Sports
Boys & Girls Collapse Down the Stretch at SNY Invitational
On the brink of an upset, the Kangaroos eventually were done in by a combination of factors in the final quarter
The only folks telling Boys and Girls High School it had a chance against the Jersey City-based St. Anthony at the SNY Invitational championship was its coaching staff.
So when the Kangaroos held an 11-point lead Saturday night over the Friars midway through the third quarter, the only ones surprised was the sold-out audience at Long Island University.
And that is what makes BGHS's collapse over the final 12 minutes - and eventual 43-38 loss - all the more upsetting for Kangaroos fans. They had America's second-ranked team on the ropes and couldn't finish them off.
"We were supposed to win that game," said guard Mike Taylor. "And we just gave them the game."
BGHS were done in by a combination of factors that transpired over the final quarter and a half. Foul trouble forced starters Malik Nichols, Leroy Fludd and Taylor to miss significant time and the Kangaroos struggled to handle the St. Anthony's full court press, which coach Bob Hurley called for when he realized the game's momentum was swinging away from his bench.
It worked. Over the game's final 11 minutes and 20 seconds, Boys & Girls scored just five points, including three in the entire fourth quarter.
"We just really surprised them with how aggressive we were," Hurley said of the press. "And the trapping really took them out of running anything."
But for most of the game, Boys & Girls, which advanced to the championship game with a 69-53 win over Rice on Friday night, made St. Anthony's game look pedestrian. The Friars were held to 7-24 shooting in the first half and forced seven turnovers in the third quarter, when the Kangaroos led 34-23.
Hurley, a high school coaching legend who is two wins away from 1000, said it was one of the toughest game they faced this season.
"Until 4th quarter of the game, it was an entirely different game," Hurley said.
Boys & Girls never trailed in the game until 2:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, when tournament MVP Kyle Anderson scored on a put-back to put the Friars ahead 40-38. In the final minute, Boys & Girls had two chances to tie it, but Antione Slaughter missed a free throw and, with 16 second remaining, Mike Taylor's contested three point shot from atop the arch rimmed out.
"I told him that if the three is there, take the three," said head coach Ruth Lovelace. "He took it and the guy was right there, but the shot is what we wanted. It just didn't go down."
Statistically speaking, it was an ugly game for the Kangaroos, who racked up 20 turnovers and shot 40 per cent from the free throw line. Jeffland Neverson led the team in scoring with 11 points, followed by Taylor with 9 and Fludd with 8.
The loss snaps a nine-game win streak for Boys & Girls (18-4). They will be back in the Long Island University gym Tuesday night for a rematch against Abraham Lincoln High School, who beat them 63-61 earlier this year.
Boys & Girls High School Accepts $5000 in funds: During halftime of the SNY Invitational Championship game, Idris O'Brien, the school's coordinator of student activities received a $5000 check on behalf of Boys & Girls High School. All schools participating in the tournament received $5000 to use for its school. "It's going to be a great help in terms f our journey of becoming the best school in New York City," O'Brien said.
