with the way we played.”
Things don't get any easier for the Knights, who played Loughlin Tuesday and face Molloy Friday.
St. John's Prep 74, Xavier 64. Taliek Brown had 30 points, four steals, six assists and Omar Malcom had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Red Storm to its eighth league win. Dwayne Thompson added nine points and six boards. For Xavier, Dan Riches led with 21.
St. John's Prep, now 14-4 overall and 8-1 in league play, faces league-leading St. Edmund Friday night. St. Edmund edged the Red Storm earlier this year in overtime, battling back from an 11-point halftime deficit.
“We're very evenly matched,” said St. John's coach Jimmy Gatto. “It should be really good. We just don't have any margin of error because nobody has beaten them.”
The Red Storm then have four games remaining on their league schedule, Fordham Prep, Bishop Ford, Nazareth and Xavier.
Cathedral Prep 69, St. Helena's 40. The Crusaders had four players score 10 points, Vin LaPuma, Brendan Raphael, Wojtek Branach and Pat Donlin. Cathedral scored 29 points in the first quarter and had 49 after two periods, allowing coach Jim Dilg to go to his bench for much of the second half.
The win was the team's 11th straight, as the Crusaders improve to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in league play. They are in second place of the CHSAA 'C' division behind undefeated Regis, which defeated Dilg's club by two earlier this season. The two teams hook up again Tuesday, Feb. 8.
St. Francis Prep 80, Monsignor McClancy 59. The Terriers got 27 points from Rashad Bell and another 20 from Kevin Fitzgerald in their league win over the Crusaders Friday night. Daryl Boykins led the way for McClancy with 22 in a losing effort.
