By Joseph Staszewski
Austin Williams found out that claiming city bragging rights wasn’t going to be easy.
The Bayside guard and his PSAL senior all-star team led their Catholic counterparts by double digits late in the fourth quarter of the Mayor’s Cup basketball contest. Then in a blink of an eye Molloy guard Chaz Watler connected on three straight three-pointers and Stanners teammate Marko Kozul tied the score and sent it to overtime.
“We didn’t expect them to come back like that,” Williams said. “We thought the game was over, but the Catholic schools snuck up on us.”
Williams, who scored 11, played facilitator to Curtis’ Hassan Martin and Lincoln’s Elijah Davis in the extra session. It added up to the PSAL claiming a 148-136 win at Baruch College Friday night. It was the first time in recent year the city’s two main basketball leagues squared of in an all-star game format.
“It’s bragging rights for a little while,” Bayside and PSAL Coach Cory Semper said. “You can say and talk that you’re the best in the city.”
Watler, who finished with 16 points along with Kozul, said it was disappointing not to win. Christ the King’s Jon Severe scored 17 points and Jordan Fuchs added 13. Watler said his treys came in the flow of the game and he kept shooting, but the CHSAA wasn’t able to finish things off.
“It’s always good to win, but it’s just an honor to be recognized as one of the best,” Watler said. “We wanted to win, but it was just about the fun.”
There was a scary moment when Severe landing awkwardly on a dunk attempt and hopped out into the gym’s hallway in the fourth quarter. He was looked at, but had trouble standing on his own. Royals Coach Joe Arbitello, who was not in attendance, said Severe has a sore hip and thigh, but no damage to his knee.
“I didn’t notice he was hurt badly until he didn’t come back,” CK teammate Malik Harmon said.
Molloy’s Tatum shines as Catholic girls blast PSAL stars: For Molloy guard Amani Tatum, the Mayor’s Cup wasn’t another All-Star game. She and her teammates wanted to set a tone early and prove its league’s dominance.
“We definitely got our bragging rights,” Tatum said.
She scored 21 points to help the CHSAA cruise to a 100-66 win over the PSAL. She was an early catalyst along with Bishop Ford guard Aaliyah Lewis, who is headed to St. John’s. The duo lead an 11-1 run to close the first quarter and give her team a 24-11 lead.
“Even from the locker room they were about business,” CHSAA and Mary Louis Coach JoAnn Arbitello said of Tatum and Lewis.
She earned friendly bragging rights of her own with Murry Bergtraum star Jasmine Nwajei and former TMLA standout who plays summer ball with Arbitello. Nwajei led the PSAL with 15 points, but couldn’t get the best of her former coach.
“At the end of the fourth quarter I was standing by the [CHSAA] bench and I gave Coach JoAnn a high-five and they were like, ‘Jaz, you’re playing for the wrong team,’” Nwajei said.
