Boys Basketball

January 31, 2010

Prep falls in OT thriller

Myles Davis St. Peter's Prep

Myles Davis (center) had the shooting touch, scoring 31 points for St. Peter's Prep.

Click Here for photos from Christ the King at St. Peter's Prep.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

NEWARK – Over the past three seasons, St. Peter’s Prep has undergone a rapid ascension from a struggling the make the HCIAA tournament to a state power. As remarkable as that transformation has been, the Marauders have their sights set on become a nationally-known team in the way they are on the gridiron.

Prep’s quest for that notoriety and the signature win that comes with it, fell just short in a 75-72 loss to Christ the King in the Newark National Invitational at the Prudential Center.

“I’ve got to figure it out,” head coach Mike Kelly said. “I’m going to think about that. I just don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’ve got to put a little more pressure on them.”

“Whenever a spotlight game comes up, practices get harder, we know we have to play harder,” guard Myles Davis said. “We just know that these games are the big ones and we’ve just got to get a win.”

All three of the Marauders’ losses have come in showcase events against national powers, unlike those earlier losses to Paterson Catholic and St. Anthony, St. Peter’s Prep was not done in by a late fade in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 57-47 with 6:45 left in the game, the Marauders quickly erased the lead with a 10-0 run behind Davis. The electrifying guard scored eight points in a span of 1:48, as he unleashed a pair of 3-point daggers to tie the game at 57-all.

Davis, who Kelly called “an assassin” offensively, scored 12 points in the fourth and free throws from Stephon Whyatt and Ronald Roberts in the final minute sent the game into overtime.

Bothered by cramps that forced him to the sidelines for part of overtime, Davis pulled Prep to within one point at 71-70 when he hit one-of-two free throws with 50.5 seconds remaining.

Davis finished with a game-high 31 points, taking home Most Valuable Player honors for the Marauders.

But the Marauders would get no closer thanks to four Christ the King free throws (three by Corey Edwards) and a controversial carry call against Prep with 22 seconds left.

“The pressure in the overtime and the last two minutes of regulation, I thought we handled pretty well,” Kelly said. “It was totally the opposite of St. Anthony. I think we pulled some positive things from it, but now its about playing complete games.”

Done in by fourth-quarter struggles in their two previous losses, this time it was the third quarter which haunted Prep. After taking a seven-point lead at the half, the Marauders were out-scored 28-17 in third to lose the lead and gave up the first six points of the fourth.

“We played a horrendous third quarter,” Kelly said. We did not defend. We gave them a lot of confidence in the third quarter. They beat us to loose balls, they beat us on the backboard. They weren’t hitting tough shots, they were making easy stuff. I just think we let our foot off the gas in the third quarter. You just can’t do that against a good team.”

Maurice Barrow and Omar Calhoun scored 11 points apiece for the Royals in the period. Calhoun led the Queens school with 23 points. Barrow scored 19 points and Edwards, named Christ the King’s MVP, had 14 points and six assists.

The St. John’s-bound Roberts had another double-double for St. Peter’s, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. J.J. Hladik and Kevin Walker scored eight points apiece and Keith Lumpkin added seven points and nine rebounds.

The Marauders will get one more crack at a national power before the state playoffs when they face Oak Hill Academy, ranked No. 6 in the USA Today Super 25 in the Primetime Shootout on Feb. 13.

“Every single one of these game we look at as a challenge,” Davis said. “We just look at these games as learning experiences. Even though we’re not as young as we were last year, we’re still learning.”

Keith Lumpkin St. Peter's Prep

Prep's Keith Lumpkin had seven points and nine rebounds yesterday.

  1 2 3 4 OT Total
Christ the King Royals
11
12
28
14
10
75
St. Peter's Prep Marauders
16
14
17
18
7
72
Christ the King   St. Peter's Prep
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Corey Edwards
1
0
12
14
Maurice Barrow
7
1
2
19
Omar Calhoun
3
4
5
23
T.J. Curry
2
1
1
8
Dominykas Milka
4
0
0
8
Aaron Williams
0
0
0
0
Terrel Hunt
1
0
0
2
Ronald Brown
0
0
1
1
Total
18
6
21
75
 
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Kevin Walker
1
2
0
8
J.J. Hladik
4
0
0
8
Ronald Roberts
5
0
4
14
Myles Davis
6
4
7
31
Keith Lumpkin
3
0
1
7
Stephon Whyatt
1
0
2
4
James Calabrese
0
0
0
0
Chase Fluellen
0
0
0
0
Total
20
6
14
72
     
Christ the King: Brown 9 rebounds; Barrow 7 rebounds; Edwards 6 assists, 4 rebounds; Milka 6 rebounds; Calhoun 5 rebounds. St. Peter's Prep: Roberts 12 rebounds; Lumpkin 9 rebounds; Fluellen 6 rebounds; Walker 5 rebounds, 4 assists.