Déja vu for Christ the King

Malik Boothe and Andrew Gabriel surrounded Kemba Walker at the top of the key, giving him little room to get his last-second shot off. The two Christ the King seniors expected to play another five minutes when Rice’s junior point guard threw up the desperation, double-pump heave.
But the bounce of the ball is unfailingly not on the Royals’ side when they meet the Raiders in a championship game at Fordham University’s Rose Hill gym. Last year they lost twice at the Bronx college, first at the buzzer of the city championship and again in the state final.
So, almost in a pre-ordained manner, Walker’s bomb dropped in, handing the Raiders the CHSAA Class AA boys final, 44-41, and setting off yet another raucous Rice (26-3) celebration that left the Royals shaking their heads in disbelief. “Both of the shots were real lucky,” Gabriel said. “I was like, ‘nah, that’s no good,’ He didn’t even look at the rim.”
“He threw the ball,” CK Coach Bob Oliva said sarcastically. “It was like a double play.”
It was more like a double whammy. While they achieved their primary goal of a city championship the previous week, the Middle Village school’s first since 1995, this latest devastating loss was all too similar. “This hurts just as bad,” said Boothe, the St. John’s-bound guard, comparing the two last-second defeats. “This denied us our chance to go upstate this last year.
“It’s real tough,” the senior continued. “I don’t think anybody wants to end their [high school] career on a buzzer-beating shot.”
Boothe led CK with 13 points. Ryan Pearson had 12 and Gabriel 10. Walker scored 17 for Rice and Durrand Scott added 12.
The Royals (25-7) fought back from a seven-point deficit, but failed to execute down the stretch. Gabriel got their final points on a tip-in with just over a minute remaining, making it 41-39. After Dorvelle Carter tied it with an eight-foot baseline jumper, Boothe’s scoop shot in the lane came up short, as did Gabriel’s follow, setting up Walker’s heroics.
The final possession was intended for sharp-shooting junior Chris Fouche. But Walker got moving late with the play, with Boothe cutting off penetration. Rice tried to set a belated screen, but as the clocked inched toward triple zeroes, Walker had to fling up the shot, with Boothe and Gabriel swarming him.
“I had a feeling it was going in,” he said. “It felt good out of my hands.”
CK’s go-to guy, Erving Walker, had an afternoon he’d like to soon forget. The high-scoring Florida Gators-bound guard failed to score for the first time this year. When the Royals topped Rice in the city playoffs, CK’s leading scorer dropped in 27 points.
“I just had a bad game,” the junior said. “It wasn’t anything they did. Maybe my head wasn’t into it.”