By Danny Wild
MaxPreps.com
NEW YORK - Big games and great memories have always been associated with Madison Square Garden. The Midtown arena, not surprisingly, was the place to be on Sunday for high school hoops in America, and the stars showed up in style.
It was probably one of the best $15 values in Manhattan all weekend, and for the thousands that poured into the Garden's lower box seats, it was three for the price of one; locally, Harlem's Rice and the Bronx's St. Raymond, fresh off a duel of their own the night before, joined Section 1's Mount Vernon against three Catholic teams from New Jersey at the Nike Super 6.
The event was a showcase of Division I prospects, some of who showed up and committed on the spot. St. Patrick junior guard Dexter Strickland, after his team knocked off St. Raymond, verbally committed to North Carolina, with Tar Heels' Coach Roy Williams sitting courtside. Also in attendance? Memphis coach John Calipari, hip-hop icon Irv Gotti, and reps from Nike and the House of Hoops. Photos are posted on the MaxPreps New York state page.
Most entertaining player to watch? Kemba Walker. The Rice senior is the real deal. All three contests were extremely enjoyable and exciting, but Walker provided the wow-factor.
The UCONN-bound Walker, who dropped 29 points on St. Raymond on Saturday, absolutely dazzled all afternoon at the Garden on Sunday despite Rice's 55-52 loss to St. Benedict's of Newark. Check out video and photos of Kemba here.
St. Ray, which fit right in with its Knicks-colored jerseys, ended a rough week. The Ravens entered the weekend undefeated at 13-0, but will surely fall in the rankings after consecutive losses to Rice, at home on Saturday, and St. Patrick, in the second tilt on Sunday. Photos.
Nike's first game was one of the best comebacks you will see, at any level. Kevin Jones and Mt. Vernon looked like flat and tired for much of the game, falling behind by as much as 15 points. Paterson Catholic was cruising until the fourth quarter, when the Knights staged an improbable, gritty comeback in easily the most exciting and drama-filled game of the afternoon. The Garden crowd was roaring after Jones dunked, stole the inbound pass and hit a three within about five seconds. Incredible. Took the photos from this thriller myself.
More coverage here. Video highlights on the way, too.
Late turnover dooms Rice
Tied with about a minute to go, Rice's Durand Scott made an unthinkable turnover, right in front of Rice coach Maurice Hicks, no less. Scott dribbled over to the sideline, in front of the media table, and then lost the ball out of bounds, apparently dribbling off his foot. St. Benedict's took over and Samardo Samuels buried the Raiders (12-2) when he grabbed an offensive rebound, made a quick lay-up and then got fouled. The Louisville-bound Samuels drained the free throw and the fans began heading for the exits.
The back-and-forth game stayed close for the most part, and you had a feeling that Rice, playing in Manhattan, was going to pull this one out somehow. Just last week, St. Benedict's and Rice were ranked No. 1 and 2 in the nation by MaxPreps.
"They came through today, that's it," Walker told the New York Times.
St. Ben, without MVP Samardo Samuel early on, led 17-13 after the first quarter, but a 1-of-14 shooting performance from the field in the second period opened the door for Rice, which rallied for a three-point lead at half time.
Walker put the Raiders up 27-22 in the third, Rice's biggest lead of the game. The Grey Bees, with Samuels getting hot off the bench, responded with a 12-2 run and took an eight-point advantage into the fourth.
And the slugfest continued. Rice cut it to one on a long three-pointer from Chris Fouch amidst a seven-point Raiders' run. Greg Echenique answered with a dunk for St. Ben's, which eventually took a six-point lead on a three-point play from Samuels.
St. Benedict coach Danny Hurley reportedly punished Samuels for showing up late to a recent practice. Despite only playing in three quarters, Samuels came off the bench and won game MVP honors.
"I learned my lesson," Samuels told the New York Times. "It was an opportunity for me to bounce back and help my teammates win this game."
Walker, who finished with a game-high 18 points, worked his magic with a pair of baskets and tied the game at 49-49 with less than two minutes to go.
Tamir Jackson and Echenique led the way for St. Benedict's with 15 points apiece. Samuels scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in three quarters of play. Scott finished with 14 for Rice, while Walker was given the game's Good Sportmanship Award.
You can read more about this and the rest of the Nike Super 6 from MaxPreps' Steve Spiewak. Stay tuned for video highlights from the tourney as well.
Rice wins battle in the Bronx
Walker again led Rice on Saturday with 29 points to silence a stuffed St. Raymond gym with an 81-74 overtime victory in the Bronx.
The senior guard had seven assists to help derail the previously undefeated St. Raymond squad.
"We came out aggressive," Walker told NYHoops.com. "A lot of intensity, and came out with the win."
St. Raymond led 39-38 at halftime, but Rice rallied in the second half and took a 72-67 lead on a layup from Jeff Harris.
Chris Fouch scored 15 points while Dorvelle Carter added 14 for Rice. Darryl "Truck" Bryant led St. Raymond with 26 points while Omari Lawrence added 23 points in the loss. St. Ray fell to 13-1 with the home defeat.
Rice, ranked No. 11 in the nation by USA Today, will face Cathedral Prep on Friday. And mark your calendars: Rice and St. Ray will meet again, this time at Rice, on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Lance drama at Lincoln
This must make for quality ESPN drama. Lincoln star Lance Stephenson got into an fight with teammate Devon McMillan at the school on Wednesday, and a piece of glass was shattered and cut both students, according to Mark Lelinwalla of the New York Daily News. Lincoln principal Ari Hoogenboom dealt out the punishment for Sir Lance: a five-day school suspension.
Ouch.
So, Stephenson went "undercover" on Thursday in plain clothes in the bleachers while his teammates slapped around Jefferson in Coney Island. Lance ain't suitin' up on Tuesday against South Shore, either.
Good news is, the Railsplitters did just fine without their star guard. In a battle of dead presidents, Justin Greene scored 24 points and Khalif Staten had 11 to help Lincoln send Jefferson home with a 76-52 win.
Lance? Not pleased.
"I'm really disappointed in myself," Stephenson told the Daily News. "I'm not happy this happened, but it was a good lesson that it happened. Now I know not to do it again. College coaches think I'm a hothead now. I'm really disappointed about that."
Stephenson told the newspaper that he and McMillan were "pushing" each other and "horseplaying" in the school, when the troublesome piece of glass shattered.
"It splattered everywhere," said Stephenson of the glass. "It cut my eye and his fingers. If the glass never broke, I would still be playing basketball."
Eh, don't sweat it. Apparently Lance and McMillan have shaken their bloody hands and apologized, so things are cool for now. Still, Hoogenboom said he needed to lay down the law.
"It was my decision to suspend him," Hoogenboom said. "You have to treat him as any other student."
That can be tough sometimes, especially when he's trailed by ESPN.
"What can I do?" Lincoln coach Dwayne Morton told the Daily News. "He's the principal. I'm only a basketball coach."
The `Splitters will take to the road this weekend to Virginia for a non-league game. Expect Lance to be back.
Rank `Em
Holy Cross of Queens took over as the No. 1 team in the state this week, sending St. Raymond from first to fifth. We're getting closer now to having an all-NYC MaxPreps Top-10 in the state. Give it time.
1. Holy Cross: 10-2, spanked Xaverian of Brooklyn on Jan. 8 by 17 points, but take on No. 3 Bishop Louglin on Tuesday. Currently ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 20 by USA Today.
2. Rice: 11-2, the Raiders crushed Iona Prep on Monday night, 62-48, and will travel to Pennsylvania this week for the McDonald's Classic. Big showdown with Holy Cross upcoming on Jan. 29.
3. Bishop Loughlin: Brooklyn squad needs to bring it Tuesday at Holy Cross. Back-to-back dates with Christ the King, it does not get easier.
4. Lincoln: 9-2 as they hit the road for five games. The Railsplitters, No. 15 in the nation on the USA Today poll, take on South Shore on Tuesday, Robeson on Thursday and - here we go - St. Benedict's Prep on Jan. 25. Big, big matchup.
5. St. Raymond: 13-3, not a good week for the Ravens after three straight losses. St. Ray needs to bounce back on Friday at St. Francis Prep.
6. Boys & Girls: 10-3 after three straight wins. The Kanageroos will face Banneker on Tuesday and Grady on Thursday.
7. Mt. Vernon: Kevin Jones rallied the Knights (8-2) to their third straight win on Sunday at the Garden.
8. Christ the King: 7-2, travels to St. Francis Prep on Tuesday before hosting McClurer North, of Missouri, on Friday. Welcome to Queens!
9. Cleveland (Buffalo, NY): 10-0 up there in the snow, but lets see how they'd do after crossing the Triborough Bridge. Do they even use E-Z Pass upstate?
10. Peekskill (Section 1): 13-0. Have outscored opponents by 210 points. Mookie 18.6 per. 'Nuff said.
PSAL Roundup
Hamer outslugged Taft Friday, 91-89, with the biggest score of the week. Walton fell to Childs by one, 85-84, Central Park East slipped past Our Saviour Lutheran, 80-74, and New Dorp held off Newton, 40-38.
South Bronx won local bragging rights with a 75-60 win over the Bronx School of Science on Jan. 11. Wadleigh topped Truman, 59-51, and Queens Vo-Tech handed Our Saviour Lutheran its second loss of the week on Saturday, 86-76.
Kevin White of Addams continues to build on his league scoring lead with 381 points through 13 games. Someone needs to stop this kid, he's been No. 1 since day one.
Antoine Gattling of Eagle Academy has 300 points entering Tuesday, while Jose Stable of EBC/Bushwick Leaders took over No. 2 with 298 points through just nine games.
Tilden's Willis Hayslett leads the PSAL with 158 assists while Midwood's Sean Mcpherson's 210 rebounds are the most in Gotham.
CHSAA highlights
The Bronx's Cardinal Hayes moved into No. 10 in the CHSAA this week after knocking off All Hallows on Thursday with a 66-59 win. Christ the King destroyed Archbishop Molloy, 96-61, on Friday, while St. John's Prep fell by three to Xavier, 48-45. Bless Sacrament, Iona Prep, Chaminade, Stepinac, LI Lutheran and Bishop Ford all picked up wins last week.
The CHSAA MaxPreps page has some sick Kemba Walker video highlights, if you haven't checked them out yet. In other words, you're going to check them out.
Danny Wild is a writer and photographer for MaxPreps and can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com
