Brooklyn Collegiate’s Rashaad John grabs the rebound away from Bedford Academy’s Darien Best . (Lauren Marsh)
Whenever Ervin Mitchell got tired or felt the drills were getting monotonous, he thought back to the night of March 8, when Brooklyn Collegiate blew a large lead to eventual PSAL Class A champion Midwood in the quarterfinals. Suddenly, the senior forward was energized, no matter how long he had been putting up shots or running sprints.
“It was my motivation,” he said. “I felt bitter and angry after that game. We were up by so much and lost. I don’t want that to happen again.”
All the work he put in over the spring and summer has paid off this far, for Mitchell and the Lions. Behind 30 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Mitchell, Brooklyn Collegiate topped bitter rival Bedford Academy, 68-69, in PSAL Brooklyn A East boys basketball Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, the young Lions and their seven freshmen remain undefeated and now hold a two-game lead over Bedford and Law & Technology atop the division.
“It gives a lot of confidence to our younger guys,” BC coach Jake Edwards said. “This was their first battle.”
Like everyone else Brooklyn Collegiate has faced this season, Bedford had no answer for the 6-foot-3 Mitchell. He scored on post-ups, jump shots and drives to the hoop. Early on, rugged Bedford forward Darien Best gave Mitchell problems, but once he began using his quickness, the beefy Best couldn’t stay with him.
And when Best fouled out early in the fourth quarter, Mitchell had his way with Bedford forwards Neil Veira and Theo Everett, taking turns overpowering them inside and out-finessing them on the perimeter.
“I don’t feel like nobody on their team can stop me,” he said. “It was a matter of executing.”
Sophomore Rashaad John scored 14 points for Brooklyn Collegiate (9-0, 6-0 Brooklyn A East) and senior point guard Kirthly Reid had seven assists. Sean Snagg led Bedford with 17 points and Iran Duncan had 16.
At every Bedford (8-3, 4-2) run, Mitchell was there to snatch back momentum. When the Panthers drew within 50-44 late in the third quarter, Mitchell responded with consecutive baskets. When the lead was cut to six, Mitchell had a runner off the glass in the lane, a layup and set up freshman Glenn Murray for an easy basket.
“I don’t think he does anything great, but he does a lot of things good,” Bedford coach Rob Phelps said. “Best was our best option because of the physical [matchup], but he started outquicking us and he just wanted it more.”
With that said, Phelps felt it was a winnable game for Bedford. The Panthers lost by eight and missed nine free throws. They committed plenty of unnecessary turnovers and point guard Darren Thomas (eight points, five assists), the team’s heartbeat, didn’t get going until midway through the fourth quarter.
“I give them credit, but the game was right there,” Phelps said. “We’ll see them two more times.”
Mitchell was solid as a junior, averaging 15 points per game, but nothing like this. He’s already eclipsed the 40-point plateau three times and is putting up 35 points per game in six league contests. He’s so different, Phelps said, he’s unrecognizable from the player he was a year ago.
Mitchell credits the transformation to his spring and summer workouts in Brooklyn Collegiate’s humid gymnasium and the Lions facing the city’s best in summer streetball leagues. With such a young team, Mitchell had no choice but to improve, or else get embarrassed on the blacktop. That has carried over into the season.
“He’s playing with much more confidence,” Edwards said. “He comes to the gym with the confidence he will perform no matter what defense people throw at him.”
The soft-spoken Mitchell remains quiet, but he shows his teammates what he expects with his actions. He arrives early for practices and is first in sprints.
It’s all for that harrowing memory he can’t escape, the pain he felt against Midwood. There were tense moments on Wednesday in Brooklyn Collegiate’s first test of the year and Mitchell thrived at each moment.
“I like pressure,” he said. “The playoffs and championship is all about pressure. That’s where I want to go.”