BY ZACHARY BRAZILLER
zbraziller@queenscourier.com
Bob Oliva proved to be somewhat of a soothsayer. Before Christ the King began a deadly stretch of three games in five days, a home-and-home against supremely talented Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) and borough rival Holy Cross, he sounded the alarm.
“We’re coming into some tough times,” he said, days before the treacherous slate would begin.
Oliva was worried how his Royals would handle two of the city’s top programs without junior guard Sean Johnson — “our third best player,” Oliva said — who missed Wednesday’s game against the young Lions and will be absent Friday against the Knights after being assessed a pair of technical fouls — an automatic ejection and two-game league suspension — in an 82-58 win over St. Francis Prep January 15.
What difference Johnson would’ve made isn’t clear, but the Royals sure could’ve used his help against Loughlin, who breezed to a 96-81 home victory behind 34 points from sensational sophomore Doron Lamb Wednesday night.
“He’s a special kind of player,” Loughlin Coach Khalid Green said. “When he’s on the court, he’s in his own personal oasis.”
“They key was Doron Lamb got off quick,” CK senior forward Ryan Pearson said. “We really missed Sean.”
Pearson paced CK, who saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end, with 28 points and Erving Walker added 21. The two, however, didn’t get nearly enough help — on either end of the court. Sophomore center Roland Brown was slow off the boards from the opening tip, beaten to loose balls all evening by Lions senior Kevin Phillip, a Drexel recruit.
Lamb, meanwhile, was as good as forecast. One of the area’s top sophomores, he lit up the Royals. The 6-foot-4 guard scored off screens and created his own shots, he finished in transition and delivered key baskets in halfcourt sets. Fellow underclassmen, 6-foot-6 power forward Jayvaughn Pinkston, held his own against Pearson, blocking several of the George Mason-bound southpaw’s attempts and added 16 points.
On the strength of Pinkston and Lamb, Loughlin (8-2, 4-1 CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens) dominated the second quarter, out-scoring the Royals 23-11. The lead grew to 22, 57-35, when Lamb completed an old-fashioned 3-point play early in the third quarter. CK clawed their way back, putting together runs of 11-2 and 8-0 to get within eight, highlighted by one of Walker’s rainbow 30-foot 3-pointers.
Loughlin didn’t wilt. Instead, they reeled off 11 straight points to ice the affair in the raucous Brooklyn gymnasium.
“We’re better than them,” Lamb said. “We proved that today.”
The Royals (13-3, 4-2 CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens) get their rebuttal Sunday, Johnson’s first game back from suspension. Pearson said CK dearly missed Johnson, whom he called their “defensive stopper,” and admitted he and Walker, the two senior leaders, tried to do much when the game got out of hand. Senior wing Anthony Martin picked it up in the second half during the run, scoring 11 points, but it wasn’t enough to offset the canyon-sized differential.
“We played terrible,” Pearson said. “This was a bad game for us.”
