Bishop Kearney may have the attention of the high school basketball world in the state of New York for the roster they field. It includes seven of the top eight players returning from last season's Class A state semifinalist. One of those players is Syracuse bound after this season. Another is a top national recruit for the Class of 2015. One is 6-9 and the other is 6-7. Then in the offseason, the Kings added another player to the mix who stands an imposing 6-10. The Kings were basically crowned before the season even began.
Now that the season is underway, the Kings have already had their crowns knocked off, twice in three games.
With the game tied at 20 early in the second quarter, Matt MacDonald delivered a second straight backdoor pass to Adam Weir, who finished the play at the rim for a second straight time, and gave Canisius a lead it would not relinquish. The Crusaders got 28 points from Weir, 16 points from MacDonald, and a solid contribution from their own big man, 6-8 Jamel Mosley, in scoring a 69-50 victory over Bishop Kearney. The win is the third straight for Canisius since a season-opening loss to top WNY small school Olean, while the Kings slip to 1-2.
Canisius blew the game wide open during a four-minute stretch in the third quarter, with a 20-4 run that included four 3-pointers: two from MacDonald and back-to-back bombs from Weir, to go up 50-30. They also scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter, erasing any thought the Kings had of mounting a comeback.
Some game notes:
– Syracuse bound 6-9 Chinonso Obokoh did not make the trip to Canisius and is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
– The win for Canisius marked the third straight time the Kings have made the trip to WNY and headed back east with a loss. Last year, in another game Obokoh missed, Timon/St. Jude defeated the BK on its court, 61-50, and Falls topped the Kings 52-47 to open this season for both teams.
– The Crusaders defended extremely well all game, while Bishop Kearney seemed to treat defense as an afterthought, except for a brief stretch late in the third quarter in an attempt to answer a Canisius run.
– Ryan Raccuia, who seems to hit a '3' in every game, connected on one in response to a trey from Godspower Ogide, who had airballed an attempt on the possesion prior.
– Mosley finished with eight points and was the best big man in the game, including a nice pump fake and finish in the post.
– Kings' forward Alvin English made the mistake of clappping at Aaron White while guarding him, a gesture that indicates a challenge. White broke him down with some quick, sick dribbling and shifting, and created several feet of space. He didn't even use the space to drive – he simply resumed running the offense. No one should ever clap at White…that's just asking for it!
– It was good to see the Blue Crew, the Crusader student section, out in full force for a nonleague game on a Tuesday. They kept me entertained all evening with some very clever and humerous razzing.
– Kings' guard Antwoine Anderson made some spectacular buckets on his way to scoring 20 points, and earned the respect of the Blue Crew along the way.
– Bryant was held to just 10 points.
– Notable Canisius alumni and college football players John Urschel (Penn State) and James Gaines (Miami) were in attendance and received an ovation from the home crowd.
-centercourt
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