GOLDEN EAGLES SOAR

Springfield Gardens Gets Past Rivals For First Fime In Eight Tries
BY ZACHARY BRAZILLER
If basketball doesn’t pan out, Charles Jenkins should try his hand at inspirational speaking.
Prior to Springfield Gardens’ first-place showdown with Campus Magnet, Jenkins, the Golden Eagles’ star point guard, stopped by the home of teammate Shawn Greenidge for a pep talk.
Greenidge, a first-year senior, responded with his finest game to date, scoring 14 points and rejecting a career-high 10 shots, in leading Springfield past their local rivals, Campus Magnet, 79-62, in front of a raucous home crowd Friday afternoon. “He motivated me today,” Greenidge said of the chat. “I told Charles I was going to play the best game I could.”
Jenkins revealed the talk centered on his teammate’s inability to finish around the hoop. While he converted on numerous feeds from his floor leader, Greenidge’s most important contribution came on the defensive end. Twice in the third quarter, the lanky 6-foot-3 reserve registered multiple blocks, and he repeatedly altered the shots of the towering Campus Magnet duo of Keith McAllister and Early Anglin.
“I was kind of surprised,” he said of the rejections, “but my longs arms caught it.”
When starter Keith Simmons picked up two quick fouls, Springfield Coach Angelo Buono inserted Greenidge. The move paid dividends. “He was the x-factor in the game,” Buono said.
“We’ve never seen him play like that,” Jenkins said.
The victory was a long time in coming for Jenkins and Springfield (15-1, 11-0 Queens III-A). They had met Campus Magnet seven previous times with Jenkins, falling short in each match-up.
Naturally, the Golden Eagles backers looked at the showdown as a tell-tale sign of where their team stood. The meeting was met with the hype usually attached to a playoff game. For the first time all year, there was a $2 fee to get into the home gymnasium. Signs were posted all over the school. A local website called it their game of the week.
The hype didn’t die down after the opening tip, either, nor did the jubilation subside after the game had long been decided, not with Jenkins hopping up and down like the Energizer Bunny as the final seconds ticked away, chest-bumping the Springfield football player Dominique Clarke.
“I’m so excited right now, I’m speechless. Most of the teams we played, we thought they had green shorts on,” said Jenkins, referring to the Campus Magnet colors.
Now it’s Campus Magnet (16-3, 10-1 Queens III-A) who may see Jenkins everywhere they go. Scoring nine points in a 15-3 to start the second quarter that gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good, Jenkins finished with a game-high 29 points, 14 in the deciding fourth quarter, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and just one turnover.
“He broke down our defense and that created plays for them,” said McAllister, who led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 12 rebounds. “He has the ability to do a lot of things.”
None of which were more important, perhaps, than the inspiration he provided.