By Simon Chen
With half of the division’s teams still vying for the division championship, there is still no clear-cut victor for that title. But still sitting atop the division is the black and gold is Telecommunications (11-3). Despite having their nine game winning streak snapped, with a 64-48 loss to Sheepshead Bay, the Jackets finished last week with a 1-1 record as they beat FDR, 82-73. Right behind the Jackets is FDR (10-4). Despite dropping two straight, they’re still right in the mix, a game back of the T.A.T. Friday, January 18 Despite having three of the starting five scoring in double digits and clinching a playoff berth, Sheepshead Bay were still bitten by Erasmus Hall, 74-66 in a huge loss which has them two games behind of Telecommunications (11-3) for the division lead. Leading the Sharks’ bite was Frankie Drayton. The senior led all Sheepshead Bay starters by driving down the lane for 13 points while chipping-in three rebounds and five assists. While Nelson Bishop, swished in 12 points while pulling down a team-high 14 rebounds. Ricardo Pierre, also chimed-in with 11 points and eight rebounds in the defeat. With the playoff berth clinched, the Sharks still have a shot at the division title as they will need to win at least of their last four remaining and have Telecommunications drop their final three of their remaining four. The Sharks, with the loss, fell to 9-5 while Erasmus improved to 7-7. Coming into last week, the Cougars were just a half game behind Telecommunications for the division lead but dropping a crucial game to Telecommunications and, now a 72-60 contest to Tilden, FDR falls to a full one game back of the division-leaders. Leading the Cougars was versatile guard Jonathan Leduc. The senior led all Cougars with 20 points while adding five rebounds and 10 assists to the mix. His backcourt teammate and squad captain, Jeffery Barrett, laid in 13 points and chipped-in a rebound and five assists. While another senior emerged into double digits as guard Justin Leon swished-in 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Despite dropping the game, FDR (10-4) is still alive for the division crown, but with a surging Tilden (10-5) right behind them, every loss has huge implications right on them. Wednesday, January 16 With first place on the line and a mere half game separating these two teams, plenty of stakes were riding on this game. But it was the defending champs that walked away the victors as the Jackets defeated FDR, 82-73. With Telecommunications guard Gregory Briggs still missing from the lineup, guard Anthony Hodge had no problem taking charge as he netted 15 points while pulling down 13 rebounds and dealing out five assists. But it wasn’t just Briggs that stole show, guard Joshua Rivera and forward Kadeem Melvin, both contributed impressive performances also. Rivera chipped-in 14 points, six rebounds and three assists while Melvin posted another 14 points and snagged down 16 rebounds. On the other side of the scorers’ table, the Cougars were led by a pair of guards- Jeffery Barrett and Jonathan Leduc. Barrett led all scorers by swishing in 26 points, with nine of them coming from “Downtown,” while adding a rebound and six assists. His backcourt mate, Leduc, wasn’t too far behind as nailed in 22 and chimed in with 12 rebounds and seven assists. Despite Fort Hamilton Guard Medhi Elyamine dropping a game-high 22, it didn’t stop the Sharks from winning their third straight, as they rolled past the Tigers with a 65-61 victory. Leading the Sharks was Nelson Bishop, who posted up 19 points while snagging away 13 rebounds, and dishing out three assists. With other impressive Sharks performances were: Frankie Drayton (13 points, three rebounds, and six assists) and Peter Adegboye (12 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists). While Elyamine concluded his afternoon by adding seven rebounds and eight assists. The loss for the Tigers is their fourth in the last five games, making their record at 4-9 with five remaining. For Fort Hamilton to qualify for postseason play, they will need to win all five remaining games to have a remote shot at the playoffs. Madison’s F Kairo Noel swished in a team-high 24 points as he led the Knights to clip New Utrecht, 73-61. He would finish the afternoon by contributing 16 rebounds and two assists to the fold. With other impressive outputs for Madison was: guard Michael Trowers (17 points, two rebounds and three assists) and forward Abdul Lanlokun (12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists). As for New Utrecht, they dropped their seventh straight with their record falling to 3-11 while Madison improved to 8-6, three games behind Telecommunications (11-3). In a contest that they needed to have a long shot at the division crown, the Hornets were upended by Tilden, 64-59, thus ending their chances at capturing the top shot. In victory, the Blue Devils were led by Taron Pascal, who nailed in a team-high 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. With other impressive Blue Devils performances were Willis Hayslett (11 points, three rebound and 14 assists) and Octavio Rogers (10 points and 11 rebounds). Despite falling out of the divisional race, Midwood (6-8) still has a chance at the playoffs with four remaining games but they would need to win at least three. As for Tilden, their record improved to 10-5 as they sit 1.5 games out of first place behind Telecommunications (11-3).
