By Dylan Butler and Adam Ronis
The road to Madison Square Garden gets a little bit shorter this week as after a week's hiatus, the PSAL playoffs resume with second-round games. Leading the charge in Queens in Boys A are the defending champions, Cardozo. The Judges drew the third seed, behind No. 1 Kennedy and second-seeded Lincoln. There are no surprises in Girls A as August Martin is the only remaining Queens team alive. Four schools are still in the running in Girls B, including the defending champions Bryant, while the borough is represented by just two schools, Aviation and John Adams, in Boys B. Here is a game-by-game breakdown of the second- round games.
No. 3 Cardozo vs. No. 14 Lehman at Lehman College Sunday, 5 p.m.
Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio prides himself on his preparation. Whenever his Judges are not playing or practicing, odds are Naclerio is in the stands at some gym taking notes on a possible opponent. However, Naclerio missed the boat when it came to Lehman High School, one of just two schools in the Bronx he had not scouted.
“I heard they were a little small,” Naclerio said. “We'll play a lot of zone and try and get the ball down low. If they make a late run at us, we have to understand that as long as we win, that's all that matters.”
The Judges (21-4) are led by a solid foursome in seniors Ryan Williams (18.8 points, 10.5 rebounds a game) and Tremayne Singletary (14.8 points, 11.7 rebounds) up front and junior point guard Darryl Hill (15.7 points per game) and senior guard Shabar Ewing (15.3 points per game).
After losing William “Smoosh” Parker and Sean Ramirez from a team that advanced to the quarterfinals a year ago, Pat Torney again has his team into the round of 16. Six-foot-7-inch Charlie Villanueva, who averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds during the regular season, is perhaps the Player of the Year in Queens. But the Pioneers (21-3) will have to deal with the frontcourt of Cliffort Ault and Aquawasi St. Hillaire.
Perry Dortch is going to have to get an effort from his VeeBees similar to their impressive first-round win over Grady, to hope to upset the Chiefs.
Nathaniel Reeves, Terence Wilkins and Sarif Skinner helped lead Canarsie to a 76-65 win over Wadleigh in a game that was played at a breakneck pace. Dortch will likely try and slow the game down, just like his team did in its win over Grady with guard Greg Dickinson leading the charge for Van Buren (15-8).
at Hunter College Sunday 9:30 a.m.
Hillcrest (18-5) has a very difficult task in the second round against a stacked Kangeroo club. Senior Lee Church and Stephon Cox in the backcourt and swingman Tommie Eddie are dangerous enough, but the inside presence of 6-foot-5-inch Amadou Fall and 6-foot-4-inch Jamie Kilburn will be extremely difficult to contain. Hawks coach Ken Gershon hopes 6-foot-3-inch George Ozoude and 6-foot-4-inch Wayne Innis can combat the Boys & Girls duo.
“Tempo will be the key,” he said. “We'll have to slow them down, play defense and make them work for every shot and hopefully limit them to one shot each trip down the floor.”
While the trip to its second round game is not as daunting as its road win at Curtis in the first round, the opponent is tough enough to deal with. Bayside (15-6) faces last year's PSAL semifinalist in round two and will need a near-perfect effort and stellar play from Craig Banton and Darryl Hawkins to get past the Railsplitters. Lincoln is led by St. John's signee Eric King, as well as fellow senior, Jason Coleman and junior forward Aaron Lesane.
Girls A Quarterfinals
After Francis Lewis, Cardozo and Jamaica were all knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, the Angels are the lone Queens team remaining. Joel Ascher again has his team poised at another run at the Garden. Senior Tamara Buchanan and junior Cherita Gray lead the uptemo offense from the guard spots while seniors Tamika Cox and Tiffany McDonald will battle the boards with Jennifer Brown from MLK.
No. 1 Bryant vs. No. 8 Bronx Leadership at Lehman College, Monday 7 p.m.
The defending champion Bryant Owls are the top seed for the second consecutive season. Last season the Owls went 24-0 and have followed it up with another strong season at 19-1, even after graduating eight seniors from the championship team. The Owls will use a full court press to try and force turnovers.
Senior co-captain Shatyia Henderson leads the way with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Senior Camille Manning is the catalyst to the defense, leading the team in steals.
“I didn't expect to be this successful,” head coach Jimmy Exarhos. “It's a tremendous feat.”
Monday 5 p.m.
Forest Hills (21-2) enters the quarterfinals on a roll, winning 18 consecutive games. It is a very well-rounded team. The two teams faced each other twice in the regular season with Forest Hills winning both. Coach Mark Zaretsky says Beach Channel is an athletic and highly skilled team. He believes his team can't allow second shots, must play strong defense, and play as a team.
Forest Hills spreads the scoring around with senior Brigida Pezzulo leading the way with 20 points per game. Senior Zakia Barnes averages 13 points and senior Laura Mund averages 10 points. Junior Katherine Shea leads the team in assists with seven and averages about 10 points. Junior Christine Klusko leads the team in rebounding.
“We play as a team,” Zaretsky said. “Every member of the team has contributed and each player is integral to the team's success.”
Jefferson is very quick and likes to press. Many of its victories have come by large margins. John Adams head coach Harold Krieger believes his team needs to play under control and not to Jefferson's tempo in order to win. They also have to hit their shots.
The guard tandem of Jennifer Porazzo and Nicole Moore lead the way for Adams. Both are averaging around 16 points.
Adams (17-5) is not a big team so Alecia Fung and Michelle Tusa will be key on the boards.
“We play good as a five-man team,” Krieger said. “When our guards take on too much we get out of control.”
No. 3 John Adams vs. No. 14 Urban Peace at Elmcor Sunday 12 p.m.
Adams (14-3) has experience on its side. The team has been together for three years. On offense it has a very balanced attack with seniors Jason Ruiz, Andre Gui, Jonathan Fox, Jamah Francis, Lyndon Norieaga, and Sheldon Newsome all averaging in double figures.
Urban Peace likes to run and press. Adams head coach Emil Ostenburg feels it won't like to be pressed so the Spartans will utilize the press and see how Urban Peace handles it.
One thing concerning Ostenburg is the long layoff. Adams hasn't played a game in two and a half weeks.
“This is the best team I have ever had,” Ostenburg said. “We are seven to eight deep. The kids work good together.”
Preceding the Adams/Urban Peace matchup at Elmcor is No. 6 Aviation against No. 11 Brandeis at 10 a.m.
