By Brian Towey
With a chance to gain some momentum heading into halftime last Thursday, Christ the King forward Brian Williams snatched up a teammate’s pass and spun in anticipation of an open look at the basket, only to find the hulking 7-foot-2 frame of Rice center Shagari Alleyne clogging his path.
After dancing a bit with the ball, Williams let it plop down onto the hardwood, one of countless possessions spoiled by his spidery opponent.
Williams’ botched foray to the hoop was a microcosm of Christ the King’s problems in a 73-53 loss to Rice in the CHSAA quarterfinals last Thursday at Iona College in New Rochelle. With a berth in the Catholic league semifinals at stake, a giant lurched into the Royals’ path, as Alleyne’s 30-point, 12-rebound, eight-block performance was too much to overcome.
“I’ve been one of (Alleyne’s) biggest advocates,” said Christ the King coach Bob Oliva. “I think he can be one of the best players ever to play in this league.”
Before Alleyne wrested control of game away from CK, the Royals had Rice, ranked No. 2 in the USAToday national poll, on their heels early.
A slashing drive by Mitchell Beauford and reverse lay-in by Williams handed Christ the King a 15-14 lead after the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter the Royals were still within striking distance, as Japhet McNeil slipped a pass to Beauford on the baseline for a lay-in to pull Christ the King to within two points, 23-21, with little over five minutes to play.
After Williams hit one of two free throws to cut the deficit to one, at 25-24 with 3:02 to play, Rice began to awaken. Three-pointers by Kenny Eusey and Christian Brown sparked a 10-0 Raider run over the last 2:18 of the first half, as Rice’s advantage ballooned to 12, at 36-24, at the half.
As CK’s porous perimeter defense opened up opportunities in the paint for Alleyne, the gap only widened in the second half. The front court of Eric Martin and Williams struggled in trying to contain the massive pivot, as Alleyne thrashed down dunks off of offensive rebounds, swatted away Royal shot attempts and dropped turnaround jumpers on his hapless opponent, stretching Rice’s lead to 52-35 with 1:02 to play in the third quarter.
While CK’s junior backcourt of McNeil and Beauford, who each finished with 19 points, tried valiantly to cut into the lead, hitting on long and mid-range jump shots, the Royals would come no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Ultimately, it was the disparity in talent that proved too big of an obstacle to overcome, as a talented and deep Rice team stymied CK with their size, skill and numbers.
“[Rice] is just a very good basketball team,” Oliva said. “We played them close twice this year, so a lot of people thought we could keep it close [Thursday].”
The loss closed out CK’s season at 14-15, as the coaching staff squeezed all they could out of a youthful group.
“I thought we got as much out of this group that we could have,” Oliva said. “We were probably just one big man short [of being a contender].”
St. Peter’s 68, Archbishop Molloy 65. St. Peter’s hit six free throws in the last minute and a potential game-tying three pointer by Kevin Hamilton missed as time expired as the Staten Island school stunned Molloy in the CHSAA quarterfinals last Wednesday at Iona College. The Stanners’ early round exit was a major disappointment for a team that won the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan Tournament and was expected to contend for the city championship. Molloy, which finishes the season at 18-6, was led by Sundiata Gaines with 18 points and Marlon Smith with 17.
Reach contributing writer Brian Towey by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
