PARK SLOPE, BK- Often in sports, you don’t know until you play the game. Never assume anything. Even if a league doormat visits your court as was the case in yesterday’s too close for comfort 50-46 Lion win over Dwight. The story coming in was that the once mighty ACIS former champ was now on the opposite end, experiencing growing pains. They entered without a league win. However, that didn’t undeter the upper Manhattan school from providing a tough challenge for Berkeley Carroll, who held off a late push to pull out a four-point win.
Third-year coach Carmine Giovino pushed all the right buttons down the stretch, including key defensive sub Mike Andria, who sparked the Lions to a big win. The senior bruiser understands his role and will help the team anyway he can. His impact was felt on the defensive end where he had a steal that proved large with Dwight right on their tails. Andria also blocked out bigger forward Sean Nelson, pushing him away from the basket for a few big rebounds. Without his effort late, the Lions very well could’ve suffered a tough loss to a determined club hell bent on getting that first win in Park Slope.
It was nip and tuck all the way with Dwight coming out strong by scoring the first two buckets. Perhaps that should’ve alerted the Lions, whose only league defeat came a month ago to Packer in familiar surroundings. Nelson scored half his eight in a closely fought opening quarter where two points separated the rivals. Lewis Ruggiero also scored inside. For the Lions, sophomore starter Ian Miller provided most of the offense with seven of their dozen on a pair of treys and a free throw. They led 13-11 after one.
In the second quarter, Berkeley Carroll got off to a good start by pushing the ball to Giovino’s liking. A driving lay-in from Shane Pearley and a conventional three-point play from senior captain Adam Kochman allowed the Lions to go up seven. However, they never could put Dwight away. The pesky opponent chipped away with tenacious defense and timely hooping from leading scorer Teddy Snow, who got nine of his 15 in the quarter. Most of his work came off drives while also stepping out to drain a triple. His steal and uncontested lay-up before the half put Dwight down one and in position to pull the upset.
Up till that point, Lions’ leading man Shane Pearley had been kept quiet with only four points. He turned it around in the second half with nine in a better third for Giovino’s club. A Pearley-led 6-0 spurt that featured a three and three-point play pushed the Lions ahead 35-30. Duncan Hardy also converted off a tough shot inside. The Lions built a nine-point lead with Jasper Kitchen netting a triple. But just when it seemed they’d finally erase any doubt, two late Dwight buckets from Peewee Kirkland off back cuts sliced it to five headed into the fourth.
The Lions scored the first two hoops of the final stanza, again increasing to nine. However, Ruggiero caught fire with back-to-back trifectas to suddenly cut it to 43-40 with plenty of time left. A quarter earlier, he was hit up with a quick technical foul for disputing a call. Now, Ruggiero’s timely shooting threatened to do in Berkeley Carroll. He followed a Josiah Murrell hoop with another from downtown, pulling Dwight within 45-43. But a big Pearley finish in transition put the Lions back up four. With time winding down, Dwight was forced to foul. An Andria steal and long toss to Miller put him at the line but he missed the front end of a one-on-one, keeping Dwight alive. They came down and found Ruggiero for a three from the right key to suddenly get within one with 12 seconds left and immediately called for time.
A nerve racking moment for Pearley almost led to a turnover but a wise Kochman yelled for time before Dwight got the turnover they needed with eight ticks left. Ironically, it would be a long toss from Kochman to Miller which put the sophomore guard on the line, where he split a pair. With BC up 48-46, Dwight came down with the rebound but threw the ball away with two seconds left. Two free throws from Pearley finally sealed it. The Lions had escaped.
JV edges Dwight: In a preview, first-year coach Terrence Caufield’s JV had similar problems with pesky Dwight, who they couldn’t quite finish off. Despite turning a five-point halftime lead which featured some sloppy ball into a 15-point cushion after three, the younger Lions nearly learned a valuable lesson. Never underestimate your opponent. Especially when you think you got it won.
All day, BC had a balanced attack with as many as seven different scorers, including Matteo Heilbrun, who came off the bench for four in a strong third that saw the Lions outscore Dwight 21-11. Kyle Graber converted twice inside and a nice passing play between twin brothers Chris Colon and David Colon, allowed for an easy finish off a break. They combined for 17 while Izzy David did most of his work when the Lions needed it most. He scored half his 14 in a final stanza that saw Dwight pull within 42-36 before a David left circle trey and four free throws put it out of reach.
It allowed Caufield to breathe easier following strong fourth quarters from Alex Yaraghi (6 of 14 in 4th) and Harrison Pergament (8 of 14 in 4th) had them thinking upset. But it wasn’t to be as the JV continued its dominance by posting a 50-40 home win. Chris Harper also contributed nine and Zach Llewlyn added two.
Lady Lions fall again to Luther: In Thursday’s rematch at Queens, the Lady Lions fell again to Martin Luther, who put the clamps down holding Berkeley Carroll to 22 points in a 42-22 win. Sarah Paller paced BC with 12.
