Saturday, at the Brooklyn campus of LIU, fans were treated with two exciting games between four of New York-areas four premier teams. It is seldom that games live up to their hype, but these two matches were able to.
In a highly-anticipated game, the Raiders of Rice high school took on the Cardozo Judges for the championship of the SNY Invitational.
The game featured several of New York City’s top players. Players such as Kadeem Jack and Shane Southwell of Rice were set to take on Cardozo’s Reynaldo Walters, Chris Gayot, Dwayne Brunson and Ryan Rhoomes.
The Judges would rule the court throughout the first quarter by taking a 18-8 lead after 1. ‘Dozo senior forward Malcolm Brooks knocked down two three-point shots along with a layup to finish with eight points after the 1st session.
Rice’s Jack and junior Jermaine Sanders would each score six points in the 2nd quarter, but would trail 33-24 heading into halftime.
Brunson would be awarded the McDonald's Sportsmanship Award
A basket by Brunson would bring ‘Dozo’s lead to 13 with 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The lead would increase to 19 several minutes later in the quarter.
Cardozo would be going into the 4th and final quarter with a 11 point lead, 47-36.
Similar to Boys & Girls’ comeback win against LuHi, the Rice squad from Harlem would not be denied their chance for a championship on Saturday.
An emphatic block by Southwell led to an and one basket by Jack. The 6’8″ forward would knock down the free-throw and shorten the Raiders’ deficit to six, 49-43, with 5:13 remaining in the fourth.
Later in the quater, Rice point guard Kevin Macimento would find teammate Scott Arias for an open three. The Arias field goal would bring Rice down by one, 51-50, with 3:20 on the clock.
Sanders (#15) would be huge for Rice in OT
Arias would be instrumental once again in the final minutes. This time, Brunson would foul the senior sharp-shooter on a 3-point attempt where the guard would connect with two of three free throws. This would bring the game to a stand-still at 54 with 43 seconds remaining.
Rice would outscore Cardozo 18-7 in the fourth to send the game into overtime.
Sanders would knock down two huge baskets for Rice in overtime. The first, a contested three-pointer followed by a fade-away mid-range jumper with one second remaining on the shot clock.
Cardozo would be unable to answer the Raiders in overtime. Rice would come away champions of the SNY Invitational with a 63-58 win.
Gotham Hoops would like to congratulate Rice high school and coach Maurice Hicks on their championship win.
Leading Scorers:
Rice
Jack – 19 points 7-15 FG 10 Rebounds
Sanders - 12 points 4-12 FG 2-4 FT
Arias – 12 points 3-8 FG 4-5 FT
Cardozo
Brunson – 18 points 6-9 FG 6-6 FT
Brooks – 15 points 6-8 FG (3-3 3PT) 2-2 FT
Rhoomes – 14 points 6-12 FG 2-2 FT
*Check out the site later on Sunday for Player Reviews and Scouting Profiles for both Rice and Cardozo
