At halftime, Ruth Lovelace was having flashbacks to recent Brooklyn borough semifinals defeats. Her Boys & Girls boys basketball team was trailing Robeson by nine points.
“We came out a little sluggish, we didn’t practice yesterday because the whole city was shutdown,” she said, referring to the blizzard that pelted the city with over a foot of snow. ”That kind of bothered me. We were hoping it would get pushed back to Friday, but it didn’t.”
The High (22-5) didn’t let the time off ruin its hopes of a first borough title. The top-seeded Kangaroos rebounded with a stellar second half to knock off No. 5 Robeson, 73-67, in Bed Stuy Thursday afternoon. They meet No. 2 Thomas Jefferson in the final Sunday at 5 p.m. at St. Francis College. The teams have met twice, with each winning on the other’s home court. Robeson is 16-9.
“It’s Round 3,” Lovelace said. “The team that does the little things will be the team that wins that game. I’ll tell you what: our guys will be up for it.”
Jeffland Neverson and Leroy Isler (13 rebounds) each scored 18 points, Mike Taylor added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Antione Slaughter followed with 11 points and eight assists.
“They didn’t quit; they could’ve easily laid down,” Lovelace said. “I give credit to my guys coming back. We came out a little sluggish, a little slow, and once we had our backs against the wall, we turned it up defensively.”
BRONX
John F. Kennedy 79, James Monroe 63: Naquan Pierce had 22 points and four assists, Jeffrey Short added 17 points and Muhammed Ahmed and Jonathan Mercedes each had 11 points for No. 1 JFK. The Knights (21-2) face second-seeded Wings Academy in The Bronx borough final Sunday at 1 p.m. at St. Francis College. No. 5 James Monroe fell to 8-11.
Wings Academy 63, Eagle Academy 59: Jordan Aaron had 26 points, six rebounds and five steals for No. 2 Wings Academy. The Wings (19-5) face top-seeded JFK in The Bronx borough final Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at St. Francis College.
MANHATTAN
Wadleigh 85, Thurgood Marshall Academy 73: Tyrie Orosco scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, David Burgos tallied 21 points and 13 assists and Trivante Bloodman had 11 points for top-seeded Wadleigh (18-6), which made 26-of-36 free throws. The Tigers meet No. 2 West 50th Street Campus in the Manhattan borough final Sunday at 11 a.m. at St. Francis College. No. 4 TMA is now 6-11.
QUEENS
Cardozo 78, Beach Channel 46: Dwayne Brunson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Ryan Rhoomes added 13 points and 12 rebounds, Malcolm Brooks had 12 points and Ryan Outar chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for No. 1 Cardozo, which outscored Beach Channel 58-25 after the first quarter. The Judges (18-7) face No. 2 Forest Hills in the Queens borough final Sunday at 3 p.m. at St. Francis College. Beach Channel (13-8) got 25 points from Chris Thompson.
Forest Hills 80, Martin Van Buren 70: Maurice Harkless had 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks, Nick Padgett followed with 19 points, Jose Torres had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Antoine Tutt added nine assists for No. 2 Forest Hills (16-8). The Rangers meet No. 1 Cardozo in the Queens borough final Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at St. Francis College.