Win or lose, Barney Davis was going to pleased with the result of his Medgar Evers girls basketball team if it stayed in the game with Manhattan Center. The Cougars play in PSAL Class A, while the Rams are a perennial powerhouse in the ‘AA’ – two years removed from playing at Madison Square Garden.
So after a 52-49 loss Tuesday in East Harlem – the score was also tied with 53 seconds left – Davis was pleased with his team’s effort.
“The whole thing is a positive to me,” he said. “There could only be a positive against a good ‘AA’ team on their court.”
If this is how Medgar Evers (7-1), ranked No. 10 in the PSAL by The Post, does against No. 6 Manhattan Center (5-2), in theory the Cougars should have little difficulty with most ‘A’ teams. That’s the reason Davis schedule the Rams: to increase the competition level.
“They should be a ‘AA’ team,” Manhattan Center coach Jaywana Bradley said. “They’re very, very good. Those guards are excellent. They have a very good chance to win the [‘A’].”
And Medgar Evers almost pulled it out, too.
Manhattan Center looked to pull away in the fourth quarter when it used an 8-0 run, capped by a Nijah Lacourt layup with 3:35 left, to take a 49-41 lead. But Medgar Evers came storming back. Junior guard Ashley Castle drained a 3-pointer, senior wing Nandi Pyle knocked down a jumper and Jasmin Robinson made a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the score at 49 up with 53 seconds left.
On the other end, though, Manhattan Center star guard Aziza Patterson found Lacourt down low and she made a nice spin move to score the go-ahead basket. Davis was hardly disappointed with the turn out.
“We’re not ready for that intensity,” he said.
The Cougars are getting there. They’ll play Clinton out of the ‘AA’ in the quarterfinals of a holiday tournament Monday and could end up facing Columbus and Truman if they advance. Robinson had 16 points, Castle had 14 points and freshman Camera Miley added 10 for Medgar Evers.
“If we can play like that against Manhattan Center,” Davis said, “we should be fine against another ‘A’ team.”