By Dylan Butler
In a statement game, Cardozo’s Skyler Khaleel made perhaps the loudest statement of all, following Raynard Jones’ dunk with a thunderous two-handed jam of his own in the Judges’ convincing 83-65 win over Queens II-A rival Jamaica Friday afternoon at Cardozo High School.
The victory gives Cardozo sole possession of first place and also avenges its lone league defeat, an 81-73 loss at Jamaica on Dec. 3.
“That was just icing on the cake,” Khaleel said of his second dunk of the game. “Last time we got off to a slow start, there were bad calls and we were missing our star player [Cameron Tyler, out with a broken wrist]. The second time we knew we were going to destroy them.”
Khaleel’s dunk was the exclamation point on a dominating performance by the host Judges. Despite playing sloppy for much of the game, Cardozo (13-2, 9-1 Queens II-A) outhustled Jamaica from baseline to baseline.
Led by Khaleel (16 points) and Kevin Hannaway, the Judges also owned the glass, scoring on numerous second-chance opportunities.
“My young team — with nine underclassmen — learned a lot today about themselves, individually and collectively,” said Jamaica coach DeWitt Thomson. “The spotlight was just too bright. They were dazed, glazed and amazed the whole game.”
The Judges struggled in the first half against Jamaica’s 2-3 zone, but still went into the locker room with a 38-33 lead thanks mostly to Tyler’s 17 points. The senior shooting guard finished with a game-high 23 points.
Cardozo busted the game open in the third quarter on a 12-4 run capped by Dwayne Johnson’s slashing basket through the zone. Sophomore point guard Vic Morris buried four three-pointers en route to 14 points and Nick Flagg scored all 10 of his points in the second half, as all five Cardozo starters finished in double-digit scoring.
But it was Khaleel’s dominance down low that really put the game away. The lanky 6-foot-4 junior scored at will in the paint and grabbed 16 rebounds.
“He’s tough, a hell of a player,” Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio said. “It was nice that our top two or three players can have a B+ instead of an A+ and we still succeed.”
Yves Keslin led Jamaica (10-9, 8-2) with 18 points and Keith Forbes added 12.
“They had payback on their minds and they were in their house, with their crowd and their star player back and they wanted to show Jamaica they were the real deal,” Thomson said of Cardozo. “And they did. We’re still trying to find consistency against quality teams.”
Beach Channel 61, August Martin 51. Rahshon Clark scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Joey Thomas added 15 points and 4 boards for Beach Channel (13-2, 12-1 Queens III-A). Martin falls to 8-6 in Queens III-A.
John Adams 74, Van Buren 60. Brian Covington scored a game-high 30 points, Brian Edwin had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Jamaz Faulk added 10 points and 12 boards for Adams (11-8, 7-7 Queens III-A).
Far Rockaway 84, Springfield Gardens 58. Richard Forbes had 32 points and 9 assists, and Warren McAllister added 21 points and 22 rebounds for Far Rockaway (16-2, 12-2 Queens III-A).
Academy of American Studies 76, Richmond Hill 63. Amseshem Foluke scored 22 of his game-high 35 points in the second half and grabbed 14 rebounds for American Studies (13-4, 11-3 Queens B). Jose Galeano and Aneef Puri netted 15 points apiece for the Eagles.
Cardozo 64, Benjamin Banneker 63. Tyler netted 25 points, including the winning free throws with 17 seconds left, Khaleel added 14 points and Nick Flagg had 13 points off the bench for the Judges at the PSAL Brooklyn Winter Classic at Brooklyn College Saturday. Virginia-bound Gary Forbes scored 38 points, including eight three-pointers, for Banneker (15-4).
Canarsie 84, Jamaica 62. Eugene Lawrence had 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for Canarsie (9-6) at the Brooklyn Winter Classic.
Richmond Hill 69, Queens Vocational 55. Dwayne McDougal had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Kenny Smith added 20 points for Richmond Hill (8-4 Queens B).
August Martin 67, Far Rockaway 57. Donnell Cummings had 28 points and 9 assists, Jenar Harrison added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Ike Iwu had 10 points and 8 rebounds for the Skyriders. Far Rockaway falls to 11-2 in Queens III-A.
Hillcrest 79, John Bowne 65. Nick Jones scored a game-high 32 points, Tyrone Frazier had 14 points and Rick Singh added 13 for Hillcrest (4-6 Queens II-A).
Francis Lewis 66, Edison 64. Francisco Alvarez scored 23 points, including the winning free throws in overtime for Francis Lewis (10-6, 5-5 Queens II-A). Chris Lemieszewski had 11 points and Robert Alexis had 9 points and 10 boards for the Patriots.
Springfield Gardens 79, John Adams 76. Kirk Stewart had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Andra Deflomonte added 10 points and 8 assists for Springfield Gardens (2-10 Queens III-A).
Bayside 68, Townsend Harris 60. Ryan Leak scored 19 points, 4 steals and 2 blocks, and Ryan Eisner had 10 of his 11 points during a 27-4 fourth-quarter run in a come-from-behind win for Bayside (12-5, 7-3 Queens II-A), which trailed 56-41 after three quarters.
Campus Magnet 76, Van Buren 63. Clark Francois netted a game-high 28 points, Carlos Cadat added 21 points and 14 boards, and Steven Brevitt added 14 points and 7 assists for Campus Magnet (4-9 Queens III-A). The win was longtime coach Chuck Granby’s 550th, tying him with former Edison coach Floyd Bank atop the all-time PSAL list.
Newtown 59, Transit Tech 57. Tyshawn Bierria had 28 points, and Alberto Ortiz added 10 points, including a driving layup with 35 seconds left in overtime for Newtown (11-8) in a non-league win. Transit Tech was led by Brian Cruz’s 16 points.
Aviation 53, Thomas Jefferson 47. Nelson Cueto scored 25 points and Donovan Davey added 11 points for Aviation (9-8) in a non-league win.
Newcomers 78, Queens Vocational 74. Luis Matos scored 14 of his 19 points during the fourth quarter and two overtime periods, and Beethoven Joseph added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Newcomers (4-14, 4-10 Queens B). Vincent Calderon led Queens Vocational (5-7) with 30 points.
American Studies 70, Robert F. Wagner 68. Foluke had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Galeano added 16 points and Anees Puri had 13 points and 7 rebounds, including the game-winning jumper with 13 seconds left, for American Studies.
Robert F. Kennedy 59, Renaissance School 48. Danny Shelton had 21 points and 7 boards, and Devaughn Oree netted 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for RFK (6-6 Queens B).
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
