Another early exit for Cardozo

Cardozo’s season ended the way many of their games began this year - on the short end of an extended run by the opposition. Banneker reeled off an 18-1 run over the final 4:24, sending the Judges home, 67-52, in the second round of the PSAL Class A playoffs Friday evening at Lehman College in the Bronx.
Tony Vails led the Warriors with a game-high 17 points and Anthony Stukes added 16. Senior Wes Frederique led the Judges with 13, James Vines finished with 11 and Sean Crawford and James Southerland chipped in with eight apiece.
It was the second consecutive year Cardozo was ousted in this round; last year another Brooklyn school, Grady, eliminated them. “This year was a rolling of the dice,” Cardozo Coach Ron Naclerio said. “For us to become an elite team, certain things had to happen that didn’t.”
Naclerio was alluding to his team’s lack of cohesion, defensive intensity and proper shot selection. In the final few minutes, all of these factors contributed to his team’s downfall, an exercise in offensive futility.
To be fair, much of the Judges’ shortcomings had to do with the lack of on court experience of their two leading scorers - the first-year senior guard Sean Crawford and the talented sophomore forward James Southerland - and the unfamiliarity of all the newcomers. James Vines, Edmund McRae, Mike Troll, Djibril Coulibaly and Terrence Howard all transferred into Cardozo this fall, while Crawford and Southerland were academically ineligible last year. “Some kids didn’t play to the level we hoped,” a disappointed Naclerio said.
And it was Crawford, their leading scorer during the regular season that faltered down the stretch. After feeding Southerland for a lay-up, putting the Judges (21-8) up 51-49, he shot a pair of air balls and turned the ball over twice.
“It was all nerves, the pressure,” said Crawford, explaining his poor play. “I guess, you can say, [I] choked. Looking back, I wish I relaxed.”