By Joseph Staszewski
It only took a few minutes for Mike McCleary to see and have enough.
The coach’s Archbishop Molloy boys’ basketball team was flat and sluggish following a tough one-point loss the night before to Woodlands. McCleary called a timeout a little more than two minutes into a tie game of the Stanners’ afternoon contest with White Plains and lit into his starters for their lack or energy and urgency.
“I kind of looked in their eyes and they were kind of blah, even this morning McCleary said. “We only played 18 hours ago. I tried to get them going pregame, it didn’t work. Then we came out and I felt I had to do that.”
It still took a little time for the squad to get going, but Molloy never trailed after that and went on to earn a convincing 70-48 victory over White Plains in the consolation game of Slam Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center last Saturday.
“After last night we were every disappointed,” senior guard D’Ante Warren said. “It’s a game we were supposed to win. He got on our case a little bit to pick up our intensity. It brought us to reality.”
Stony Brook Prep transfer Chase Audige (nine points) sparked a 19-4 run over the first and second quarters to give Molloy a 19-6 lead early in the second stanza. The Stanners, who led by as many as 12 points in the first half, were up 23-13 with four minutes to go before halftime and proceeded to go on a quick 9-0 run behind the hot shooting and aggressive play of Audige, D’Ante Warren and Dominick Priolo. A beautiful feed from Priolo to John O’Connor for a basket with 10 seconds left helped Molloy take a 34-17 advantage into the half.
“The game just felt easier,” Audige said.
Molloy was happy to get back in the win column after falling to St. Raymond 75-69 before Christmas and blowing a 15-point lead and losing to Woodlands 58-57 the night before. The Stanners committed 12 of their 21 turnovers in the second half and allowed the Hartsdale school to slip back into the contest and steal it. McCleary feels this year’s group needs to rely on its shooting, unselfishness and ball handling if it is going to be successful.
“I believe in this group,” McCleary said. “I believe they have a chance to do well if they play the way they have to.”
It did all those things against White Plains. Warren scored 14 points, shot 5 of 10 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Center Issac Grant tallied 16 points and eight boards. Jason Camus chipped in eight points for a Stanners team that turned it over just 12 times. Luis Cartagena led White Plains with 15 points.
“I feel like we are going to go far,” Warren said. “We still have a lot of improving to go, but we are going to grow as the season goes on.”
