By Joseph Staszewski
It’s been happy holidays for the Christ the King boys’ basketball team. The Royals completed a 4-1 stretch of tournament play with a comfortable 80-54 win over New Mission (Mass.) in the Shooting Touch Shootout at Emmanuel College in Massachusetts Dec. 28.
Christ the King won both games at the event, topping Iolani (Hawaii) 65-43 the day early. The team was coming off a 2-1 showing at the Chick-Fil-A Classic in South Carolina before Christmas. Its only loss there was a 56-54 set back to Blanche Ely (Fla.) in the opening round. The Royals, who are 6-1 overall, have not let up, signs of a mature, business-like group.
“Even the game we lost we had a lot of energy,” Royals Coach Joe Arbitello said. “We missed a lot of free throws down the stretch that cost us. This team is veteran. They know how to win.”
Arbitello is also getting big-time efforts from stars Jordan Fuchs and Jon Severe. Fuchs, a forward, averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds to earn all-tournament honors at the Chick-Fil-A Classic. Severe was equally impressive in Massachusetts, where he was also named to the all-tournament squad. The shooting guard had 20 of his 23 points at the half to go along with six rebounds and five assists against Iolani.
The coach also praised the overall play of guard Malik Harmon and center Adonis Delarosa. Everything has fallen into place early for CK.
“It just seems like everyone is clicking where they need to right now,” Arbitello said.
He pointed to his club’s 58-54 win over Wesleyan Christian (N.C.) in the final game of the Chick-Fil-A Classic as its most impressive of the bunch. Arbitello called them as good a team as he’s seen, led by junior Theo Pinson, ranked No. 7 in his class by ESPN and 6-foot-8 freshman Harry Giles. Andre Walker held Pinson to six points, aided by a strong Royals defense that Arbitello praised. Christ the Kong returns to action on the road against Xaverian Sunday.
“Our defensive schemes and the way we play our on the ball defense have been very, very good,” Artbitello said.
