New York CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens "AA" Diocesan Playoffs 1st Round
2-20-12 @ Xaverian (Brooklyn)
This six team loop is part of the Catholic High School Athletic Association, and the quality of basketball played by these teams is very high. This doubleheader was a delight to watch. All four teams have structured offenses, played under control, handled the ball well, played forceful defense, and didn't commit an inordinate number of fouls. All of these teams have really effective coaches. The four coaches, combined, have 113 years of tenure at their respective schools: Jack Curran is in his 54th season coaching at Archbishop Molloy, Tim Leary is in his 37th season at St. Francis Prep, Xavier's Jack Alesi is in his 17th season at this doubleheader's host school, and Edwin Gonzalez is in his 5th season at Loughlin. "AA" is the big school classification in New York.
That said, I was surprised that a couple of these teams were unable to mount effective attacks against their opponent's 1-3-1 zone defense. In both of these games, teams facing a 1-3-1 did not drive the baseline, did not focus on getting open shots in the corners, did not set screens for three point shots in the areas just outside of the elbows extended, and did set picks against the defender on the baseline to facilitate inside shots, did not flood, and did not do the simplest approach of all in just using a 1-3-1 half court set that forces defenders to play man-to-man . What's up with that? These 1-3-1 zones were not even aggressively trapping, and I was surprised that they weren't easily beaten.
Game 2011-12 #177 Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) 61 Archbishop Molloy (Queens) 51
Having seen both of these teams earlier this season, I was not surprised by the result in this game. Loughlin is small, but they are scrappy and quick, and they make up for their lack of size on the boards with outstanding rebounding technique and lots of aggressiveness.
Molloy led 2-0 on a jumper by 6' sophomore Christopher Davis, but that was their only lead of the game. Loughlin signaled their strategy early on: they wanted to advance the ball up the court as quickly as possible and to put up makable shots at the slightest opening. Molloy, on the other hand, got better shots the longer that they worked the ball until just a few seconds were left on the :35 shot clock. As it happened, Molloy had shooting accuracy problems from the outset of the game, and, with 4:45 left in the first half, they fell behind, 22-12, on a couple of free throws by Loughlin's Michael Williams, a 6' 1" sophomore. The one bright spot for Molloy in the first half was 6' 4" junior Marco Kozul, who scored 16 of his team's 22 first half points, in addition to blocking three shots and grabbing seven or eight rebounds.
Loughlin played a zone for most of the game, but Molloy's outside shooting was very inaccurate. At the other end of the court, Molloy had difficulty with the quickness of 6' 4" sophomore Elisha Boone, 6' 3" sophomore Khadeen Carrington, and Williams. While Molloy rebounded well in the first half, largely thanks to Kozul, Loughlin was much more effective on the boards after the break.
Late in the third quarter, Molloy Coach Curran inserted 6' 2" senior Darden Ostrozubi into the lineup. Ostrozubi quickly scored two hoops--a bank shot on a drive and a hook--and those baskets cut Loughlin's lead to 37-35. Loughlin responded with an 11-1 run that continued into the fourth quarter, on a hoop inside by Williams, a drive by Carrington, a three from the right corner by Williams, a layup by Boone, and a pivot move by Carrington. The result was a 48-36 Loughlin lead, too much for Molloy to overcome.
For the winners, Boone scored 20 points, and Carrington and Williams netted 16 points each. For Molloy, Kozul finished with 19 points, and Christopher Davis added 15.
Bishop Loughlin 15 16 10 20-61
Archbishop Molloy 8 18 13 16-51
Game 2011-12 #178 Xavarian (Brooklyn) 62 St. Francis Prep (Queens) 51
St. Francis Prep always has a hard-nosed, scrappy team. In this game, they led off and on into the second quarter in a contest in which both teams wanted to play at a deliberate pace. There were few turnovers and not very many fouls committed in this well-played game.
After a see-saw first quarter, Xavarian took the lead for good, 19-17, on a three by 5' 6" senior Dillon Burns (C. W. Post recruit). A 10-0 run in the third quarter gave Xavarian a decisive advantage, beginning with a hoop inside by 6' 3" senior Stanley Peacock, a basket inside by 5' 11" sophomore Raven Owen on an assist from 6' 3" senior Brian Bernardi (Southern Methodist recruit), two free throws by Owen, a basket inside by Peacock with an assist from Burns, and a steal and a breakaway layup by Owen. That made the score 39-28, Xavierian. For the balance of the game, each time that St. Francis Prep would get within striking distance of Xaverian, Bernardi would hit a three. Despite fine play by St. Francis Prep's Andrew Winter, a 6' 3" senior, down the stretch, Xavarian could not be caught. Very classy St. Francis Prep coach Tim Leary did not have his team commit futile fouls as the game wound down.
For the winners, Bernardi scored 20 points, Burns netted 13, and 6' 3" junior George Lambert added 10. For St. Francis Prep, very quick 5' 9" sophomore Michael Fields was impressive in scoring 16 points, and 5' 10" senior Gabriel Gonzalez added 11. Xaverian was 9 for 11 from the free throw line in the game, while St. Francis Prep was 6 for 9 from the stripe.
St. Francis Prep 13 11 13 14-51
Xaverian 14 12 19 17-62
This six team loop is part of the Catholic High School Athletic Association, and the quality of basketball played by these teams is very high. This doubleheader was a delight to watch. All four teams have structured offenses, played under control, handled the ball well, played forceful defense, and didn't commit an inordinate number of fouls. All of these teams have really effective coaches. The four coaches, combined, have 113 years of tenure at their respective schools: Jack Curran is in his 54th season coaching at Archbishop Molloy, Tim Leary is in his 37th season at St. Francis Prep, Xavier's Jack Alesi is in his 17th season at this doubleheader's host school, and Edwin Gonzalez is in his 5th season at Loughlin. "AA" is the big school classification in New York.
That said, I was surprised that a couple of these teams were unable to mount effective attacks against their opponent's 1-3-1 zone defense. In both of these games, teams facing a 1-3-1 did not drive the baseline, did not focus on getting open shots in the corners, did not set screens for three point shots in the areas just outside of the elbows extended, and did set picks against the defender on the baseline to facilitate inside shots, did not flood, and did not do the simplest approach of all in just using a 1-3-1 half court set that forces defenders to play man-to-man . What's up with that? These 1-3-1 zones were not even aggressively trapping, and I was surprised that they weren't easily beaten.
Game 2011-12 #177 Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) 61 Archbishop Molloy (Queens) 51
Having seen both of these teams earlier this season, I was not surprised by the result in this game. Loughlin is small, but they are scrappy and quick, and they make up for their lack of size on the boards with outstanding rebounding technique and lots of aggressiveness.
Molloy led 2-0 on a jumper by 6' sophomore Christopher Davis, but that was their only lead of the game. Loughlin signaled their strategy early on: they wanted to advance the ball up the court as quickly as possible and to put up makable shots at the slightest opening. Molloy, on the other hand, got better shots the longer that they worked the ball until just a few seconds were left on the :35 shot clock. As it happened, Molloy had shooting accuracy problems from the outset of the game, and, with 4:45 left in the first half, they fell behind, 22-12, on a couple of free throws by Loughlin's Michael Williams, a 6' 1" sophomore. The one bright spot for Molloy in the first half was 6' 4" junior Marco Kozul, who scored 16 of his team's 22 first half points, in addition to blocking three shots and grabbing seven or eight rebounds.
Loughlin played a zone for most of the game, but Molloy's outside shooting was very inaccurate. At the other end of the court, Molloy had difficulty with the quickness of 6' 4" sophomore Elisha Boone, 6' 3" sophomore Khadeen Carrington, and Williams. While Molloy rebounded well in the first half, largely thanks to Kozul, Loughlin was much more effective on the boards after the break.
Late in the third quarter, Molloy Coach Curran inserted 6' 2" senior Darden Ostrozubi into the lineup. Ostrozubi quickly scored two hoops--a bank shot on a drive and a hook--and those baskets cut Loughlin's lead to 37-35. Loughlin responded with an 11-1 run that continued into the fourth quarter, on a hoop inside by Williams, a drive by Carrington, a three from the right corner by Williams, a layup by Boone, and a pivot move by Carrington. The result was a 48-36 Loughlin lead, too much for Molloy to overcome.
For the winners, Boone scored 20 points, and Carrington and Williams netted 16 points each. For Molloy, Kozul finished with 19 points, and Christopher Davis added 15.
Bishop Loughlin 15 16 10 20-61
Archbishop Molloy 8 18 13 16-51
Game 2011-12 #178 Xavarian (Brooklyn) 62 St. Francis Prep (Queens) 51
St. Francis Prep always has a hard-nosed, scrappy team. In this game, they led off and on into the second quarter in a contest in which both teams wanted to play at a deliberate pace. There were few turnovers and not very many fouls committed in this well-played game.
After a see-saw first quarter, Xavarian took the lead for good, 19-17, on a three by 5' 6" senior Dillon Burns (C. W. Post recruit). A 10-0 run in the third quarter gave Xavarian a decisive advantage, beginning with a hoop inside by 6' 3" senior Stanley Peacock, a basket inside by 5' 11" sophomore Raven Owen on an assist from 6' 3" senior Brian Bernardi (Southern Methodist recruit), two free throws by Owen, a basket inside by Peacock with an assist from Burns, and a steal and a breakaway layup by Owen. That made the score 39-28, Xavierian. For the balance of the game, each time that St. Francis Prep would get within striking distance of Xaverian, Bernardi would hit a three. Despite fine play by St. Francis Prep's Andrew Winter, a 6' 3" senior, down the stretch, Xavarian could not be caught. Very classy St. Francis Prep coach Tim Leary did not have his team commit futile fouls as the game wound down.
For the winners, Bernardi scored 20 points, Burns netted 13, and 6' 3" junior George Lambert added 10. For St. Francis Prep, very quick 5' 9" sophomore Michael Fields was impressive in scoring 16 points, and 5' 10" senior Gabriel Gonzalez added 11. Xaverian was 9 for 11 from the free throw line in the game, while St. Francis Prep was 6 for 9 from the stripe.
St. Francis Prep 13 11 13 14-51
Xaverian 14 12 19 17-62
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