Queens High School of Teaching already had a chip on its shoulder when it was given the third seed despite an undefeated season. The Tigers also felt they were unfairly cast as the underdog entering their semifinal matchup with Brooklyn College Academy.
Then Jamaal James doubled their motivation when he bumped Lerone Lashley upon entering Lehman College in The Bronx. QHST forwards Bryce Elie and Paul Simpson immediately had their point guard’s back, getting in James’ face.
“They took it real personally,” Lashley said. “I told them, ‘Take it out on the court.’”
The undersized forwards did that and more, dominating the paint and leading the Tigers to a shocking, 67-56 upset of No. 2 Brooklyn College Academy, the defending champion, in a PSAL Class B semifinal on Sunday. They meet No. 5 HS for Construction in next Saturday’s final at 1 p.m. at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
“They played awesome, they came through,” Lashley said of the forward tandem of Elie and Simpson. “Rebounding, blocks, even passing.”
Simpson had 15 points and 16 rebounds and Elie followed with seven points and 13 rebounds. They held the 6-foot-8 Jones without a point and limited Bobcats forward Onyema Utti, their leading scorer, to just six, before he fouled out, along with James. Troy Singleton added 15 points for QHST and Lashley had 13 and six assists.
“We knew to be the best, we had to beat the best,” Tigers coach Michael Shelton said. “We wanted them. We knew it was gonna be a challenge, we knew it was gonna be hard.”
In fact, after the Tigers’ 54-53, quarterfinal victory over No. 3 Eleanor Roosevelt, Shelton said a lot had to change for them to knock off BCA (24-3). He went as far as to say if he was a Bobcat, he would be licking his lips. The motivational ploy worked – QHST (29-0) came out intense, attacking at each end of the floor.
“They played way different than they did on Wednesday,” BCA co-coach Alicia Braswell said. “They played tough and they had a game plan for us.”
It centered around the aggressive play of Elie and Simpson, Shelton said. He figured his guards could match up with the Bobcats on the perimeter. He just wasn’t sure if they could hold their own in the paint. Jones, after all, had six inches on Simpson. The junior didn’t mind the disadvantage, particularly after the pre-game incident.
“They saw us as not a threat,” Simpson said. “But we showed them. We beat them. We demolished them.”
“They underestimated us because of our height,” added Lashley, who was beaming 30 minutes after the victory. “But it’s not the height, it’s the heart.”
The Queens B East champions took a 35-26 lead into halftime and exploded with a 16-2 run in the third to take a commanding 49-34 advantage. BCA never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.
“It’s very heartbreaking for all of us,” junior guard Tarik Phillip said. “We were hoping to repeat, but it didn’t happen.”
It may be in the cards, though, for QHST, the only undefeated boys basketball team in New York City. The current record of 29-0 isn’t good enough.
“30-0 is what we need to win a championship,” Shelton said.