48 The QUEE NS Courier • december 19, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com sports CTK DOMINATES BULLDOG WITH BITE CHRIST THE KING DOMINATES All Hallows in season home opener BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] For Christ the King’s High School basketball team it was business as usual. The Royals completed a dominant victory over All Hallows High School, 58-27, for their season home opener on Sunday, December 14. Royals sophomore Rawle Alkins and Travis Atson led the team with a double-double each. Alkins had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Atson scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. “We were focused. We were ready to play before the game,” Alkins said. “We weren’t joking around in the locker room. We wanted to win really badly.” The victory marks the third consecutive double-digit win for the Royals (3-0) in as many games to start the season. Punishing defense coupled with an overwhelming offensive fueled the Royals, who are the reigning state basketball champions. By halftime the Royals lead 35-16. They continued attacking in the third quarter with a 9-0 run to inflate the lead to 46-16, before All Hallows (0-5) finally made its first basket in the second half. By the end of the third quarter, Royals head coach Joe Arbitello pulled his starters from the floor. All Hallows was able to score a few more baskets in the fourth quarter while the Christ the King starters were out of the game, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Despite the big victories, Arbitello said they aren’t trying to blow teams out. “We’re not really trying to show that we are dominant,” Arbitello said. “The one thing we are trying to focus on now is getting better every game. We want Christ the King High School routed All Hallows in its season opener. This Bulldog has bite BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] to play at the level that Christ the King has become accustomed to.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre The next game for the Royals will be on Friday, December 20 against Cardinal Hayes. Nohah Vickers is one of the leading varsity basketball scorers in the borough and attributes all of his success to his teammates at Campus Magnet High School. Vickers, also an honor student with an A average, accumulated 153 points over the season’s first five games. As of press time, he sat in the second top spot, just three points behind the borough’s leading scorer, Trevor McGhie from Petrides. He previously held the number one position, leading the standings by 44 points. “My teammates give me the right passes when I need it,” Vickers said. The Campus Magnet Bulldogs (0-5) took on the Bayside High School Commodores (2-3) on Monday, December 16. The Bulldogs fought to the end, but fell 70-62. Vickers, the team’s point guard, played hard consistently through the game. During the slow first quarter, he drove to the basket, drawing a foul four separate times and got his team on the board. But the Commodores’ quick offense let point guard Daniel Hernandez sink repeated shots, putting them ahead of the Bulldogs, almost doubling their points. Play picked up in the second quarter with big blocks from the Bulldogs’ center, Khari Jones, and cut the Commodores’ lead to 33-32. For the rest of the game, they were able to keep Bayside within five points. Bayside’s defense forced Vickers to take several jump shots and three-pointers, rebounded heavily by Jones under the basket if he were to miss. The game got physical in the third quarter, with players dropping to the ground nearly every play. Vickers was pushed to the floor, hit the back of his head, shook it off and made two foul shots. With 13 seconds left on the clock, the Bulldogs fouled Bayside’s Moaiz Ahmad, who brought the score to 70-62. Before the game, Vickers said he wanted his team to come out with energy and “make sure play is seen from start to finish.” He ended the night with 33 points. “As long as you get the kids to come out and play as hard as you can, that’s all I ask,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Charles Granby. THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes Nohah Vickers (left) from Campus Magnet High School is the top basketball scorer in the borough. His team took on Bayside High School, but lost after putting up a fight.
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