By Joseph Staszewski
ALBANY – Christ the King can again call itself Federation champions.
The Royals boys’ basketball team beat Long Island Lutheran 73-64 in the Class AA final to claim the school’s third state Federation title and the first since 2010. The AA division is the most competitive one, and Lutheran had played in the A division last year but moved up for this season.
“We never listened to, ‘Oh, we are supposed to win. We are the higher team,’” senior guard Malik Harmon said. “We all want to win. We don’t like losing. Coming here that was our mindset.”
Jon Severe scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Harmon added 13 points for the Royals (28-3). Freshman Rawlie Alkins was the x-factor, chipping in 12 points and seven boards off the bench. UConn-bound forward Kentan Facey led LuHi (25-3) with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Albany Academy 50, John Adams 34: Paul Johnson scored 20 points, but he was the only Spartan in double digits in the state Federation Class A final. Markell French added six points as John Adams (25-6) shot just 21.4 percent from the field. Marcus Jackson led Albany Academy (16-4) with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Earlier this season, Adams won the school’s first ever PSAL city title.
“Every year we make a say goodbye speech and address the seniors,” Adams coach James Pitman said. “That was the hardest one I had to make.”
Cardinal O’Hara 66, Scholars Academy 54: Jessica Glaz scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter for Scholars (28-1) in the state Federation Class B semifinals. Taylor Gallagher chipped in 17 points and 10 boards and Emma Michaels had 11 points and eight rebounds. The Seawolves were looking for their first win in three straight trips upstate.
“It’s a great experience,” Gallagher said. “We really thought we had it this year.”
Cardinal O’Hara forwards Kelsey McCarthy and Sara DiPasquale combined for 23 points and 16 rebounds. Leah McDonald added 18 points and Aisha Shabazz had nine points and 13 boards.
