Every time Christian Brothers Academy got close to Christ the King, the Royals pulled away.
The Queens-based private school fended off several CBA second-half rallies for a 63-60 victory in Saturday’s Federation Class AA boys basketball semifinal at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
They’re a good team, said Christ the King coach Joseph Arbitello. `If we played them 10 times, they’d probably win half of them.`
`We made a couple of big runs, but it seemed that every time we got close, they’d hit a shot,` said CBA senior guard Kameron Ritter.
Part of the reason why the Brothers (24-2) had to chase Christ the King throughout the second half was because foul trouble kept Ritter and Max Weaver ` two of their top three scorers ` on the bench for long stretches of time. Ritter missed the most time after picking up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter. He didn’t return until the 3:55 mark of the fourth quarter.
CBA still stayed within striking distance, thanks to junior guard Galal Cancer and a concerted defensive effort that prevented Christ the King (26-6) from putting the game out of reach. Cancer scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the second half by driving to the basket and either hitting layups or getting fouled and hitting his free throws.
`They were able to reach down and challenge so they could still be in this game,` said CBA coach Dave Doemel.
Ultimately, though, Christ the King made the key plays down the stretch to pull out the win. Omar Calhoun converted on a three-point play with 1:54 left to put the Royals ahead 56-50, and he added a pair of free throws in the final minute to help seal the victory. Dominykas Milka and T.J. Curry also made foul shots in the final minute.
`They’re a good team,` said Doemel of Christ the King, which won the Federation title the following day with a victory over Boys and Girls High School of New York City. `They keep putting constant [defensive] pressure on you, and they keep penetrating and dishing [on offense]. It’s a difficult task to stop them.`
Things looked bad for CBA early on, as Christ the King scored the first seven points of the game and built a 29-17 halftime lead. The Brothers struggled from the floor in the first half, making only three of their 22 shots from the field, but a 10-for-15 performance at the foul line saved them.
`We didn’t get off to a good start,` said Doemel. `We had to chase those guys around, and that’s not an easy thing to do.`
The Brothers looked like a different team after halftime. Weaver opened the third quarter with a personal 6-0 run, and Ritter drove for a layup to cut Christ the King’s lead to 29-25.
Once Ritter picked up his fourth foul, though, the Royals started pulling away. Curry got things going with a driving layup, which sparked a 13-6 run that put Christ the King ahead 42-31.
CBA fought back in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to three points on four separate occasions. But the Brothers never got closer than that thanks to Calhoun and Milka, each of whom scored 15 points for Christ the King.
Ritter contributed 17 points and four steals for CBA, despite missing large chunks of playing time due to foul trouble. Weaver added 11 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
`It was very difficult [watching from the bench], but our team made a nice run,` said Ritter.
`It was an honor to be here, and it was an honor to be in that game,` said Doemel. `I told the seniors that if we ever get back to this tournament, they paved the way because they showed the younger players that it is possible to reach this level.`
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