A lost weekend for New York basketball teams

Maybe they should have renamed it the Not Ready For Primetime Shootout.

New York basketball teams experienced a largely lost weekend in Morgantown, W.Va., at the annual Prime Time Shootout, which typically attracts a slew of talented teams from east of the Mississippi River.

Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt), the three-time defending NYSPHSAA Class A champion and unbeaten through the first eight weeks on the season, took it on the chin twice.

Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) beat the Red Rams 55-40 on the strength of 15 points from 6-foot-6 junior Jarmal Reid to improve to 14-2. The next day, DaJuan Coleman scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but the effort wasn't enough to keep Park (Wheeling, W.Va.) from a 65-57 victory.

Christ the King (Middle Village), arguably still the best Class AA team during a season in which no CHSAA team has been able to gain much momentum, rallied from a 50-40 deficit but dropped a 68-67 decision to South Atlanta (Ga.) when senior forward Rashaud Bell drained a buzzer-beater. CTK junior Omar Calhoun scored 22 points to earn team MVP honors for the Royals, who slipped to 8-5.

Columbus also knocked off Jefferson (Brooklyn) 71-57 despite 19 points by Thaddeus Hall.

Our Savior New American (Centereach) salvaged some pride for New York with a 53-50 victory against Quality Education Academy from North Carolina on a technicality. Desperate to stop the clock down the stretch, QEA called a timeout that it did not have remaining, resulting in a technical foul plus giving possession to Our Savior.

Nick Lewis scored 17 points in the victory.

PSAL SQUADS FARE BETTER ON THE ROAD
Milwaukee was a friendlier vacation spot for New York squads participating in the Brandon Jennings Invitational.

Jeffland Neverson's layup at the overtime buzzer lifted Boys & Girls (Brooklyn) to an 81-79 victory over Winter Park (Fla.), which featured Duke recruit Austin Rivers. Though the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers lit up Boys & Girls for 35 points, the Kangaroos' Michael Taylor led a balanced effort with 17 points.

If Boys & Girls isn't the best PSAL squad this winter, then Lincoln (Brooklyn) is. Also playing in Milwaukee, the Railsplitters defeated Menomonee Falls (Wis.) 75-61 as Shaquille Stokes scored 17 points and chipped in with eight assists for Lincoln, which shook off the effects of a 67-62 loss to a .500 South Shore team earlier in the week.

MORE BOYS BASKETBALL
* Sauquoit Valley snapped West Canada Valley's 49-game home-court winning streak with a 62-58 triumph, going on a 23-8 run over the final nine minutes. Mike Lallier and Mark Martin scored nine points apiece in the fourth quarter to pace the winners. The outcome improved Sauquoit Valley to 6-6 after an 0-3 start that included a 57-51 loss at home to West Canada Valley.

* Kevin Alesi scored 48 points and lost when St. Joseph-by-the-Sea (Staten Island) edged Tottenville 99-94 in two overtimes on senior night in Huguenot. Sea's Mike Nierva scored 36 points, and teammate Mike Scacco made three 3-pointers in OT after having scored 23 points for the entire season. Sea overcame a nine-point deficit over the final 1:59 in the first OT.

GIRLS BASKETBALL NOTES
* Margo Hackett became the second New York girl this season to reach 2,000 career points. The Pawling senior, who is coached by her father Jeff, connected for 24 points during a 73-42 loss to Haldane, raising her total to 2,011. Harpursville senior Hannah Kimmel broke the 2,000 barrier last month.

* First-year Banneker coach Jonathan Anderson and Mike Williams, father of star sophomore guard Africa Williams, appear to have worked out their differences. The two got into a dispute that turned into a shouting match that had to be broken up by school safety officers during a game against Boys & Girls on Jan. 14, and Anderson alleged that Williams threw a punch that missed, New York newspapers reported.

"We talked about it and it's over with," Anderson told The New York Daily News after a 71-50 victory vs. Boys & Girls in which Africa Williams scored 23 points. "We're just moving on from it. It's no big deal, just a matter of tempers flaring in the heat of the moment and that's it. We're OK with each other now."

HONORS AND AWARDS
* Retired Pittsford Mendon boys coach Joe Borrosh was inducted into the National Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Baltimore, making him just the eighth high school coach to be so honored.

Borrosh coached the Vikings to 16 Section V and six NYSPHSAA championships. He finished 498-102-63 in 32 seasons and was named NSCAA national coach of the year in 1989, a year after his wife Brenda won the award as coach of the Mendon girls.

Borrosh played soccer at Brockport State for fellow NSCAA Hall of Famer Huntley Parker.

* Packer Collegiate's Edward Owens was selected New York's male cross country runner of the year by Gatorade.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at john.schiano@maxpreps.com.