Bedford Academy’s Malik Brown scored 19 points in the loss. (Christina Santucci)
When Rob Phelps, a legendary player in his day at Nazareth and Providence College, took over at Bedford Academy last winter, he made his intentions known.
Develop young men first, basketball players second.
Even after winning a PSAL Class A crown in his first season, Phelps stuck to that mantra and it may have kept his Panthers from repeating.
Without starting guard Sean Snagg and junior forward Darien Best, both of whom failed to meet the school’s academic requirements for student-athletes – an 80 average – sixth-seeded Bedford fell to No. 2 Long Island City, 67-64, in an ‘A’ semifinal Friday night at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
“That’s our standard at Bedford – if you don’t have an 80, you’re not gonna play,” he said. “Of course they would’ve helped. They’re key guys, key parts of our rotation. If we would’ve had them, the outcome could’ve been different. But I don’t have an excuse; Long Island City beat us.”
As Phelps pointed out, LIC was without Arthur Santanna, its junior captain and leading rebounder and the Panthers led by nine points late in the first half and by seven in the final minute of the third. Bedford, however, had no answer for Bulldogs star Aaron Williams, who scored 15 of his game-high 29 points over the contest’s final eight minutes. Malik Brown led Bedford (24-6) with 19 points, Theo Everett tallied nine and Darren Thomas eight.
“He played like a senior,” Phelps said of Williams, who made 14-of-17 free throws and added four assists. “We had our assignments for the first three quarters, we had him right where wanted him, but he became a senior in the fourth quarter. He made every play, either a pass, a shot. He made senior plays.”
Bedford still had its chances to draw even. Twice in the final 30 seconds of regulation, Brown had open looks from beyond the arc, but short-rimmed the first and back-rimmed the second.
“He’s the guy I ran the sets for,” Phelps said. “We had opportunities with everything said and done to tie the game and take it into overtime. They looked good, they looked liked they were going in.”
Though disappointed in defeat, Phelps was pleased with his second season coaching varsity basketball. He graduated eight seniors, including elite talents Brent Jones (St. Francis College) and Anthony Mason Jr. (Saint Leo’s), and replaced them with a freshman point guard (Thomas), two transfers (Best and Neil Veira) and several newcomers.
The result was a semifinal finish and share of Brooklyn A East crown with Acorn.
“This year I said we’ll see if I can coach,” Phelps said. “The guys did a great job. I only have two seniors and everybody else is returning. Darren did a great job leading the team and the best thing about him, he’s only going to get better. We have a little bit of disappointment and that will only make them come back stronger.”