The MLK Weekend was full of great showcases across the area with some great highly anticipated non-league matchups that have been talked about on social media for months.
Last Monday, St. Raymond’s boys Varsity team in conjunction with 4Ryouth and the D. Lee Foundation had “The Dream Lives On” Classic honoring MLK and St. Raymond’s Alum Darius Lee who suddenly lost his life to gun violence during the summer of 2022. The event showcased some of the top teams in the NY metro area from the PSAL, CHSAA, Long Island, and Charter School leagues.
Hayes and Brandeis both entered this event on consecutive winning streaks in their respective leagues but weren’t scheduled to play each other last week. Hayes was originally set to face The Patrick School (NJ) while Brandeis was set to play St. Mary’s (LI) before the last minute change.
Fields, Kone Lead Hayes to Dominant Win over Brandeis
That didn’t stop the Hayesmen as they dominated Brandeis 102-57 from start to finish thanks to a balanced effort led by 24 points from Quinnipiac commit Malik Fields and 21 points from 2028 wing Souleymane Kone. Hayes put on a defensive clinic on some of Brandeis’ top stars and played with a smaller lineup that made them faster.
Keiji Clifton led Brandeis with 21 points.
Rich Jackson’s calm 38 points Holds off St. Rays 86-76.
The Host Ravens found themselves in a huge hole down 45-24 at the half to the Jefferson, but they weren’t allowing the Orange Wave to push them around for the rest of the game. Jeff would go up by as much as 29 points in the third until the Ravens went on many runs to cut the lead down to as much as 13 points. 2027 PG Zaire Johnson (26 points) was leading the rally for the Ravens but foul trouble, turnovers, and some missed shots at key moments kept them from cutting deeper into the lead.
Richard Jackson put up another classic performance against his dad’s Alma mater with the timeless shots hitting 7 threes, scoring in transition and just getting to his spots without much resistance. Jackson also grabbed 5 rebounds and dished 6 assists. 2027 PG Kenneth Moore added 17 while Senior PG Trevon Lewis added 16.
Other Scores
Thomas Jefferson JV, St. Rays JV 90-88
St. Mary’s LI 66, Earl Monroe 59
Hank Williams led St. Mary’s with 23 points three rebounds and three assists.
Event Reactions
The Hayesmen are officially The Belt Boys Of 2025-26 Season
Hayes dominant 102-57 win over Brandeis was just one of many dominant wins for them during the month of January. Since December 28th , Hayes has been dominating teams by an average margin of victory of 28.4 points per game. I did the math more than once to confirm
Hayes has St. Raymond’s and Stepinac to close out January can they close it out undefeated? We will keep a close eye on it.
Rich Jackson is the best unsigned senior we have seen this season
Watching Rich Jackson’s performance last week made me wonder why so many mid to low major schools haven’t offered him yet. We have no knowledge of his recruitment even though we have seen a few schools in attendance last week, but our guess is that a program is going to take a chance and get a steal by offering him.
After a tough loss to Lincoln over the Weekend, Rich Jackson went off for 52 points, 10 steals and 10 rebounds in a 144-65 win for Jeff over Erasmus Hall tonight on the road. If Schools aren’t blowing up Coach Bud’s phone right now
Johnson and Simpson Honored with Character Scholarship
Members of the D. Lee foundation honored Jefferson Sr Forward Zaire Simpson and St. Rays Jr. guard Zahir Johnson with a scholarship at the end of last Monday’s game. It was a great gesture to honor players who display high character just like Darius did during his HS and college basketball career.
Hoop Dreams NYC 
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