On paper, the second annual Mayor’s Cup was a mismatch.
On one side, the Brooklyn/Manhattan/Staten Island team was an all-star team, led by trash-talking foes Leroy (Truck) Fludd of three-time defending city champion Boys & Girls and high-scoring wing Thaddeus Hall of Thomas Jefferson. The other, featuring players from Bronx and Queens, was littered with ‘A’ division standouts and nice Class AA role players.
Advantage, Bronx/Queens.
The supposed underdog rallied from a seven-point overtime deficit to pull out a thrilling 121-120 victory Friday night at CCNY in Harlem. The unlikely winners were led by an even unlikelier MVP – Najee Senior of Eagle Academy.
The undecided senior, who plays forward for Eagle but was a guard in the showcase, came up huge in the extra session.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” he said of the event featuring the top PSAL seniors. “It’s great.”
Romaine Thomas of Evander Childs led Bronx/Queens with 24 points, Wings Academy star Justin Jenkins had 18 points and John F. Kennedy’s Muhammed Ahmed had 10. Wadeigh’s Basil Harley led Brooklyn/Manhattan with 26 points, Hall had 22 and Fludd 15.
“We played hard, we played together as a team and we walked away with the victory,” Senior said.
He scored seven of his 15 points in overtime and stripped Wadleigh’s Basil Harley in the final seconds to seal the win. John F. Kennedy’s Muhammed Ahmed sank the game-winning shot, a spinning layup in the lane with 19 seconds remaining.
After trailing by 10 at one point, Bronx/Manhattan built a significant lead based mostly on the play of ‘A’ league standouts Romaine Thomas of Evander Childs and Davon Anderson of Adlai Stevenson. Thomas, a bouncy 6-foot-6 wing with 3-point range, scored his team’s first 11 points of the fourth quarter on a pair of tip dunks, a 3-pointer, left-handed scoop layup and a free throw.
“He’s the one kid I thought was the sleeper in this game,” Long Island City coach Harley Watstein said. “He’s one of the best players people don’t know about. He’s got a lot of upside.”
Thomas said his team was extra motivation to prove Bronx and Queens basketball is just as good as Brooklyn, which won PSAL crowns in ‘AA’ (Boys & Girls) and ‘A’ (Brooklyn Collegiate).
“I was getting tired of hearing how good Brooklyn is,” Thomas said. “Brooklyn is always winning championships. I feel like this is a makeup.”
Brooklyn/Manhattan went back ahead by as many as four as Harley began finishing off his drives to the hoop, but Bronx/Queens got back into it at the line. Jenkins, in fact, had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but only made 1-of-2 free throws with 2.3 seconds left.
Harley helped his team get off to a quick start in overtime by setting up Fludd for a pair of easy baskets and making three free throws as Brooklyn/Manhattan took a 112-105 lead. With Jenkins on the bench, Senior took command, first with two free throws, then a hard drive to the hoop and a 3-pointer.
“I looked up at the lock and noticed my team needed buckets,” he said. “I was going to attack and if somebody stepped up, I would dish it off.”
The 6-foot-2 Senior said he is unsure about his future. He has only heard from one Division III school in Maine and a few junior colleges.
“I hope this helps me,” he said. “Hopefully some people notice.”