Boros forward Leroy (Truck) Fludd grabs a rebound. (Denis Gostev)
If Omar Calhoun enters an all-star game, odds are he’s leaving with hardware.
The Christ the King shooting guard became the first player in Metro Classic history to win back-to-back MVPs when he scored 32 points to lead the Boros past the Burbs, 119-105, at Archbishop Molloy in Queens on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s definitely special to me,” he said after the eighth annual event. “I wasn’t trying to win back-to-back MVPs, but it’s a great accomplishment for me.”
And that was just the latest honor for the 6-foot-4 UConn-bound senior, who was named MVP of the second annual Sharette Dixon Classic eight days ago and was also the MVP of the Franchise Classic in August.
Unlike those other electric performances, Calhoun didn’t start the Metro Classic hot. He had just seven points at halftime as the Boros were unable to pull away from the Burbs.
“I recognized the game was tied up going into halftime and Coach [Ruth] Lovelace, my teammates told me to carry us and make sure we got this victory,” recalled Calhoun, Scout.com’s 10th-ranked shooting guard in the Class of 2012
He heeded their advice, pumping in 27 points after the break, to make up for the absences of several notable city prospects such as Lincoln’s Isaiah Whitehead, Cardozo’s Jermaine Lawrence and South Shore’s Terrence Samuel. Calhoun exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points over the final 7:50. The city team led by just four, 93-89, before he hit consecutive 3-pointers to extend the differential to eight and his traditional 3-point play in transition pushed the lead to 11.
“I want to come out here and win and put on a show, make sure I represent the boroughs well,” said Calhoun, who made 11-of-13 free throws and shot 8-of-18 from the field. “My teammates found me a couple of times in transition for layups. I hit a couple of free throws and the two 3s. … From there, the rest is history.”
It was similar to the way he turned it on in leading the NYC stars past New Jersey’s best in the Sharette Dixon Classic a week ago. Xaverian guard Brian Bernardi, who played along Calhoun in both of the all-star games, marveled at his consistency.
“He keeps attacking, he has a great shot, he’s never afraid to keep driving,” Bernardi said.
Reminded the two won’t be teammates again anytime soon, Bernardi smiled.
“It’s good competition,” he said. “It’s gonna be fun to play against him.”
Calhoun had help from his frontcourt as Boys & Girls forward Leroy (Truck) Fludd had 16 points and nine rebounds and St. Raymond forward Daniel Dingle added 15 points and nine rebounds. Jefferson guard Thaddeus Hall also had 16. Long Island Lutheran’s Kentan Facey led the Burbs with 26 points, many of them on rim-rocking dunks, Mount Vernon’s Randy Stephens followed with 20 points and Isaiah Cousins had 17.
Stephens and Cousins were part of a Mount Vernon team that won the New York State Federation Class AA crown last March, beating Calhoun and Christ the King in the final. The two guards reminded Calhoun of that matchup during the second half, which only created added motivation as he took over.
“I’m still think about that state championship loss to Mount Vernon,” he said, later added: “I’m coming for them this year. They can’t do that twice.”