BY MITCH ABRAMSON
Van Buren, seeded No. 30, could have easily overwhelmed a Flushing team that, with the exception of senior Vernon Teel, had nobody to prevent Van Buren from dominating on the inside. As it was, Van Buren (15-7) knew what it was doing. The VeeBees kept chucking away from the perimeter and led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter before succumbing to a late run by No. 35 Flushing in the fourth quarter. At that point, Van Buren displayed its versatility by abandoning the 3-pointer and driving hard to the basket where they were fouled and scored 9 points on free throws down the stretch.”We use whatever is working,” said senior Anthony Soares, a power forward who scored a team-high 21 points and 9 rebounds. “We can use our height or hit from the outside.”Early on, the weapon of choice for Soares was the 3-pointer. He knocked down a pair of treys in the second quarter that broke a 27-27 deadlock. Anwar Boling, the team's emotional leader who finished with 17 points and 5 assists, buried a 3-pointer that ignited a 13-2 third quarter run that was highlighted by his acrobatic layup on a baseline move. Van Buren led 51-29 with 3:40 left in the third.Moody and emotionless for most of the game, Flushing (18-7) came alive in the fourth quarter and started attacking the basket and playing defense. Teel, held in check for most of the afternoon by defenders who forced him to the middle and away from the baseline where he scores most of his points, scored 14 of his game-high 32 points in the final stanza.”We were battling, but I think their height wore us down a little,” said Flushing head coach Charles Richardson, who admitted that he didn't think his team could make the playoffs when the season began. “Once we made it here, I felt like we really had a shot. I thought we were going to pull this one out.”Van Buren advances to the second round to face third-seeded Cardozo Thursday. The Judges defeated the VeeBees in the quarterfinals of the Queens Borough Championships by 7 points. According to Boling, Van Buren will have its leading scorer Jason Plenty, who missed part of the season because he was academically ineligible, back in uniform for the game. Cardozo's team was in attendance Tuesday, and its coach Ron Naclerio was frantically taking notes in the bleachers, preparing for the eventual match-up.”We played a great game against Cardozo,” said Van Buren coach Robert Weiss of the quarterfinal match. “We all thought we could win that game. We actually outscored them in the second half. That gives us confidence.”Bayside 77, Grand Street Campus 56. Patrick Hazel scored 15 points, had 11 rebounds and 10 blocks for No. 25 Bayside (16-7) in a first round playoff game. Cameron Sutton scored 18 points and B.J. Garvin scored 14 points in the win for the Commodores, which play at No. 8 Robeson Thursday. Kareem Corprew had 22 points for No. 40 Grand Street Campus.Bryant 66, Westinghouse 60. Tony Dennison and Johnny Barnes scored 19 points apiece for No. 26 Bryant (19-6), which takes on sixth-seeded Boys & Girls Thursday in the second round.Long Island City 52, John Bowne 40. Preston Bell had 26 points to lift No. 16 Long Island City (23-4) past 48th-seeded Bowne. The Bulldogs will host No. 17 Monroe in the second round Thursday.Springfield Gardens 89, Thurgood Marshall 70. Melvin Clarida had 32 points and 10 rebounds for No. 18 Springfield Gardens (22-3), which plays at No. 15 South Shore Thursday.St. Patrick 68, Benjamin Cardozo 46. Drew Gladstone scored 15 points for the Judges and Corey Fisher scored 14 points and handed out 7 assists for the Celtics at the Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, New Jersey on Sunday.Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
