By Marc Raimondi
“All my life, I've just been a playmaker,” said the junior point guard and team co-captain. “If it comes down to it, I don't mind taking the big shot.”Clearly. After the Bulldogs' Malachi Peay tied the game with 3:57 left, Scott raced down the court, pulled up and drilled a short jumper to give the Judges back the lead they would not relinquish again.In a possible PSAL Queens championship game preview, Cardozo went on to beat Campus Magnet, 65-62, last Thursday afternoon in Cambria Heights in a PSAL Queens AA game. It was the first regular-season league game the Bulldogs have lost at home in four seasons.For the Judges, it was a must win to solidify the top seed in the boro for this week's tournament and a high seed in the upcoming citywide playoffs. But for Campus Magnet, it was a disappointment – missed opportunity.”We had a chance to get them and we let it slip by,” coach Chuck Granby said.Campus Magnet (17-8, 14-4 Queens AA) beat Cardozo (20-3, 18-0) in the finals of last year's boro championships. It's a loss that has haunted junior James Southerland.”It was on my mind all year,” said Southerland, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds in the victory last Thursday.Those demons have been exorcized. The nucleus of this year's team, transfers Trinity Fields (15 points), J.J. Garvin (12), Chris Abney and Edy Toussaint, is completely different.The Bulldogs rely on a pair of senior stalwarts, Peay (21 points) and McAllister (11), and Granby hopes to get junior Mennon Chavis (broken wrist), the team's best shooter, back in time for boros.Barring an upset, the stage very well could be set Saturday at St. Francis College – a rematch for boro supremacy between the two teams that, in recent memory, have owned Queens. If both can fulfill their end of the bargain, it'll be the third year in a row they play in the final Ð this would be the rubber match.Said Southerland: “We gotta be the kings of Queens again.”Thomas Edison 60, Bayside 54. In the only upset of the first round, the fifth-seeded Inventors knocked off the No. 4 Commodores Tuesday afternoon at Bayside. Devin Brown had 18 points and 7 rebounds and Allan Thomas had 16 points in the victory. Presano Bell had 10 rebounds for Edison, an 'A' team in its win over Bayside, which plays in Queens AA.Thomas Edison plays at top-ranked Cardozo in the semifinals Thursday.Cardozo 56, Forest Hills 47. The upstart Rangers, seeded eighth, gave the top team in Queens trouble, but the Judges hung on Tuesday in the first round of the boro playoffs at Cardozo. Toussaint led the home team with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Southerland pitched in 13 points and 10 rebounds.Sophomore Damir Beharovic had 20 points and sophomore Andre Armstrong added 10 for Forest Hills. Senior point Duran Velasquez had 6 assists and sophomore Keith Stevens had 14 rebounds in a losing effort.In other first-round action, No. 2 Campus Magnet beat No. 7 Newtown, 51-30, in Cambria Heights and No. 3 Beach Channel defeated No. 6 John Adams, 42-31, at Beach Channel.
