Eighth-Grade Boys Ousted From The Playoffs
For the second time in as many games, the St. Pancras Cougars eighth-grade boys intermediate basketball team played a playoff game at their opponent’s home court Sunday, Mar. 3, but it was an obstacle they could not overcome again.
The Cougars, which had been winning by three points through the game’s first three quarters, was eliminated in the second-round of the playoffs after losing to St. Robert Bellarmine, 38-36, in Bayside. The team had defeated Resurrection Ascension in the first round of the playoffs a week prior in Rego Park.
The Cougars finished the regular season 9-3.
“A season ending is never fun,” said head coach Mike Rapp. “I just hoped the team enjoyed themselves, learned and are proud of their achievements because they should be.”
Hayden Belkin led the Cougars in scoring with 15 points and also grabbed nine rebounds and recorded three blocks. Anthony Cutrone was inserted off the bench and immediately gave the team a defensive lift; pulling down nine rebounds of his own and exhibiting a presence down in the post area.
Belkin started the game off by nailing a deep three-pointer in the opening seconds. Offensive rebounds and forced turnovers contributed to the Cougars’ 12-7 lead at halftime.
Both scoring and ball control were nonexistent in the second half for the Cougars, however. For the final three minutes of the third quarter and the beginning four minutes of the fourth quarter, the Cougars were stuck on 29 points.
Meanwhile, the home team climbed back from a 10-point early second-half deficit and forced 17 turnovers down the stretch.
“When you turn the ball over at such an alarming rate in crunch time, you will lose,” Rapp said after the game. “It’s that simple.”
After seeing the lead disappear with one minute left in the game, Matthew Murawski scored on a layup and defended his coaches’ confidence in him after suffering through a rare poor shooting performance.
“Matthew is a talented player and some of our biggest wins were because of his offensive ability,” Rapp noted. “The shots just weren’t falling that game.”
But a turnover off of an in-bound play with 21 seconds left led to an easy basket for St. Roberts, which proved to be the game winner.
A CYO official said sites for playoff games are predetermined, but Rapp believes something should be done so that teams are not handed an advantage.
“I found the fact that we played two straight playoff games at our opponent’s home court is ridiculous,” Rapp said. I’ve been involved with CYO sports as a player and coach for 15 years now and have never seen such a thing. It’s an issue that should be looked into.”
