Boros beat Burbs in OT
The Boros, a team of New York City all-stars, needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to force overtime. Once they got to the extra period, however, they dominated and defeated the Burbs, a team of Long Island and Hudson Valley players, 120-116, Sunday night in the 7th annual Howie Frajberg Metro Classic played at Archbishop Molloy High School in Jamaica.
The Burbs appeared to have the game in hand when Chavaughn Lewis of St. Mary’s fed Matt Towsend of Horace Greeley for a layup that provided a 108-99 lead with 1:06 left. But the city kids forced some turnovers with all-court defensive pressure, fouled to stop the clock and made three huge shots.
Achraf Yacoubou of Long Island Lutheran missed two free throws with 54.6 remaining to open the door. Omar Calhoun of Christ the King said thanks very much. He nailed a three, then converted a conventional three-point play with an ‘and-one’ move to make it 108-105.
Still, the Burbs had another chance to ice it at the foul line, but Khalid Samuels of Mount Vernon missed two free throws with 15 seconds left, and Shaquille Stokes forced overtime with a tough, fadeaway trey from in front of his team’s bench with four seconds left.
In the extra period, Towsend and P.J. Torres each made one of two free throws for a 110-108 lead. Then the Boros took over, scoring 10 straight points to grab a 118-110 lead with a minute to go. Calhoun hit a three-point play on a driving bank shot and also a putback during that key burst. He led all scorers with 35 points and was voted the game’s MVP. Calhoun, a skilled 6-4 junior guard, is being heavily recruited by several top Division I schools.
Antoine Slaughter, a 5-7 guard from Lincoln, scored 25 for the Boros, including seven straight points late in the third quarter as his team closed the period on a 10-0 run and was in the process of wiping out an 18-point deficit.
Lewis, a 6-3 senior off-guard being recruited by several mid-majors, showed his ball-handling skills by constantly breaking the city’s press. He led the Burbs with 26 points, 18 after halftime.
Yacoubou, a 6-4 senior guard who committed to Villanova last year, scored 17 points and provided the two most crowd-pleasing plays of the game – until Stokes’ game-tying shot. Late in the first quarter, Yacoubou leaped to cleanly reject a layup attempt by Calhoun, bringing the crowd to its feat.
Late in the second quarter, Yacoubou made an even more spectacular play when he soared for a one-handed offensive rebound and in one smooth, powerful motion, slammed it home tomahawk style.
Here are the Long Island players who scored:
Chavaughn Lewis, St. Mary’s – 26
Achraf Yacoubou, L.I. Lutheran – 17
Anthony Ellechi, Elmont – 4
Matt McLeod, Harborfields – 4
Donte Thompson, St. John the Baptist – 4
P.J. Page, Copiague – 2
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At halftime, two Long Islanders were honored with Lifetime Achievement awards. Jack Agostino, veteran Amityville boys coach who has won four state titles and two Federation crowns, and George Davila, long-time historian and statistician for Long Island hoops, were introduced to the crowd and presented with plaques.
