Cardozo’s Chris Gayot goes up for two of his 16 points. (Denis Gostev)
Ron Naclerio will often tell his players to calm down, but he will be screaming himself, sending a mixed message. Saturday afternoon, he delivered that advice during a timeout with a calmness the Judges have rarely, if ever, seen from the volatile and often off-the-wall coach.
“I’ve never seen him so calm,” senior point guard Chris Gayot said. “It was crazy.”
At the time, Cardozo was somewhat struggling, tied with Bayside despite ending the stanza on an 8-0 run. Naclerio felt the Judges were feeling the pressure he says always comes with donning the orange and blue, the need to be perfect after going undefeated in league play.
Naclerio’s words actually had a soothing effect as Cardozo went on to outscore Bayside 21-2 in the second quarter and cruise to a 62-41 victory and its second straight Queens crown and third in four years.
“Now they can walk around saying they’re undefeated in Queens,” Naclerio said. “That’s a big deal.”
Altogether, it was a 29-2 run, a head-spinning spurt that turned an eight-point deficit into a 19-point halftime lead. Before the rampage, there was an air of uncertainty with the game; by its end, Bayside’s hopes had been squashed.
“We just calmed down,” said senior guard Shelton Mickell, who scored a team-high 18 points. “Everybody got the cobwebs out. … It was so much fun, especially seeing the expression of all our guys, everybody’s smiling, everybody’s happy.”
The only other comparable run in his 30 years of coaching, Naclerio said, was a 37-0 spurt in a home win over Bayside in 2000. That club featured former St. John’s stalwarts Ryan Williams and Darryl Hill.
“I like this one [better] – it means something,” he said.
Everything that could go right did for Cardozo. The Judges sank five 3-pointers, they got out in transition after defensive stops for several layups and used their length inside and out to frustrate the Commodores, particularly their dynamic guards, William Dobie and Austin Williams.
As has been the case much of the year, the all-senior backcourt of Mickell and Gayot led the charge. They combined for 17 of Cardozo’s 29 points, nine from Mickell and eight from Gayot, who had 16 on the night.
“They are our bread and butter,” Naclerio said.
Bayside’s third loss to Cardozo was frustrating on many levels. The Commodores (16-10), in their first Queens final in seven years, have now dropped two consecutive lopsided results to the Judges after nearly pulling an upset in the first encounter. The game was virtually even in the first, third and fourth quarters.
“My kids are new to the bright lights, [Card0zo’s] been to the Garden, they’re battle-tested,” Bayside coach Cory Semper said. “We came out flat in the second quarter. That was the difference.”
The win sets up Naclerio’s club nicely for the citywide PSAL Class AA playoffs, where it is likely to receive a top five seed. Unlike last season, Cardozo (25-1) isn’t a favorite. There is, in fact, some doubt the Judges are realistic city title contenders because of a schedule considered light.
Queens isn’t nearly as highly regarded as Brooklyn, where championship favorites Lincoln and Boys & Girls reside, Cardozo didn’t travel to any out-of-town tournaments and its best non-league wins came over Manhattan champion Wadleigh and Maryland power Paterson.
Naclerio counters by saying he attempted to schedule Christ the King and Rice and didn’t expect so many players to leave Bishop Loughlin when he set up the game.
“I’ll play anyone, anywhere, any time,” he said.
His players aren’t nearly as concerned.
“25-1 is a great record whoever you play,” Mickell said. “We just look at the ‘W’s.’”