2018-19 New York City boys basketball (through Dec. 15)
The weekly look at the New York City metro area's PSAL, CHSAA and AIS schools for the New York State Sportswriters Association is compiled by Mike Libert:
Class AA
1) Cardinal Hayes (6-0)- The Cardinals put together a dominant effort Tues-
day on the road at Mount St. Michael. Joe Toussaint scored 31 points for
Hayes as they made easy work of the Mountaineers 76-51. And then while not
necessarily playing their best, the Cardinals put together a great defen-
sive effort to pull away from Iona Prep late on Friday for a 56-43 win.
It's a pair of home games coming up for Cardinal Hayes as they look to stay
unbeaten with a pair of matchups against Xaverian and Molloy.
2) South Shore (7-1)- In one of the more impressive performances you will
see, the Vikings took on Christ the King at the Barclays Center last Sunday
and completely took it to the CHSAA power in the second half for a 75-54
victory that really opened a lot of eyes. Isaiah Richards was powerful in-
side and finished with a 16-point, 15-rebound game. South Shore would add
two blowout wins over George Westinghouse and Boys & Girls in league play by
scores of 102-55 and 85-52, respectively. A home game against Abraham Lin-
coln comes up for the Vikings on Tuesday before South Shore heads to Kentucky
to play in the King of the Bluegrass Classic from Thursday through Sunday.
3) Brooklyn Collegiate (6-1)- Since falling to South Shore on the road early
this month the Lions have been nothing short of fantastic as they have become
a true title contending threat in the PSAL. It was a three-game week that
opened with convincing wins over Boys & Girls and Paul Robeson, but the week
closed out for the Lions with a 56-43 victory at Abraham Lincoln that saw them
lead from start to finish. Glen Anderson was cool and calm at the point and
led with 13 points and eight assists. Brooklyn Collegiate will next play Sun-
day against St. Frances Academy (MD) in the City Legendz Invitational in the
Bronx before getting Eagle Academy II on Tuesday.
4) Christ the King (2-1)- While it wasn't the way the Royals wanted it to go
they were competitive for a half against South Shore. But even with Quaran
McPherson '20 putting up 16 points, the size inside of the Vikings was just
too much for Christ the King to overcome in a 75-54 defeat at the Barclays
Center last Sunday. The Royals would rally on Friday night as they went to
White Plains and downed Archbishop Stepinac 85-69 behind three players scor-
ing over 20 points. Another Sunday game awaits as the Royals head to Msgr.
Scanlan this week before hosting St. Francis Prep on Tuesday and Xaverian on
Friday.
5) Thomas Jefferson (5-2)- After losing heartbreakers to Brooklyn Collegiate
and Long Island Lutheran by a combined four points, the Orange Wave look to be
back on track as they completely dominated Paul Robeson, Abraham Lincoln and
George Westinghouse by scoring over 90 points in each game. Kareem Welch had
one of the more impressive games of the year against Robeson by scoring an
astounding 64 points in their 143-80 win, knocking down 8 of 12 from behind
the arc. Another tough non-league game is next as on Sunday Jefferson will go
on the road to take on Bishop Loughlin, then it's a home date with Boys &
Girls on Tuesday before getting Eagle Academy of the Bronx on Saturday in
another non-league matchup for the perennial Brooklyn power.
6) Bishop Loughlin (4-0)- Staying undefeated, the Lions \mowed through three
CHSAA opponents. Stepinac was first up as Justin Champagnie had 29 points in
an 84-75 victory. Another tough one came on Tuesday as St. Francis Prep proved
to be a challenge. Jaheim Young scored 24 as the Lions came away with the
80-74 win. Holy Cross on Friday was the easiest of the three as Loughlin took
that one 67-53. Expect the next seven days to be a bit tougher; though it's
just a one-game week, that one game will come on Sunday against Thomas Jeff-
erson.
7) St. Raymond's (2-3)- It's been a strange start for the Ravens, who lost
their first three to leave many wondering what was going on with the CHSAA
Bronx power. They went down to Xaverian last Sunday looking for a win and did
so in a big way. Gary Grant '20 had 24 points in a dominating 96-63 road win
that seemingly has given them a ton of confidence. They followed Saturday with
a 72-45 victory over a very good Wings Academy team. Another non-league test
will come on Sunday against Wadleigh of the PSAL before a home game with Mount
St. Michael on Tuesday. The Slam Dunk Tournament follows this weekend with the
opener against Stepinac on Friday and either Long Island Lutheran or Curtis on
Saturday.
8) St. Peter's (5-1)- If you want to talk about a team with a crazy week you
can start with the Eagles. Liam Murphy '20 and Chris Clancy '19 put together
phenomenal efforts in wins over Msgr. Scanlan and New Dorp, combining for over
50 points in both games. St. Peter's then ran into a wall on Thursday, falling
shockingly to St. Joseph by the Sea 53-50 in a game where nothing seemed to go
right. They are still a team that has a number of quality wins and will look
to bounce back when they go to Stepinac on Sunday before hosting Moore Cath-
olic on Tuesday, and then on Saturday getting a visit in from a young, danger-
ous Iona Prep team.
9) Wings Academy (5-1)- Undefeated and flying high, Wings started the week by
leading for nearly the entire way and downing main rival Eagle Academy 67-61
as Tommy Thomas '19 had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Thomas was one of two Wings
players with double-doubles as Marquel Jackson had 10 points and 10 rebounds as
well for the physically aggressive Wings group. They went into Saturday's game
with St. Raymond's with a ton of momentum and actually took a lead late in the
opening quarter before everything went south in a 72-45 loss. Wings will try to
bounce back on Tuesday when they go on the road to take on JFK.
10) Xaverian (6-1)- With the Clippers going into last Sunday's game against St.
Raymond's undefeated and looking as good as good can be, it just seemed as if
nothing went right in a 96-63 blowout loss. After that though Xaverian respond-
ed in a big way as they went on the road to both Holy Cross and St. Francis
Prep and left both Queens schools with victories, beating the Knights 72-65 and
taking down the Terriers 71-64. The Clippers rallied from deficits in both as
Isaiah Amazon is playing like the veteran leader that he is. Xaverian will go
up against Cardinal Hayes on Sunday in a very difficult contest, before taking
a trip to Christ the King on Friday and then getting Robeson in a non-league
clash on Saturday in the Clippers' last game before Christmas.
Class A
1) Brooklyn Law and Tech (8-0)- It's always a difficult game when Law and Tech
takes on Bedford Academy, and Monday's contest was no different. Bedford took
a seven-point lead after one quarter, but a 28-10 second quarter for the Jets
gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Davonta Cook had 27 in a 64-50 vic-
tory for Brooklyn Law. They then downed John Dewey in much easier fashion 78-
51 to remain unblemished on the season, though the tests will keep coming as
on Sunday they will play All Hallows in a tough non-league matchup, then it's
a road league date with Millennium on Tuesday to close out a two game week.
2) Nazareth (4-0)- The firepower on the offensive side of the floor was on
display for the Kingsmen as T.J. Morris '21 led Nazareth in a pair of impress-
ive home wins. First was a 89-57 victory over St. Edmund Prep on Tuesday in a
game that saw Morris score 30, and then in a battle of top Class A powers, the
Kingsmen took control in the second half to pull away for a 97-82 victory over
All Hallows. Nazareth should be good for years to come as well as they are a
team stacked with sophomores, though this week could challenge them like none
yet as on Monday they go to Staten Island to take on Msgr. Farrell before play-
ing The Patrick School (NJ) on Friday night in New Jersey. They close out a
busy week Saturday with a non-league game against Eagle Academy of the Bronx.
3) Canarsie (6-0)- As rough, tough and physical a team as there is in the PSAL,
the Chiefs made quick work of both Tilden and Brooklyn Tech. Football super
recruit Adisa Isaac had 18 points and 16 rebounds in the 84-54 win over Tilden,
and he continued his sparkling play with a 24-point, 12-rebound performance in
Canarsie's 84-45 victory over Brooklyn Tech. They were supposed to play Brook-
lyn Law and Tech on Friday but that game will now be moved to later in the
season. The Chiefs will host Erasmus Hall on Wednesday as they look to stay
unbeaten before a road trip to Georgia comes after Christmas.
4) Seward Park (7-0)- In a matchup of teams many expect to be the two best in
the Manhattan A this season, the Bears struggled at the outset but ran away
late as Travon Mack had 19 points in Seward Park's 68-46 win over Murry Berg-
traum on the road. A home date with Washington Irving on Thursday proved to be
slightly more difficult but again Mack was able to lead the way to a 72-61 win.
A couple of games are coming up for the Bears this week in their quest to re-
main undefeated as they will go on the road on Tuesday to play East Harlem
Pride and then will finish out the week on Thursday at home vs. Bayard Rustin.
5) Msgr. Farrell (3-1)- The Lions lost a tight one to Class AA St. Peter's to
close out last week's play, but they came back strong in their one game they
had over the course of the last seven days by making quick work of Kennedy
Catholic 89-50 in league play. Anthony Clemenza and Justin Zieris each had 15
points to lead the Lions. Nazareth, one of the best in the CHSAA this year,
makes a trip to Staten Island on Monday, and then it's two local foes in Moore
Catholic and Susan Wagner on Thursday and Saturday to finish out the Lions'
week of play.
6) All Hallows (3-2)- Easily one of the toughest teams to rank this week,
the Gaels had one of the more impressive wins you will find on the year by
going on the road a couple weeks back to defeat St. Raymond's. They opened
the year 3-0 but fell in their two games this week. Nick Johnson had 28
points on Friday but it wasn't enough in a 97-82 loss at Nazareth, and then
against James Monroe, a PSAL Class AA school, the Gaels again got off to a
rough start and couldn't recover in an 85-54 loss. All Hallows has a chance
to get a big quality wins again on Sunday when they take on Brooklyn Law and
Tech and Tuesday when they go to Molloy, before going to Staten Island on
Friday to play St. Joseph by the Sea. All Hallows finishes a four-game week
Saturday afternoon with a tough Class B team in Poly Prep.
7) Lehman (7-0)- Playing three games this past week, Lehman booked three
wins led by a very impressive 69-50 blowout of fellow unbeaten Evander Childs
on Monday. Opening up a 10-point lead after the first quarter, the Lions never
looked back as Ivan Alvarez had 19 points and 16 rebounds in the win. That win
was followed by wins over Morris and Taft, each coming at home. Lehman will go
on the road on Monday to play Alfred E. Smith, before getting one more non-league
in before the end of the week when MLK Jr. comes in for a visit on Thursday.
8) Beacon (8-0)- Beacon was among the best in Class A before a shocking early-
round playoff defeat last season. Playing without a couple key contributors so
far this year, it seems that Beacon hasn't lost a step. They took down Louis
Brandeis, Harlem Village Academy and Percy E. Sutton this past week to get their
spot in this week's top 10. Samuel Pohlman has been tremendous as Beacon's lead-
ing scorer with the sophomore proving to be a big-time weapon from behind the
arc. Upcoming this week will be George Washington and Philip Randolph at home
as Beacon looks to maintain its perfect mark so far on the year.
9) Transit Tech (9-1)- The second of three new teams into the top 10 this week,
the Express are playing for a cause as former coach Mike Perazzo suddenly passed
just after the 2017-18 season. With that still on the hearts and minds of all
the Transit Tech players and coaches they have been among the PSAL's best this
season as proven by close but impressive wins this past week over Erasmus Hall
and Telecommunication. They downed Erasmus 59-57 as Joelle Hodge had 23 points
and 16 rebounds, and then outscored Telecommunication 29-8 in the fourth quar-
ter to rally from a double-digit deficit to get an 82-76 win. A strong start to
the season, Transit Tech will go on the road on Wednesday to face off with
Prospect Heights in their only game of this week.
10) Adlai Stevenson (6-1)- Finally it's the Ambassadors who make what is their
first appearance in some time in the top 10 as their only loss was a 60-52 defeat
at Lehman earlier this year. They've taken care of their opposition besides that
by a winning margin of over 20 points a game. Beating Christopher Columbus 83-54
and Morris 80-47 this week were just examples of the firepower that Stevenson
possesses, and Elijah Perez has had a great start to his junior season for the
Ambassadors. Evander Childs and Alfred E. Smith are upcoming opponents in league
for Stevenson on Monday and Wednesday before the Ambassadors get a challenging
non-league game on the road on Thursday against CHSAA AA school Holy Cross.
Class B
1) South Bronx Prep (6-0)- There may not be a more potent offensive unit in
New York City than South Bronx Prep. Jordan Agyemang had a triple-double with
33 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists in a blowout win over Archimedes, but
he didn't play against Jane Addams meaning this time it was Steven Turner who
had the triple-double -- 20 points, 14 rebounds ad 10 assists -- in a 77-67
victory. The week ahead here will see South Bronx Prep take on Explorations
Academy on Tuesday on the road before coming back home Thursday to square off
with Hyde Leadership in the Jaguars' last league game of 2018.
2) Fannie Lou Hamer (8-1)- The top of Class B in the PSAL this season is in-
credibly strong as you can easily make a case for the Panthers to be the top
team. They went on the road Monday and took care of a very good Dalton School
team 56-49 to prove just how good they can be playing any different style,
and then in league play it was a pair of blowouts over Morrisania 82-31 and
Bronx United 77-25. Frankie Williams averaged 24 points and 7 assists a game
this week for Fannie Lou, which has games with Bronx Early College Academy
and Jane Addams coming up here over the next seven days.
3) Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice (9-0)- You could very easily
put the Jaguars in the mix with the top two teams here as they each seem to
be standing head and shoulders above the rest early on in Class B in the
PSAL. Law, Government, and Justice got by Bathgate 49-43 in a tight one Wed-
nesday but came back and easily took down Academy for Language and Technology
just a couple days later as Kevin Bimpey showed just how dynamic an offensive
threat he could be by scoring 42 points on 17 of 24 shooting. Next up for the
Bronx B power will be H.S. of American Studies on Monday before ending 2018
on Wednesday with a road contest at Bronx Studio for Writers and Artists.
4) Evangel Christian School (6-0)- One of the more intriguing teams so far
this season, Evangel Christian has put up some tremendous numbers in winning
by an average of an astounding 55 points. Their one relatively close call was
an impressive 91-75 victory over The Knox School, a team that already has a
couple of impressive wins themselves. Having scored over 100 points in five
of their six wins so far on the year it wouldn't be far-fetched to call them
the most dynamic and potent team in New York City right now. It's just a one-
game week here for Evangel Christian as they will go on the road for another
tricky matchup against Martin Luther on Monday.
5) Dwight School (6-1)- Playing about as tough a 72 hours as any Class B team
could play, Dwight on Wednesday was able to shock Lawrence Woodmere Academy.
Richard Nweke is a very good looking freshman who had 12 points and just about
a dozen rebounds as well as the Lions were able to take a 55-51 victory. On
Friday Dwight then played host to The Knox School, and while the Lions had a
late lead in the waning seconds, Knox came back to tie and send the game into
OT, a game that Dwight would lose 65-62. These two games showed though just
how talented a group the Lions are this season as they now head to Florida to
play in the Kreul Classic vs. top competition from Florida, Colorado, and
Pennsylvania.
6) Maspeth (8-2)- When you look at the non-league schedule, it's hard to
really knock them for the two losses. For the second time this season Mas-
peth fell when they went to Long Island and lost to a 5-1 Class A John
Glenn team. When in league play and facing Class B competition the Argo-
nauts are as good as they come as displayed by their 40-23 win over New-
comers this week. They clamped down the pressure on their opponents and
held them to just six first-half points as Maximillian Egner led Maspeth
with 15 points and eight rebounds. Another non-league matchup on the road
at Community Health Academy of the Heights is up on Monday for the Argo-
nauts before hosting their biggest challenge in the Queens B this season
on Thursday in Academy of American Studies.
7) Dalton (6-1)- Losing to Fannie Lou Hamer 56-49 on Monday in a tough one
at home that saw the Lions lead the game at the half, Dalton responded well
the rest of the week with wins over Hackley 67-59 on Wednesday and Horace
Mann 69-61 on Friday. The week showed that even playing up against a per-
ennial power in the PSAL, the Tigers can hang and compete with the very best
in Class B this season. More tests are coming up here this week for Dalton
as they will finish out this part of their 2018-2019 schedule with a road
game on Wednesday against a good Riverdale team before playing in the Loyola
Holiday Classic on Friday and Saturday, opening up with Berkeley Carroll and
then getting the host school Loyola to close out the week.
8) Summit Academy (8-1)- Breaking out some offensive magic, Summit put up 53
points in the first half Wednesday against Juan Morel Campos Secondary School
and cruised the rest of the way to an 84-74 victory that saw Jordan Council
have 23 points for the Eagles. Their only loss this season came about 10 days
ago now to a strong Class A PSAL school in Grady as Summit continues to show
themselves to be one of the more up and coming programs in the B division. In
what will be the Eagles' last game of 2018, they will take the court at home
Monday to face off with Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance.
9) Bathgate Educational Complex (6-1)- Even though Bathgate fell 49-43 on the
road at Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice on Wednesday you can look
at that loss as one that showed that Bathgate can compete against the best this
season. Ahmaal Blunt had a solid game with 13 points and nine rebounds, though
it was a true balanced scoring attack that saw them hang close throughout. Bath-
gate did rally for an 85-56 win over Info & Network Technology to finish out the
week and will now look to keep the winning ways going when they host a pair of
opponents this week in Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy on Monday and Frederick
Douglass Academy III on Wednesday.
10) Poly Prep (5-0)- Accustomed to being in the top 10 off a strong season from
a year ago, the Blue Devils enter for the first time this year off an impressive
5-0 start. Poly Prep has good size inside and brings back three starters from
a team that had a lot of strong moments before falling late in the NYSAIS play-
offs. With wins under their belt already this year against the likes of Field-
ston and Hackley, the Blue Devils will look to keep the momentum going in their
only game of the week when they play CHSAA Class A power All Hallows in the
Brooklyn Bridge Holiday Classic on Saturday in what should be a tremendous test
for what looks to be a very good Poly Prep team.
