82 The QUEE NS Courier • december 26, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com sports ALL ABOUT BASKETBALL THE QUEENS COURIER PRESENTS ‘SPORTS STAR OF THE WEEK’ BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] Name: MICHAEL Maldonado Position: Shooting guard Sport: Basketball Grade: Senior School: Aviation Career & Technical Education High School Michael Maldonado is the captain and leading scorer of the Aviation High School boys’ basketball team (PSAL Queens-A West). He has an 84 grade point average and is also on the ROTC at the school. He has performed community service for various organizations, including breast cancers walks and events to fight juvenile diabetes. He is also a member of the school’s cross country track team. In a recent game against William Bryant High School on December 19, Maldonado scored 29 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds to lead his team to victory, 69-67. He has averaged 18.33 points and 5 rebounds per game in five games this season. Why did you start playing basketball? “I grew up in Jamaica, Queens. It’s a rough neighborhood and basketball was a way to make friends.” What colleges are you thinking about attending next year? “St. John’s University, the University of Buffalo, St. Louis University, Air Force Academy or The United States Military Academy at West Point.” Why do you like doing community service? “Helping other people feels great. It betters everybody.” What would be your dream job? “Playing for the Puerto Rican national basketball team. I would like to represent Hispanic basketball players. It would be an honor, that’s the way I look at it.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Despite a comeback effort, Holy Cross failed to win its first game of the season. Knights crossed out by Xaverian BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] The Holy Cross High School basketball team is having a tough start to the season. Following three consecutive losses to begin the year, including a 25-point deficit to powerhouse St. Raymond High School, the Knights narrowly missed winning their first game of the season against Xaverian High School on Friday, December 20. Knights junior guard Matthew Newton, who scored all his 12 points in the fourth quarter, fueled a second half burst, but Holy Cross (0-4) lost 64-57 to the Clippers (3-3). “We just missed it by a little,” Newton said. “If we play a little harder next game we’ll win.” With 2:33 left to play in the game, Newton hit two free throws to make the score 58-51. Following a free throw by Xaverian, Newton made a steal at 1:33 and scored a layup to bring the Knights within six points of tying the game, 59-53. “I just tried to come back and help the team out. Try to get that W win,” Newton said. But with such little time left, Holy Cross had resorted to fouling to stop the clock and couldn’t catch up to Xaverian. Besides Newton, Jermaine Bishop scored 13 points, Joshua Wallace scored 11 points and added eight rebounds and five assists for the Knights. The Knights trailed for most of the game. By halftime, they were only behind 36-31, but after the break, Xaverian dominated STAR of the WEEK Holy Cross by aggressively attacking the inside with layups and offensive rebounds, and quickly expanded the lead on an 8-0 run to go up 44-31. Holy Cross players continued to shoot from the outside and avoid taking the ball inside and missing long range shots. This caused the lead to expand until Newton hit two threes in a row. But, even he admits that next time they need to stop relying on shooting. “Coach said attack the basket more and stop shooting threes,” Newton said. STAR of the WEEK MICHAEL MALDONADO
QC12262013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above