Sport: Basketball
Year: Senior
School: Christ the King
Pearson scored a career-high 40 points in Christ the King’s 95-90 overtime loss to St. Raymond’s last Friday in the South Bronx, a rematch of last March’s city championship game won by the Royals.
He scored 22 points in the first half and added 18 in the final two quarters and overtime on an assortment of dunks, offensive rebounds and put-backs, lay-ups and short jumpers. He sent the game into overtime with a twisting bank-shot in the lane with four seconds remaining in overtime.
“He was tremendous,” Royals Coach Bob Oliva said of Pearson, a senior small forward.
The 6-foot-6 southpaw, headed for George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association next September, joined the varsity as a sophomore and immediately impressed. His lanky arms and awkward style often caught opponents by surprise. Last year, the 17-year-old Far Rockaway native was a vital cog in CK’s first city championship club since 1995.
Nicknamed the Birdman, Pearson vastly improved his game over the summer, adding range to his ever-developing jumpshot and furthering his ball-handling skills to go along with his impressive athleticism and nose for the game.
