One Crusader Steals Spotlight From Another

On the night Stephen Wood eclipsed the 1,000 point barrier, Perry Opong took center stage. Opong, the 5-foot-8 senior point guard, scored a game-high 24 points. But it was the final five, in the last 40 seconds, that squashed a furious rally by St. John’s Prep, and gave the Crusaders their first league win, 70-64, Friday evening.
Opong, a reserve a season ago, was thrust into the starting lineup when three starters from last year’s team transferred. He was at his best against the Red Storm, scoring 18 points in the opening half, as he sparked McClancy (5-3, 1-2 CHSAA A South) to a 35-22 halftime advantage.
When a 19-point lead was sliced to three with just 42 seconds remaining, Opong completed a 3-point play before calmly sinking a pair of free throws.
“I said to Perry in the locker room, ‘you bailed us out,’ ” McClancy Coach Don Kent said. With Wood still nursing a sore ankle, “he had to step up his game a little bit more tonight.”
Despite the injury, Wood, in his first game back, made history, scoring 22 points. The Jamaica resident reached the 1,000-point record on a free-throw at 5:36 of the third quarter.
“It felt good,” he said. “It was a rush. … It means I’m up there” with the school’s other 1,000-point scorers. “I will always be remembered.”
After his 22-point performance, Wood needs just 192 points to surpass Dennis McIntyre, class of ‘69, as the school’s all-time leading scorer. With 17 games to go, it seems like a realistic possibility.
After the euphoria of the milestone died down, the Crusaders allowed the inexperienced St. John’s Prep (1-6, 0-1 CHSAA A South) to get back in the game. The Red Storm, last year’s city champions, graduated their entire starting lineup and a few key reserves last year.
Behind sophomore James Reel (18 points), one of five underclassmen seeing extended minutes, they kept chipping away at a double-digit deficit, getting to within three with less than a minute remaining.
Unfortunately, that was as close as they would get.
“They’re experiencing varsity basketball, playing against kids two years older,” St. John’s Prep Coach James Gatto said of his youthful team. “It’s a good opportunity.”