STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Josh Carter said the magic word while explaining the secret to his success on hitting the backboards Monday night.
“I feel like the biggest thing for us is effort,’’ said the senior. “Our coach preaches that to us every day. He wants us to try and find the glass and give us second-chance opportunities.
“I’m trying to do whatever I can to help the team win. I’m big on being a team guy.’’
The 6-foot-1 Carter led by example as he not only scored a career-high 21 points, but grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds as the Centrals remained undefeated with a 55-44 PSAL 3A victory over host McKee/Staten Island Tech in New Dorp.
New Dorp, which also received contributions from Sergio Batista (career-high 18 points), Omari Onwe and Billy Fraser (eight points apiece), improved to 3-0 overall, including 2-0 in league play.
“I thought we played OK. We’re still a work in progress — we have some guys who know each other, but we also have some guys who are new to us,’’ said ND head coach Pat Hopkins. “We have to learn how to close (games) out. The same thing happened to us (on Thanksgiving Eve against CSI/McCown). We have to play better late in the game and I do think that’ll happen with familiarity. When we start to trust each other, we’ll be OK.’’
There’s something about playing MSIT in early December that brings out the best in Carter. A year ago Dec. 2, he scored a career-high 20 points during a 68-56 home victory over the Seagulls. The southpaw surpassed that total by a point Monday, but it was his work on the backboards that was most impressive.
New Dorp senior Josh Carter, right, makes a spin move to the basket against McKee/Staten Island Tech’s Lucas Gavin during a PSAL 3A division game on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Charlie De Biase Jr.)
“I’m a good athlete and I was putting myself in good position to jump,’’ said Carter. ”Even if I don’t rebound it, I want to at least tip it to a teammate. There’s a lot of skill that goes into rebound and this game, I just had it.’’
“When you see him (rebound the way he did tonight), it absolutely becomes contagious,’’ said Hopkins. ”That’s what we’ve been preaching and trying to promote to these kids.
“And not only just rebounding, to get on the loose balls, making the extra pass. It’s the kind of contagious basketball that good teams do.’’
The Centrals held a 16-14 lead late in the first half when they scored eight straight points in a 1:30 span to get some separation. After Carter hit 1 of 2 free throws, Onwe scored in transition and was fouled on the play.
The senior missed the free throw, Batista did a superb job grabbing the offensive board and putting it in before Fraser capped the run with a left-wing trey to put ND’s lead in double digits.
MSIT ended the half with back-to-back buckets from Nizayah Jordan (game-high 24 points) and Will Slocum, but the Centrals regained momentum by opening the second half with a 14-5 run. Carter, who grabbed seven rebounds in the third quarter alone, teamed with Batista to score nine points during the back-breaking run.
Batista has been a pleasant surprise for the Centrals.
“He’s been fitting in seamlessly,’’ praised Hopkins, whose team took a 40-27 lead into the final eight minutes. ”He’s the kind of kid that gives you instant energy. There’s a couple of different configurations where we can play with him. He can be on or off the ball and language is an issue, but he knows basketball.
“He’s been great out there.’’
Although the Gulls narrowed the gap to 10 in the opening minutes of the fourth, Carter sandwiched a Batista trey with a pair of buckets to up the lead to 49-32 midway through the final period and the Centrals never looked back.
NOTES: Both teams struggled from the free-throw line. The Seagulls connected on 5 of 11 attempts while the Centrals buried 5 of 12 … MSIT won the battle of the boards, 34-33, behind Lucas Gavin (eight) and Chen (seven). Point guard Elijah Pizarro added seven caroms for New Dorp … MSIT committed 10 turnovers, ND 12 … Fraser, Batista and Jordan had two treys apiece … MSIT head coach Charlie Donohue remains one win away from joining Staten Island’s 300-win club and will get another chance Thursday when the Seagulls host Eagle Academy SI (6 p.m.).