Casey Jacobson from Stanford, Purdue’s Willie Deane, Ben Gordon from Connecticut.
All shut down by Royal Ivey.
But Saturday night in New Orleans, the former…
By Anthony Bosco and Dylan Butler
His defensive resume includes a litany of some of the top players in college basketball.
Casey Jacobson from Stanford, Purdue’s Willie Deane, Ben Gordon from Connecticut.
All shut down by Royal Ivey.
But Saturday night in New Orleans, the former Cardozo standout met his match in Syracuse man-child Carmelo Anthony. The 6-foot-8 versatile freshman forward scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Orangemen past Ivey’s Texas Longhorns, 95-84, in the second national semifinal.
“Probably the hardest defensive job I’ve had since I’ve been in college,” the Hollis native said of guarding Anthony. “Six-foot-8, explosive, strong, can shoot over you, drive you, spin move, everything. It’s pretty tough. He’s a great player.”
Ivey, a junior guard who gave up 5 inches and 25 pounds to Anthony, struggled offensively. He scored 4 points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field.
Ironically, on a team that shot 62.5 percent from the foul line, Ivey was the one Longhorn player who was perfect (2-for-2) from the charity stripe.
“I wouldn’t trade Royal Ivey for anybody in terms of what he brings with his attitude, his toughness and, as he said, he just played against the toughest player he’s played against in three years of college basketball,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “And that’s saying a lot.”
Realizing his shot was off, Ivey instead looked to pass, kicking the ball inside of Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone to Brad Buckman (14 points, 7 rebounds) or out to red-hot Brandon Mouton, who scored 20 of his team-high 25 points in the first half.
Ivey’s lone basket came on a layup with seven seconds left in the first half as Texas went into the locker room, trailing 48-45.
Among the 54,432 in attendance at the Louisiana Superdome were Ivey’s parents, Rod and Jennifer, as well as his younger brother, Sterling. Ron Naclerio, Ivey’s coach at Cardozo, also made the trip.
“Sitting there with 54,000 people — it’s chaos. You’re kind of numb,” Rod Ivey said. “We walked down Bourbon Street later, and he can’t go down the street without people stopping him. It’s awesome.”
Added Naclerio: “It’s a great feeling. Of course, you always want to script the ending better, but I was real happy for him. Speaking with the Texas people, they love him.”
With the entire starting lineup, including Ivey and National Player of the Year T.J. Ford, expected back, the Iveys and Naclerio might be making another trip to the Final Four next year in San Antonio, Texas.
St. John’s senior pitcher Courtney Fitzgerald, a former Mary Louis Academy standout, was named Big East Pitcher of the Week for a second time this season, and senior second baseman Alesha Argeras was named co-Player of the Week after leading the Red Storm to a pair of conference sweeps this weekend.
Fitzgerald went 3-0 with one save in wins over Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The Bellerose native struck out 22 in 20 innings, while walking just six. Her Big East earned run average is 1.40.
Argeras went 7-for-12 over the weekend, including a pair of doubles and five RBIs against Pittsburgh and a triple, two RBIs and a run scored vs. Virginia Tech.
After hosting Columbia in a non-league game scheduled for Wednesday, the Red Storm (18-18, 5-3) heads to Notre Dame Friday and Syracuse Sunday for a pair of Big East doubleheaders.
Concordia 11-14, Queens College 7-8. The Queens Knights (4-7, 3-5) dropped a twin bill to Concordia Saturday, giving up a combined 25 runs in the two games. In the opener, Carlos Cruz belted a solo dinger, while Richard Rivera and Sean Kemmerer each had two hits and an RBIs. But Queens starter Keith Haack gave up nine earned runs through four innings of work, picking up the loss.
In the nightcap, Concordia (17-8-1) starter Joe Walentin never made it out of the first inning, surrendering six earned runs in just a third. But the Queens staff did not fare much better, as John Waldheim gave up eight through four and Patrick Hogarty allowed five earned runs in three innings out of the pen. Michael Medea belted a two-run home run, and Cruz smacked his third round-tripper of the season.
Queens College 11, Teikyo Post 7. The Knights picked up non-league win April 3 despite a shaky performance by starter Luke Fitzgibbon, who was touched for seven earned runs. Robert Cruz Jr. got the win in relief, while Medea had three hits and four RBIs. John Aluska and Vincent Garelick also had three hits.
Queens College 5-7, St. Thomas Aquinas 4-0. The Lady Knights swept a doubleheader on April 2 behind the solid pitching of Stephanie Santoro in the opener and Victoria Forsythe in the second game. Santoro went 6.1 innings in the first game, allowing three earned runs and giving way to Forsythe, who picked up the save by shutting the door in the seventh. Cheryl Cosenzo and former Francis Lewis star Lucia Oswald provided the offense, each driving in two.
In the second game, Forsythe allowed just three hits and struck out four in going the distance for the shutout win for Queens (11-8, 8-2). Cosenzo had four hits, Jessica Blake had three and Oswald added a two-run home run.
Queens also split a doubleheader against Southampton March 31, losing the first 4-3 and winning the nightcap 8-5.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
