By Dylan Butler
Charles Richardson flashed a smile late in the fourth quarter but it was not because the Flushing boys’ basketball coach was happy that the Red Devils were on their way to a 50-42 win over Newtown in a battle for sole possession of second place in Queens I-A Monday.
No, this was an ear-to-ear grin of pure frustration.
“I thought we were very rusty and our free throws were horrible,” Richardson said. “It was a good win but we made a lot of mistakes, mistakes you can’t make if you expect to win over the long haul.”
Newtown coach Pat Torney was not pleased either. Sure, he was missing much ballyhooed and beleaguered Tyshawn Bierra, who was out with the flu, but his healthy players nearly made their coach sick with their sloppy play.
“If this was a television show,” Torney said, “I would have changed the channel a long time ago.”
Must-see TV, this was not.
Both teams showed signs of rust after returning from the holiday break. Neither team shot or handled the ball well in a foul-plagued contest that had more stops and starts than the traffic outside on Northern Boulevard.
But led by Vernon Teel, who had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, Flushing (14-4, 7-2) did a little better to get to the line where the Red Devils outscored Newtown (10-4, 5-3), 19-17.
Without Bierra, Torney depended on the Pioneers’ “Big Three,” but Ranier Rickards (16 points, eight rebounds, three steals), Byron Headley (11 rebounds) and Jeff Pena (nine points) combined to shoot 9-for-44 from the field.
“We missed Ty, not having Ty makes a difference,” Torney said of Bierra, who averages 25 points per game and scored 38 in Newtown’s 73-58 win over Flushing Dec. 1. “You have to play the hand you’re dealt, and some of our guys didn’t step up and we didn’t make the plays down the stretch.”
After trailing 12-11 early in the second quarter, Flushing led 22-20 at the half and never relinquished the lead despite its lackluster play.
The Pioneers tied the game at 33 on a free throw by Rickards, but Andrew Luchetti (11 points) scored on a backdoor cut and also drained a free throw.
Luchetti missed the back end of the bonus foul shots but Teel grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on the putback.
Charles Kepler capped the 10-1 run with a corner jumper to put Flushing in front, 42-34, with 3:23 left in the fourth quarter, prompting Torney to call a timeout.
Long Island City 54, Aviation 23. Michael Laboy had 17 points and seven assists, Preston Bell had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Silvio Marfe added 11 points for Long Island City (11-2, 9-0 Queens I-A).
Forest Hills 96, Grover Cleveland 91. Lawrence Young had 36 points, 10 assists and eight steals, Marc Shabat had 21 points and Ryan Schlacter added eight points in overtime to lead Forest Hills (5-9, 3-5 Queens I-A). Rad Wyrwas scored 15 points, including three three-pointers in the fourth quarter as Cleveland (2-5 Queens I-A) rallied from an 18-point deficit to force overtime.
Bryant 91, Franklin K. Lane 75. Salvadore Patricio had 33 points and seven rebounds, Paul Cline added 22 points and Mark Quaies and Nick Demetrulacos scored 11 points apiece for Bryant (10-5, 5-4 Queens I-A).
Springfield Gardens 46, August Martin 38. Melvin Clarida scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds and Charles Jenkins added seven points and nine assists for Springfield Gardens (5-11, 3-6 Queens III-A).
Robert F. Kennedy 58, Newcomers 56. DeVaughn Oree had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Michael Diaz scored 17 points, including the game-winning jumper with five seconds left, and Jonathan Sierra added 16 points for RFK (6-8, 3-7 Queens B). Lukasz Zienko had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Renzo Bertran added 16 points for Newcomers (2-7 Queens B).
Queens Vocational 48, Renaissance 47. George Fervil had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Jainer Villafane had seven points and seven rebounds, including the game-winning shot with five seconds left in overtime for Queens Vocational (5-8, 3-6 Queens B).
Robert F. Wagner 95, Academy of American Studies 93. Carl Wardlaw had 44 points and Latyif Scarborough added 14 points for Robert F. Wagner (12-6, 8-2 Queens B) in the overtime victory. Danial Levent drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to force overtime en route to a game-high 47 points for American Studies (9-1 Queens B).
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
