Photo courtesy of Damion Reid/News 12 Varsity.
By David Cordova
Every time Christ the King and St. Raymond’s meet up, it is always bound to be a good game. The powerhouse from the Middle Village section of Queens and the powerhouse from the Parkchester section of The Bronx usually put out Division-I caliber players every year, which makes the games very exciting in the Catholic League.
On January 28th, both teams met up in the championship game of the SNY Invitational, which was held at City College of New York in Harlem. The game ended up being close as the Royals ended up victorious, winning by one, 67-66, over the Ravens. Fast-forward to today’s game, as the rematch was on in a regularly-scheduled CHSAA game. But unlike the previous battle, this game would not be as close, as one team would hold the lead from the beginning to the end.
Christ the King 83, St. Raymond 68
The beginning of the game was in favor of Christ the King, as they took a 10-2 lead with 4:20 to go in the first quarter after a three-pointer by Jose Alvarado. But St. Raymond’s, due to two crucial baskets by seniors Isaiah Washington and Zack Delauney, would get to within 19-9 at the end of the quarter.
The following quarter would remain the same with the Royals out on top, buoyed by the play of sophomore Jaylen Davis, as they led by twelve, 24-12, with 6:26 left. But the Ravens would not be down for long as junior Omar Silverio hit a three-pointer to bring them to within five, 24-19, with 5:03 to go.
Then Christ the King would pick up the pace as they would go on to lead, 33-19, with 3:12 left in the first half. They would finish off the first half leading 40-22.
The dominance of the Royals would continue in the third quarter as they led by 23 points, 56-33, with 4:41 to go. Although St. Ray’s did not have the size advantage, they did have the shooting of Washington and Silverio, as they cut their deficit to seventeen, 57-40, with 3:23 to go.
Despite the outstanding play of the Ravens’ starting backcourt, the Royals would build the lead up to twenty-one, 79-58, with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
St. Raymond’s cut the deficit to thirteen, 79-66, with over two minutes to go in the game, but the Royals would maintain their lead from start to finish.
Senior Jose Alvarado, also a Georgia Tech commit, led Christ the King with 25 points and junior Tyson Walker added 20 points, while Davis added 16 points. For St. Raymond’s, Silverio led with 30 points, Washington, bound for Minnesota added 22 points and junior Nicolas Rivera added 12 points in the loss.
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