By Adam Ronis
Ron Naclerio didn't know what to expect from No. 14 Lehman in the second round match-up of the PSAL 'A' basketball playoffs on Sunday. The Cardozo head coach scouted eight of the 10 Bronx A League schools, but Lehman wasn't one of them.
He looked at Lehman's schedule and was perplexed by some of the scores. Lehman (17-6) lost to top-seeded John F. Kennedy, 103-44, then almost beat them in the next meeting. If it wasn't for a missed free throw near the end of regulation, Lehman would have won instead of falling in overtime, 65-60.
The Lehman team blown out by Kennedy was the one that showed up against third-seeded Cardozo (22-4), which annihilated Lehman, 89-53, at Lehman College. Cardozo, the defending PSAL city champion, advanced to the quarterfinals where it will face No. 11 New Utrecht (17-7) on Thursday at Elmcor at 6:30 p.m. New Utrecht upset Manhattan Center on Sunday.
“They lose big to Kennedy, then nearly beat them,” Naclerio said. “They beat Clinton by three and lose to them by 30. I never saw Lehman so it makes you scratch your head. They were one of two Bronx teams I didn't scout, but the way it turned out it didn't matter.”
Cardozo spread the scoring around with Tremayne Singletary scoring 15 points, Shabar Ewing scoring 15 points, Ryan Williams posting 13 points, and Darryl Hill scoring 10 points and adding six assists. Singletary (14 rebounds), and Williams (10 rebounds), controlled the boards for the Judges. Torrie McKnight led Lehman with 15 points.
Both teams started off slowly in the first two minutes as the game stayed scoreless. Then Cardozo started to get rolling. Holding a 9-6 lead, Cardozo went on 14-0 run behind the play of Singletary and Ewing to break open the game. After two consecutive three-pointers by Ewing, he forced a steal and found Singletary under the basket for a lay-up. Singletary also scored the next four points to cap the run and scored the last five points of the quarter to give the Judges a comfortable 28-7 lead after one quarter. Singletary scored 13 of his 15 points in the first quarter.
“If you come out and don't hit shots, like we did, you give an inferior team the chance to think it's their day,” Naclerio said. “Thank God they didn't hit their shots either.”
Cardozo set the tone for the game early with some tenacious defense. Lehman was inept on offense, rarely getting the ball across court smoothly. A Cardozo defender was always around to break up a pass and send it the other way for a fast break.
Cardozo entered the locker room with a 44-16 lead. It was Williams' turn to shine in the third quarter where he scored nine of his 13 points. Williams displayed his dunking skills with two slams, including an emphatic windmill jam to give Cardozo a 56-20 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Naclerio emptied his bench to give the subs some playing time. Ramel Diaz opened the quarter with a three to give Cardozo a 40-point lead, the largest lead of the game.
Even with a convincing win, Naclerio is still concerned about his team.
“I just take one game at a time,” he said. “If I talk about the future they forget about the present. They're immature, they yell at the refs, they yell at each other. This is an abnormal team. They fool around. They got complacent after winning the championship last year. Last year they listened to a correction. This year they think I'm picking on them.”
Newtown 63, Erasmus 51. The ninth-seeded Pioneers advanced to a quarterfinal meeting with No. 1 JFK Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Lehman College behind the 21-point performance of sophomore Charlie Villanueva. The 6-foot-7 forward added 10 rebounds. Junior point guard Michel Diboty handled the Erasmus press well as the native of Paris, France finished with 15 points and nine assists. It was the second straight year Newtown (22-3) defeated Erasmus (22-4) in the round of 16. Clifford Ault was a one-man show for Erasmus, finishing with 25 points.
Canarsie 72, Van Buren 55. Canarsie advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight year with its win over the VeeBees. Sharif Skinner (27 points) and Nathaniel Reeves (21 points) led the way for the Chiefs. The duo combined to hit eight three-pointers, half of them in the third quarter, which saw Canarsie (20-5) turn a four-point half-time lead to a 54-36 edge.
Terrence Wilkins added 11 points and seven rebounds for Canarsie, which takes on Brooklyn rival Boys & Girls in a Thursday quarterfinal at Lehman College at 4 p.m. Josh Puello and Lashawn Hutchinson scored 12 points apiece for No. 12 Van Buren (15-9).
Boys & Girls 75, Hillcrest 39. Tommie Eddie had 25 points, Jamie Kilburn had 16 and Lee Church added nine points and 13 assists for the Kangeroos (21-5). No. 13 Hillcrest (18-7) was led by Mike Thompson's 13 points.
Lincoln 95, Bayside 57. After the game was tied at 18 after one quarter, second-seeded Lincoln broke the game open. Aaron Lesane had six of his 18 points and St. John's bound Eric King added six of his game-high 23 points in the second quarter as the Railsplitters went into the locker room with a 43-26 lead. Lincoln (24-2) takes on Robeson (17-7) in the quarterfinals Thursday. Craig Banton led No. 15 Bayside (15-7) with 19 points.
John Adams 55, Urban Peace 53. Emil Ostenberg's Spartans are the lone Queens team alive in the PSAL 'B' boys playoffs, surviving No. 14 Urban Peace (20-1). Walter Flowers had a chance to send the game into overtime for the Warriors, but his lay-up rolled off the rim with three seconds left in the fourth quarter. Adams (15-3) advance to face 11th-seeded Brandeis (22-3), which upset No. 6 Aviation (20-6), 52-47.
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