Trailing by 10 points with four minutes remaining, Bedford Academy coach Rob Phelps knew the Panthers could sit back and wait for things to happen. So he opted for a full-court press. The result was a wild comeback and thrilling 64-59 overtime victory over No. 3 Columbus in a PSAL Class A quarterfinal in The Bronx.
“We put our defensive pressure on and they were just turning the ball, they threw the ball away, there were a couple of travels,” Phelps said. “They didn’t get any good attempts at the basket.”
Theophus Everett had a chance to win the game in regulation, but misses a layup in the closing seconds. Ironically, Phelps said it was Everett’s defense that enabled Bedford to prevail.
After a slow start, Malik Brown led Bedford (24-5) with 18 points, Sean Snagg added 17 points, Neil Veira had 10 and freshman point guard Darren Thomas tallied 10 points and eight assists. The defending ‘A’ champion meets No. 2 Long Island City Friday, March 18 at St. Francis College at 5 p.m.
“I’m not surprised, but I know a lot of people are,” Phelps said. “I tell our guys if we jsut go out and play hard, everything will take care of itself. We had some ups and downs this year, but these guys are just working really hard, and it’s paying off.”
Donivan Gray scored 18 points for Columbus (20-4), the Bronx A West champion.
CLASS B
No. 2 Pathways 57, No. 26 Brooklyn College Academy 55: Anthony Jacobs had 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Jordan Washington added 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jamel Holmes had 10 for Pathways (23-3), which will meet third-seeded Eleanor Roosevelt in the PSAL Class B semifinals at Lehman College March 16 at 5 p.m.
“It feels really good,” Pathways coach Harold Peaks said. “Some of my mentors told me the only way you can have a successful season is if you have kids who are successful in the classroom. We feel really good about that.”
BCA, the 2009 city champion, finishes the year 11-8 after pulling off consecutive upsets of No. 7 Teachers Prep and No. 10 Newcomers.
The program is only five years old. It started at the development level in 2007 and became a varsity team in 2008. Pathways made the playoffs the last two years, but failed to get past this second round. Now the Trailblazers are in the final four.
“We have a nice unit of kids that like playing for each other,” Peaks said. “It works out for us. What’s really been big is every day someone new steps up that’s unexpected.”
No. 3 Eleanor Roosevelt 46, No. 11 Network Technology 40: The Huskies (18-1) advance to the semifinals to take on No. 2 Pathways at Lehman College March 16 at 5 p.m. Network Technology is 17-4.