STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Junior Xavier Farley notched another double-double and CSI/McCown rode a big first half to a 42-39 PSAL 3A victory over visiting Eagle Academy Staten Island on Monday in New Springville.
The 6-foot-3 Farley finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while adding five blocks for the 9-8 Dragons, who improved to 6-4 in division play and are now one win away from clinching a city playoff spot.
Stanley Kushnir (10 points, six rebounds), Patrick Tucker (nine points, three steals) and Danny O’Connor (eight points, five assists) also contributed for CSIM.
Anthony Riley tallied a game-high 15 points and Justin Wembly (three treys) added 11 markers for Eagle (6-11, 3-7 PSAL).
The Dragons opened the game on fire as they rode the play of Tucker (eight points), Farley (six points), O’Connor (five points) and Kushnir (four points) to a commanding 22-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Although CSIM was outscored 10-8 in the second, it still owned a 30-20 advantage at intermission.
The Dragons struggled offensively in the second half, but Kushnir and Farley teamed for nine points and their defense stayed strong as they held off Eagle.
SIA 75, Leman 50
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island Academy moved its win streak to a baker’s dozen on Monday afternoon, as the now 13-0 Tigers defeated ACIS foe Leman Manhattan, 75-50.
The hosts were led in scoring by Gabe Moschella’s 17 markers, while seniors Danny Nowak and Luke DeVito chipped in with 16 apiece.
SIA got off to a fast start in the first quarter as Ayden Howe kickstarted the Tigers’ attack with four points and a pair of assists in the opening minutes. Johan Wielens provided a spark off the bench with four points in the period, and defensive pressure by SIA caused a number of Leman turnovers, leading to several fast-break opportunities for the Tigers.
“We did a great job clogging the driving lanes, getting deflections, and rotating on defense in the first quarter,” Tigers head coach, Mike Mazella, praised. “In the last two games, our defense has really been connected and I always like our chances when we can hold the opponent to 50 points or less, which we’ve done in four of our last five games.”
Nowak connected for 12 first-half points, while DeVito and Howe struck for nine and seven, respectively, to help the Tigers head into halftime with a 37-18 lead.
Moschella, then, would take over in the third quarter, as the talented junior benefited from some solid Tigers ball movement to pour in nine points during the period.
“Gabe has been fantastic over the last couple of games,” Mazella noted, “and in addition to his scoring, he’s been tremendous on the boards and the defensive end.”
Leman, behind 18 second-half points from Cairo Reid, cut into the Tigers’ lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but the hosts responded with a 26-point fourth quarter that saw SIA connect on three treys, two by sophomore Mike Belkin and one by senior Lorenzo Malpeso.
Point guard John Elefterakis played a strong floor game for SIA, notching five assists and running the Tigers’ offense with precision. DeVito spearheaded the Tigers’ defensive effort by recording four steals and five deflections.
SIA is back in action Wednesday when it hosts league rival Avenues in a matchup of two of the league’s top teams.
Port Richmond 64, Petrides 49
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Syncere Holland scored a career-high 21 points and the Raiders exploded for 25 fourth-quarter points en route to a PSAL 3A victory over the visiting Panthers on Monday.
In addition to Holland, Mekhi Hines (16 points), Andrew Lawrence (12 points) and Dyshawn Cartagena (10 points) also hit for double digits for PR, which won its first league game of the season.
Daynell Rowland and Kareem Nesbitt paced the Panthers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Raiders defense shined in the first half as they allowed just 12 points to the visitors, who upset then-first place Tottenville just last week. In the meantime, Lawrence tallied 10 points to give the PR a commanding 26-12 lead at halftime.
Although the Panthers cut into Port Richmond’s lead heading into the fourth (39-29), the Raiders saved their best for last to get some separation.
Hines led the fourth-quarter surge with 11 points while Cartagena and Holland chipped in with six markers apiece. In addition, the Raiders drained 10 of 14 free-throw attempts during the last 8:00 to solidify the victory.
New Dorp 80, Fort Hamilton 48
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Sergio Batista (18 points) was the Centrals’ leading scorer for the fourth straight game as they cruised to the non-league victory over the host Tigers on Monday.
Vincenzo Fiorenza (14 points, four treys), Omari Onwe (13 points), Rocco Fiorenza (10 points) and Josh Carter (eight points) also contributed offensively for New Dorp (12-4 overall).
Adham Abdelghany led the Tigers with 16 points.
The Centrals exploded for 28 first-quarter points behind the combined 15 markers of Batista and Onwe en route to building a 45-28 halftime advantage they’d never relinquish.
Junior varsity
SIA 61, Leman 51
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Tigers ran their record to 5-4 (4-3 in the ACIS) with a comeback victory over visiting Leman.
SIA used full-court pressure in the fourth quarter to erase a double-digit deficit.
Josiah Wheatley Harewood (11 points) connected for two clutch three-pointers in the fourth period, and Rob Esposito poured in 13 of his game-high 27 points in the quarter to lead SIA to the victory.
Nathan Wildrick posted 19 points for the Tigers, whose defensive effort was spearheaded, in part, by the hustle of guards Patrick Sheehan and Sal Bongiorno.
The Tigers are back in action on Wednesday when they host Avenues in a key ACIS contest.
Tottenville 49, MSIT 31
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Blair Tadros scored a game-high 26 points as the Pirates locked up the PSAL 1A division regular-season crown with the win over the host Seagulls in New Dorp.
Tottenville, which also received a 21-point effort by Lucas Souleidis (three treys), improved to 8-0 in league play.
Terrence Yang paced the Seagulls with 10 points.