By The TimesLedger
Name: Roberto Lopez
School: Flushing High School
Sport: Basketball
Position: Point Guard
Year: Senior
Height: 5-foot-5
Weight: 125
Lopez scored just seven points, but no one scored more important free throws than Lopez in a dramatic league win Monday. With Flushing trailing Bryant, 63-62, the senior point guard sunk two free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 0.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lead the Red Devils to a 64-63 victory.
Lopez also alertly missed the third free throw on purpose as the ball caromed off the rim and bounced on the floor as time ran out.
“They were just regular free throws,” said Lopez. “If I put any pressure on myself, I would miss. It’s what I practice for.”
Lopez’s teammates, freshman Travis Colburn and senior Mario Nunez, were also instrumental in the come-from-behind victory, which saw Flushing rally from an 11-point halftime deficit. Colburn scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and Nunez added 14 points and 14 rebounds … Forest Hills junior Chris Chin reached the 1,000-point plateau as he scored a game-high 28 points in a 62-49 win over John Bowne. The sharpshooter followed that up with a 10-point, 10-assist outing in an 81-72 win over Grover Cleveland … Maria Velasquez, a senior guard on the Richmond Hill girls’ basketball team, also netted her 1,000th point against Grover Cleveland and then netted 13 points in a 47-46 overtime loss to Forest Hills … Cardozo senior guard Cameron Tyler scored 30 points in the Judges’ 101-71 win over Park West and also netted a season-high 33 in a 8-77 victory over Tilden … Robert F. Wagner’s Jaysen Murphy recorded a triple-double (16 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists) in an 85-49 win over Renaissance … In his first start, Martin Luther transfer Tyrone Dulin scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the first half of Bayside’s 75-42 romp over Truman in the Queens Winter Classic Saturday at Elmcor … Preston Bell had 26 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Long Island City boys’ basketball team over Franklin K. Lane, 70-47 … Dinorah Diaz recorded a pair of double-doubles last week for the John Adams girls’ basketball team … Diana Frank netted a season-high 31 points for the Springfield Gardens girls’ basketball team in a 53-21 win over Flushing … Ivan Marika scored 27 for Molloy in a non-league win over Wadleigh … Shay Doron led the Christ the King girls’ team to wins over Molloy and The Breck School … On the ice, Mike Farrell netted a hat trick, including a pair of power play goals, for Molloy in a 5-5 tie with Kellenberg. He also had a goal in a 7-1 romp of St. Edmund … Jason Andjelovic scored four goals and had three assists for McClancy in a 1-1 week.
