Taconic Beats New York Prep School
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Quentin Christopher Saturday scored 20 points to lead the Taconic boys basketball team to a 66-57 win over the Hackley School of Tarrytown, N.Y., in the first game of four-team bracket play at the Hoophall Invitational at Sci-Tech.
The win sends the Thunder into a bracket final on Sunday at 12:30 against either Weaver, Conn., or Maine-Endwell from the Binghamton, N.Y., area, who met later on Saturday.
Caesar Santos and Martin Boua each had a double double for Taconic, which won its seventh straight to improve to 10-1 and punch its ticket for the Division 3 State Tournament.
Christopher, who came into the game averaging five points per game, hit four 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first half alone.
“He was terrific,” Taconic coach Bill Heaphy said. “He came out ready and shot the ball really well and got us into our offense. He was very active, played hard. So we needed that from him.”
Nate Reynolds (nine points) hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first to help Taconic lead by as many as 11 points. And the Thunder was up by nine midway through the second when Christopher got a steal and a layup to make it 27-18.
But Hackley finished the half on an 8-0 run to go into the locker room down by just a point, 27-26.
The Hornets’ comeback was helped by Taconic’s eight second quarter turnovers, the most it committed in any period on Saturday.
“That’s a good team we played,” Heaphy said. “We expected they were going to make a run after we came out playing well. They’ve got some athletes. They’ve got some quick kids. They’ve got some kids who can shoot. [Jelani Middleton] is a lot to deal with. He’s as good as probably anybody we will play all year.
“So we survived [the run]. We talked about it at half, and I thought we responded well in the third quarter.”
Middleton finished with a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds for Hackley. Jack Pearlman, who scored six points in the late second-quarter run, finished with 17 points.
It was still a one-possession game late in the third quarter when Taconic scored six straight points to go up by nine. First, Boua was fouled trying to put back an offensive rebound and made both his foul shots. Then Ceasar Santos drove the lane for a bucket and finally Christopher put back an offensive rebound to make it 46-37.
In the fourth quarter, Taconic’s bigs were the difference.
Boua (13 points, 15 rebounds) scored seven points in the quarter. McGrath (10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks) scored six in the fourth.
A Boua basket in the post midway through the period gave Taconic its biggest lead of the game, 60-44.
McGrath and Boua each were held scoreless in the first half.
“They knew it,” Heaphy said. “They knew we needed them to play with more force, which they did. You know, they’re going to get a lot of attention from teams we play. They had a crowd around them the whole time. … It’s a four-quarter game, so that’s two, you’ve got to come back and win these next two.”
Santos, who finished with 14 points, also passed out four assists in the win.
“In the last four games, he’s been more of a leader,” Heaphy said. “He’s taken what’s been given. He’s not forcing as much. He’s really been effective and efficient.
“Between him, Marty [Boua] and Q [Christopher], we’re going to need it from a collective group.”
Photos from this game to come.