By Dylan Butler
“It's a great balance, we work well together,” Walker said. “It's like a husband that goes out and spends all the money and a wife that is cheap. We balance each other out.”And when both standouts on the Christ the King boys' basketball team are on their game, as was the case in the CHSAA Class AA intersectional quarterfinals last Thursday, the results are devastating.Just ask St. Raymond's coach Oliver Antigua, who watched Pearson and Walker combine for 60 points in the Royals' win over the Ravens at St. Francis Prep last Thursday.”They almost beat us by themselves,” Antigua said. “They tag-teamed us. Ryan killed us in the first half and Erving finished us off.”Pearson, the 6-foot-5 forward, is the loud one, both on and off the court. Playing in front of his future coach, George Mason's Jim Larranaga, Pearson had 33 points and 19 rebounds.”Our personalities are quite different,” Pearson said. “He's the quiet killer.”Florida-bound Walker added 27 points, including a pull-up three-pointer and steal and layup in the third quarter to put Christ the King up for good in the third quarter. “Erv did what Erv could do, he came down, pulled up and hit those three pointers,” Christ the King coach Bob Oliva said. “It's three points on the scoreboard, but it means so much more to our team.”Pearson was called up to the varsity team late in his sophomore season, joining Walker on a team that fell to Rice in the city title game. Last year, the two were integral parts of the Royals' championship team.”They're the best one-two punch of a guard and big man I've ever had,” Oliva said. “They are opposites, but they work well together.”Christ the King will face Bishop Loughlin in a semifinal game scheduled for Wednesday at St. John's. Loughlin, the top seed in Brooklyn/Queens, destroyed All Hallows, 89-50, in another quarterfinal last Thursday at St. Francis Prep.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at news@TimesLedger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
