Led by senior Matt Walker, No. 9 Banneker takes on No. 4 Bedford Academy. (Damion Reid)
PSAL boys basketball beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down tomorrow’s PSAL Class A boys basketball semifinals at Lehman College in The Bronx.
SCHEDULE
3 p.m. — No. 18 Brooklyn Tech vs. No. 6 South Bronx
5 p.m. — No. 9 Banneker vs. No. 4 Bedford Academy
No. 18 Brooklyn Tech Engineers
Head coach: Stephen Gigliello
Record: 13-5
Player to watch: F Kherel SIlcott
No. 6 South Bronx Phoenix
Head coach: Doug Porter
Record: 26-3
Player to watch: G Dashawn Joyner
Outlook: Before Brooklyn Tech’s Cinderella run to the semifinals, this season was a success. After four straight years out of the playoffs with a cumulative 15-46 league record, the Engineers finished third in Brooklyn A East, arguably the best ‘A’ division in the city. In Kherel Scott, a 6-foot-7 forward, Brooklyn Tech has one of the best low-post players in the ‘A.’ Guards Carlos Mesa, Elijah Johnston and Gabriell Quinton all averaged between nine and 13 points per game.
En route to the final four, the Engineers have knocked off No. 2 Francis Lewis and No. 6 Martin Luther King Jr., both division winners. They aren’t playing with house money, however.
“We don’t think we’re underdogs. We just take it one game at a time,” Gigliello said. “No matter what, you still have to show up and play. And we have to play Brooklyn Tech basketball.”
They will have to be at their stingy best defensively to stop high-scoring South Bronx and dynamic senior point guard Dashawn Joyner. Led by the gifted Joyner, the Phoenix know only one way to play – fast. They scored over 100 points 10 times during the regular season. Joyner was at his best last Sunday, scoring 36 points in a come-from-behind, 68-61 victory over No. 14 Susan Wagner despite suffering a lower back injury in the second quarter.
“I’ve been coaching 26 years and he’s the best player I ever had. Not even close,” said Porter, who is in his third year at South Bronx after various other coaching stops. “A lot of times I feel like he won’t let us lose.”
No. 9 Banneker Warriors
Head coach: Wendell Saunders
Record: 14-3
Player to watch: F Askia Davis
No. 4 Bedford Academy Panthers
Head coach: Robert Phelps
Record: 22-5
Player to watch: F Anthony Mason Jr.
Outlook: Banneker isn’t quite as lethal offensively as it was last year, but the Warriors are deeper and are better defensively. Case in point: they were eliminated in the quarterfinals last year, but are still alive. Much of the credit goes to the ability to shut down the opposition, a nod to the perimeter defense led by senior Matt Walker, and shot-blocking prowess of forwards Askia Davis and Omari Bennett.
“The two bigs, what they do is they rebound and box out,” Banneker coach Wendell Saunders said. “We didn’t get that last year.”
For much of the year, Bedford Academy relied almost solely on Division I prospects Brent Jones, a point guard, and 6-foot-5 forward Anthony Mason Jr. The two averaged 37 points per game during the regular season. That has somewhat changed this postseason as Malik Brown has emerged as a consistent third option and 6-foot-8 forward Massamba Samb enjoyed his coming-out party in the quarterfinals with 17 points.