Monday, Jan. 8, 2018: No. 9 Thomas Jefferson routs shorthanded Molloy boys

   Leading off today: Marcus Burnett scored 22 points and Jaquan Carlos 19 as No. 9 Thomas Jefferson crushed No. 3 Archbishop Molloy 74-45 in action between state-ranked boys Class AA basketball teams at the Apparel Challenge in Queens on Sunday.

   Molloy star Cole Anthony was injured and did not play one day after the Stanners scored a 93-66 win over Amityville, ranked eight in Class A.

   Jefferson made 16 3-pointers, with Burnett and Carlos combining for nine. The Orange Wave led 37-20 at the half, and Carlos opened third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer.

   Moses Brown scored a game-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds for Molloy.

   More Apparel Challenge: Frankie Policelli scored 25 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers as Long Island Lutheran pulled away from Archbishop Stepinac in the fourth quarter for a 79-72 win.

   LuHi is ranked fifth and Stepinac sixth in Class AA.

   Policelli, who recently picked up offers from Cincinnati and Dayton, sparked a 10-2 run with three 3-pointers down the stretch to give LuHi a 71-63 advantage. He also made thee 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Crusaders took a 22-13 lead.

   Tyson Etienne added 20 points and eight assists in the win. Alan Griffin led Stepinac with 22 points.

      Host Christ the King, second-ranked in Class AA, rolled past Class A No. 5 Chaminade 74-52 as Kofi Cockburn produced 15 points and 11 rebounds. Quaran Mcpherson scored a team-high 16 points.

      In girls action between the state's top two Class AA teams, Christ the King downed No. 2 South Shore 51-37.

   Split for St. Ray's: St. Raymond's shot 23-for-33 in the second half and defeated Half Hollow Hills East 82-72 in the Gary Charles Hoop Classic at Adelphi University.

   St. Raymond's is ranked 15th and HHH East seventh in Class AA in the New York State Sportswriters Association ratings.

   Gary Grant scored 14 of his 22 points after halftime and Omar Silverio had 15 of his 19 after the break.

   A day earlier, Knox School from Suffolk County edged St. Ray's 76-75 as 6-10 sophomore Josh Gray made a free throw with no time remaining on the clock after being fouled on a drive to the basket.

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   More boys basketball: Donatas Kupsas of Long Island Lutheran will announce his college decision Monday The 6-foot-9 forward is expected to choose between Weber State, Hofstra and Fordham.

   Girls basketball: Senior Alex Arenas had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Moore Catholic in a 56-54 win over Kennedy Catholic, ranked fifth in Class A. Kayla Schmitter finished with a game high 17 points.

   Bracketology: With about six weeks left in the regular season, Kevin Devaney Jr. has revived his popular Bracketology feature tracking seeding points for the Section 1 boys basketball tournament.

   Devaney wrote on social media that he's also working on the girls seedings updates and expects to have those standings posted soon.

   Retired coach dies: Robert Jay "Doc" Holliday, a longtime Long Island football and lacrosse coach, died Jan. 3 at the age of 70.

   Holliday started as an East Islip football assistant in 1969, became head coach at Kings Point i 1981 and returned to East Islip as head coach to post a 17-2 record in 1985-86. One of his Kings Park players was future Major League Baseball great Craig Biggio.

   "He was more of a players coach, which was probably rare at that time," said East Islip grad John Biskup, who went on to kick for Syracuse University. "He let you play. He didn't really micromanage your skills on the field. He coached where he had to, but he let you play for the most part and let your athleticism take over."