• NY vs NY Season 6 Opening Night: Gersh Edges Dyckman 63-58

    Thomas Jefferson guard Connor Spratley ’25 (13 Points) Drives past a defender in yesterday’s win for Gersh Park over Dyckman. Photo Credit: Sage Media Solutions.

    The Finale of Week 1 of NY vs NY didn’t disappoint as Gersh Park and Dyckman Closed out last night’s festivities on a high note. It was a strong start for Dyckman in the first quarter behind the strong play from D’andre Gibbs, Kamari Whyte, Tavien Tyler, and the inside presence of Keiner Aspirilla as they ran out to a 15-5 lead. Dyckman led by as much as 7 until Gersh fought back to close the deficit to 4 going into the half.

    In the third quarter, Gersh continued their momentum but Dyckman’s Tavien Tyler (red #2) always had an answer as they had a slight lead at 44-43 going into the 4th quarter. In the 4th and final quarter, Gersh took over outscoring Dyckman 20-14 and winning 63-58. It was a hard-fought game from start to finish. There were times where Tyler the 5-7 guard from Mount Vernon and the big man Aspirilla had Gersh on their heels but Gersh proved to be resilient as Jahda Swann, Connor Spratley, Christian Jeffrey and the rest of the Gersh squad sealed the victory in the end.

    Christian Jeffrey (Overtime Elite’25) led Gersh with 17 points while Connor Spratley added 13 and Jahmere Brewer (South Shore ’24) scored 11.

    For Dyckman, Tavien Tyler led Dyckman with 18 points.

  • Big East Press: A look back at Seton Hall’s “Blame The Committee” Tour in the 2024 Postseason NIT
    Credit: Seton Hall Athletics

    When you don’t get chosen to play in the Big Dance there are only three things you can do at the point. You can either raise hell on social media or you can take the snub on the chin but make everyone pay by going on a revenge tour. This is what led to Seton Hall’s magical NIT run as we like to call it the “Blame The Committee “ tour” Credits to Basketball announcer and NYC hoops ambassador Dave “Chaching” Teele for the Slogan.

    There’s no question that it was great to cover the Seton Hall Pirates this season and out of all of the Big East games we covered, we got to witness them beat UConn while shooting only eight threes and then rally down 19 to beat St. John’s. Those were games that proved that they belonged in the field but the selection committees believed that many undeserving teams that made it were more worthy. We ain’t saying no names though…

    The Walsh Gymnasium Boost.

    The Blame The Committee tour began with an OT thriller at home against St. Joes out of the A-10 The pirates who got a top seed decided to have their games on campus at Walsh Gymnasium which gave them a boost the whole tournament. From there, the Pirates would go on to dominate North Texas then UNLV on their way to the Semis in Indiana where they stood on business against Georgia. Every game proved that the Pirates would have made a deep run in the tournament if the selection committee had some sense.

    Playing with a sense of urgency.

    The Pirates got great play from their core of captains Kadary Richmond, Dre Davis, and Al-Amir Dawes throughout the tourney, but others such as Dylan Wusu, Jaden Bediako, Isaiah Coleman, and even sophomore Jaquan Sanders stepped up in the semis with 11 points. Seeing the inspired play from the Pirates is something

    The final stop on the Pirates Blame the Committee tour is Hinkle Fieldhouse, a familiar territory for the Pirates who travel there to play Butler every season but this time around the Pirates face a disadvantage as the sold-out crowd included mostly Indiana State fans. The Sycamores were another team that fell short of making the NCAA tournament. This is what the Pirates dealt with throughout the game, especially in the first half where they were up double digits but the Sycamores went on a huge run to tie the game. The Sycamores went on a huge run and took over the game late but the Pirates never backed down.

    Down 77-70 with less than two minutes left, Seton Hall would cap off an improbable 9-0 run and a huge defensive stop to clinch the NIT Championship. It was a memorable run that is just as good as any run that’s going on in the NCAA tournament, it has improved the Postseason NIT’s Value in our opinion. There’s no question that the Pirates will build on this run into next season. The Pirates 2024 Postseason run will always be known as the “Blame the Committee” tour in our eyes.

    The off-season will be a very interesting time for the Pirates as well as all of the other Big East teams. Many of the core players still have eligibility left but there will be some space on the roster as some will graduate and there could be some players entering the portal.

  • Video Recap: McEachern Dominates Camden in the 2nd half at the Battle behind Historic performance from Rutgers Commit Ace Bailey

    Photo Credit Scott Faytok: NJ Advance Media

    During the Holiday Hoops season, there were many great performances but many of them couldn’t top the performance from Ace Bailey at the Battle in New Jersey at Rutgers on December 29th.

    The Rutgers commit out of McEachern HS in Georgia went off for 40 points and 21 boards in the 77-52 win over Camden HS which features Kentucky Commit Billy Richmond who had 20 points and 10 boards. It was a back-and-forth first half between both teams as they were trading shots Ace Bailey felt comfortable going off for 17 points and 11 boards, but Camden held a slight 31-27 lead at the half.

    Rutgers fans and head coach Steve Pikell were in attendance to witness what they will be getting next season and the hecklers were in attendance too, we don’t know what was said to Ace but let’s just say he went off in the second half propelling McEachern to outscore Camden 50-25 with Ace scoring 23 of the 50 before going to the bench the last few mins of the game to a standing ovation of the Rutgers fans that were in attendance.

  • It was a pivotal game for both teams on December 4th as Kennedy was looking to bounce back from a blowout loss at home to Eagle Bronx and TMA was on a five game winning streak but came into the game short handed with a few players down due to injury. It was also a big game for recruiting purposes as Norfolk State Head coach Robert Jones was in attendance. TMA came out hot to start the game with big shots hit by senior Blake Underwood and junior wing Ahmad Torrence. Kennedy answered back with finding their groove on offense to close the gap and tie the game at 32 going into halftime.

    late in the second half, Kennedy’s defense overwhelmed TMA as they went on a 8-0 run to take a 60-52 lead. Mohammed Diarrosso threw down a dunk to give TMA a 62-54 lead to seal the win. Ahmad Torrence (#13) led TMA with 28 points, 9 boards and 6 boards. Blake Underwood(#3) scored 14 points and shot 4/5 from 3pt range, while Justin Prado (#22) added 13. It was a team effort for Kennedy who was led by Quentin Richardson who scored 18 points and dished out seven assists. Mohammed Diarrosso scored 17 and Kyler Emanuel added 10.

    Update: Kennedy swept the season series against TMA with a 51-44 win at home yesterday afternoon.

  • A look back at Poly Prep’s 43-38 win over Xaverian at “The Sunday Service” presented by NYC Prospects on December 3rd. It was a high defensive low scoring game where Poly Prep got 18 points out of 2025 guard Karim Camara a 6-0 guard who gave Xaverian’s defense the fits throughout the game. Senior guard Pat Evans led Xaverian with 12 points which made a very late run from being down by double figures throughout the contest but the defense led by the anchor junior forward Connor Igor helped the Blue Devils seal the victory.
  • Video Recap: Hayes Balanced Attack Downs Archbishop Molloy 83-71 for First Win Of The Season

    Photo Credits: Matty Ice / Manny Ariza

    Video Recap of Cardinal Hayes’s 83-71 Win over Archbishop Molloy on Friday Night. It was a balanced attack by the Hayesmen who used their stingy defense to force turnovers and get steals that led to transition buckets all night in the 83-71 win.

    4-star senior point guard Adam Njie led 5 players for Hayes in double figures with 21 points. 2025 Guard Kaelen Destin scored 18 while Malik Fields added 13, Trey Lewis Scored 12, and Super Sophomore PG Jermel Thomas ran the offense very well contributing 11 points and 9 assists.

    Molloy was led by 4-star sophomore guard wing Josh Powell who scored 27 points while senior forward Eli Smalls scored 18 points. This win was a great bounce-back game for Hayes which lost their first two games to Nazareth and rival St. Raymond’s to begin the season.

  • A Look Back at Seton Hall vs Saint Peters
    Dre Davis Throwing down the Exclamation point with 1:14 left in Seton Hall’s 70-59 win over Saint Peters.

    The Seton Hall Pirates opened up the season against Saint Peter’s and it was a huge wake-up call for the Pirates as a slow start had them in a tug-of-war against a young athletic Peacocks team for a majority of the game. “We were playing selfish. No one was playing team basketball we were playing me basketball” Coach Sha told the press after Monday’s game.

    The Pirates found themselves 44-40 until Dylan Wusu and Al-Amir Dawes hit some big shots to go up 52-50. The late surge would continue as Dawes big threes had them up 61-55 with 3:50 left in the game and they never looked back as they were able to outlast Saint Peter’s and win 70-59.

    Here are some things we have learned about both teams since last night.

    Kooks Impressive Senior Year Debut

    South Shore HS great Kadary Richmond filled the stat sheet last night with 18 points 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals in the win. This stat line puts him in elite company as he’s the 5th player in NCAA history to do this. According to Matt Ambrose Seton Hall’s assistant director of digital media and communications, Richmond joins Iman Shumpert, Elfrid Payton, Kris Dunn, and Marcus Smart as players who have had that stat line.

    This is just a glimpse of a more comfortable and assertive version of Richmond. Expect more of the NBA scouts to be at Seton Hall games going forward because of this.

    Dylan Wusu’s debut showed how vital he is to the Pirates’ success going forward.

    Dylan played a huge part in the Pirates late Surge yesterday as he scored 10 points and 3 rebounds all in the second half. Head Coach Shaheen Holloway pointed out how his energy helped in the postgame press conference. “We need Dylan to be Dylan for 40 mins” Coach Sha added.

    This Game Prepares them for an In-state showdown with FDU.

    The next game for the Pirates is the FDU Knights at Walsh Gymnasium on Saturday. The Pirates will be facing a confident FDU squad that took down Buffalo on the road to open up their season. With the Pirates surviving Saint Peter’s last night they have something to learn from so the same thing doesn’t happen on Saturday.

    Armoni Ziegler Has Arrived

    On Saint Peter’s side of things, OSL alum and Amityville native Armoni Ziegler was one of the bright spots for the Peacocks as he scored 10 points and grabbed 3 boards off the bench on 75% shooting. When the Pirates had the game in control in the last minute, Ziegler threw down a thunderous dunk over a defender that went Viral. With his energy and athleticism Ziegler could get more minutes off of the bench going forward.

  • A Look Back at Fordham Vs UMBC

    On Sunday Afternoon Fordham Hosted UMBC in an Exhibition game benefiting Able Athletics. A non-profit organization dedicated to inclusion in sports.

    Even though the game didn’t count, it felt like it did from seeing the intensity and energy of both teams. Both teams looked like they were in mid-season form.

    Here are a few takeaways from the Game.

    The Rams are Unbeatable from three-point range.

    The Rams shot 9/17 from three-point range in the first half and they looked unbeatable as they held a 10-point lead late in the first half. Even though the Rams had fewer attempts in the second half, their hot three-point shooting is one thing that is going to win them a lot of games this season. The Rams finished the game shooting 43% from beyond the arc. It’s also worth noting that they have players from positions 1-4 that can shoot from deep.

    This game marked the debut for many new Rams including Japhet Medor the 6-0 guard who transferred to Fordham from UTSA (Texas-San Antonio). Medor shined in his debut with 23 points and seven boards on 9/14 shooting. Medor pretty much did what he wanted on offense against UMBC slashing his way to the rim for layups and hitting mid-range jumpers.

    Marcus Banks jr on UMBC had a decent game too with 21 points and 3 steals. banks were one of the driving forces behind the big run in the second half that briefly gave them a five-point lead before Fordham came back.

    The Bigs came through and Free Throws Matter.

    There was a time when the three-pointers that carried the Rams throughout the first half weren’t falling but the Rams front court of Elijah Gray and Abdou Tsimbla who provided inside scoring as well as oLafayette transfer Josh Rivera who grabbed 14 rebounds held it down keeping the Rams ahead in the rebounding department. The Rams outrebounded UMBC 44-34. Free throws also played huge as Fordham who had fewer attempts shot 9/12 from the line (75%) compared to 58 % for UMBC.

    Overall there are so many reasons for excitement as this Rams Squad who had a 25-8 record and 12-6 conference record has the chance to build on that this upcoming season. From their 3-point shooting to their ability to find other ways to score when the shots aren’t falling, it will be another exciting season ahead for the Rams.

    We’ll see the Rams again this season which starts on November 6th as they will face Wagner at home at 7:30 pm.

  • Video: Monsignor Scanlan Outlasts Eagle Bronx 53-48 in HWC Fall Championship

    We are back with some Fall Ball content for you guys.

    Last Thursday’s Harlem World Classic Championship game ended up becoming a double-OT Thriller as Monsignor Scanlan behind 16 points from the super sophomore Dior Anderson defeated Scanlan 53-48 in OT.

    The game was a straight-grinder throughout. late in the fourth quarter Eagle BX had a 38-33 lead on Scanlan but the Crusaders battled back to tie the game at 38 sending it to OT. The game could have ended in regulation but missed free throws and turnovers plagued both teams luckily this was a preseason game and we expect these teams to be more sharp when the season begins.

    In the second and final OT, senior guard Kaleb Popote nailed a 3-point play in the last minute that would put the Crusaders up for good at 49-45.

    The super sophomore guard Dior Anderson was one of the few standouts from this game as he scored 16 points to lead Scanlan and Earn MVP honors.

    John Harrington held it down for Eagle BX who was down a starter with 15 points.

    Both Eagle and Scanlan could possibly meet again as they are playing in the Gauchos

  • Video Recap: NY vs NY Week 2 – Watson Edges Tri-state For First Home Win In 4 Years

    Last Tuesday, Nike’s NY vs NY tournament made their way over to the Watson Classic in the Bronx where the home team was seeking their first home win in four years.

    Team Tri-State was looking to get back on track after losing to Dyckman on Week 1. Going into the 4th quarter it looked like Tri-state was going to get their first win as they were up 61-50 with 3:22 remaining.

    Team Watson would go on to outscore Tri-state 18-5 the rest of the way and get a clutch block from 2025 St. Raymond’s guard / wing Brandon Stores Jr. To seal the win.

    Stores finished with 11 points and 10 boards while the Player of the Week Robert Wright III led all scorers with 30 points.

    Cardinal Hayes senior Adam Njie led Tri-state classic with 23 points and dished out five assists. Tai Turnage added 11 points and 4 assists

    Post game Interview with Brandon Stores Here

    Post game Interview with Watson Classic Commisioner Lee Jones Here

    NIGEL JAMES FOR THE WIN: In the first game Lincoln Park defeated West 4th 59-57 in a nail biter. Nigel James a 2025 guard from Cushing Academy who’s from Long Island scored the game winning layup with time expiring. James scored 10 points and dished out four assists. James earned NY vs NY player of the week honors as well.

    West 4th was led by William Sydnor who scored 21 points and grabbed eight boards.