When Collegiate crossed paths with Brooklyn Collegiate prior to Monday’s non-league showdown, Connor Huff wasn’t offended when the PSAL Class A powerhouse Lions mocked the Dutchmen. He’s seen the sideways looks, snide comments and indignant laughs before.
“’Oh, it’s a bunch of white boys, we’ll run right by them,’” Huff said was the general impression he got.
He’s also seen the postgame ritual before, when the opposition which overlooks Collegiate realizes the error of their ways at the final horn.
History repeated itself in the New Heights Holiday Hoops Festival as the four-time NYSAISAA and New York State Federation Class B champion cruised to an impressive 48-33 win at the Harlem PAL over previously undefeated Brooklyn Collegiate.
“I think we made a statement,” Huff said. “We had a great year last year. We definitely want to continue it this year. We’re not afraid of anyone. If someone’s going to beat us, they’re going to have to bring it.”
Collegiate finished with a fury, ending the contest on a 19-3 run. Huff, a versatile 6-foot-4 forward, scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, keying the burst. Huff also shut down Lions star Ervin Mitchell, who came in averaging 32 points per game in league play, holding him to five points.
“We didn’t let him go off,” said Huff, who also had eight rebounds. “The refs were letting us play physical. Every time I came down court I tried to bump him, try to make him feel my presence and I guess he did.”
Huff has help as the Dutchmen collapsed on Mitchell, forcing his teammates to shoot – mostly inaccurately – from the perimeter. The game plan was to make the Lions prove they could beat them from the beyond the 3-point arc.
“We determined if we were going to lose,” Collegiate coach Ray Voelkel said, “it would be from outside.”
BK Collegiate’s pressure gave Collegiate’s fits most of the third quarter, before MIT-bound Ryan Frankel began to dribble through it instead of pass around it. The result was open jump shots for Willie Gwathmey (10 points, six rebounds) and Henry Frye (six points), in addition to opportunities for Huff in the paint.
The Lions did hold a 30-29 lead after a Willie Barnes (team-high 10 points) basket capped an 8-2 run. Collegiate responded with that 19-3 run. It began with Huff converting a traditional 3-point play, adding a free throw, Gwathmey sinking a 3-pointer and Huff scoring inside. Frankel made it 42-32 with a running jumper and Huff pushed the lead to 13 with another basket inside.
“He always seems to come through in the biggest games,” Frankel said. “We’ve come to expect that. He seems to always deliver. He was awesome.”
Many have described Mitchell and Brooklyn Collegiate (12-1) that way as it reeled off 12 wins, most of them of the lopsided nature, to start the year. The Lions entered the matchup overconfident, coach Jake Edwards said, though he warned them repeatedly about Collegiate.
“Now they know,” he said. “They made us wake up a little bit.”
Voelkel was ecstatic with the victory. Like the team’s successful trip to Coral Springs, Fla. for the Kreul Classic Publix Challenge – it won the eight-team tournament – he felt Brooklyn Collegiate was a step up in class. The Lions entered undefeated, the favorite in PSAL Class A and No. 1 in The Post’s NYC non-‘AA’ boys basketball rankings.
“Before the game I heard people say this would be a very interesting game with two different styles,” Voelkel said. “Our style won out today. We never let them get into the game. I’m happy about that.”
He scheduled this contest and the trip down south as preparation for the upcoming Ivy Prep League season. Voelkel didn’t expect to be sitting at 6-0 two days into 2012.
“I thought we would have a hard time winning a game in Florida,” the longtime coach said. “Today was a very nice surprise as well.”