By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — With more than 50 percent of its offensive production sitting on the bench Saturday, the Bishop Kearney boys’ basketball team went looking for an alternative.
The Kings didn’t need to send out a search party.
Although it took place in a losing effort, Antwan Williams seamlessly stepped into the role of primary scorer.
“I’ve been waiting on that the whole season,” Williams said of his opportunity in Bishop Kearney’s 66-59 loss to Mekeel Christian (II). “I just stepped in.”
The 6-foot-4 forward wasted no time scoring on each of BK’s first four possessions. By the time the first quarter ended, Williams had 12 points.
“It felt good,” Williams said. “I saw the mismatch. I felt hot. After my first basket, I felt like nobody can stop me.”
Kearney won the tap and Williams scored underneath. He followed with a rebound and putback the next trip down the floor and hit a jumper off an inbound play for a 6-5 Kearney edge.
He scored another basket inside before using his length to get loose along the baseline for a runner off the window to tie the game at 13.
VIEW MORE SUE KANE PHOTOS HERE.
Williams capped his first quarter effort taking a dish off from Miles Rose on a pick-and-roll and finishing in the lane.
Miles Rose finds Antwan Williams for 2 of his 12 first-quarter points, but @KearneyBoys trail Mekeel Christian 21-17. pic.twitter.com/802wEvq55r
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 5, 2019
“You see it in him,” Kearney head coach Kevin Goode said. “It’s been so hard to bring it out of him. Seeing it come out of him, it was like what was he waiting for.”
Despite playing with foul trouble for much of the game, Williams finished with a season-high 23 points. His fourth basket of the game gave BK its last lead of the day at 8-7. He scored four straight late in the game as the Kings cut an 18-point deficit to four with 16.4 seconds remaining.
“I told him before the game with as athletic as he is, he should have a very good game today,” Goode “We just need to see him go through and play hard. He showed it.”
Williams connected 10 times from the floor doing most of his damage in the lane. He also hit on one of his two 3-point attempts for the day.
“He did a great job,” Mekeel Christian head coach Chad Bowman said. “He’s super athletic. He’s bouncy.”
A Rochester native, Williams spent last school year in Detroit, Michigan. As a freshman, he was a student at Monroe High in the Rochester City School District.
“We need him to look at the advantages that he has over defenses and where he’s going to be the most successful,” Goode explained. “Right now he’s been successful shooting at the basket and that 10 to 15 foot jump shot. That’s helps the team. I think he’s shooting that at about 70 percent.”
Michael Gentile also registered a season-high with 17 points. Jamal Williams added nine, Rose had seven points. TJ Tytler chipped in three for the Kings (4-5).
Mike Gentile connects from long range, @KearneyBoys trail Mekeel Christian at half, 39-32. pic.twitter.com/uzfiH5qIcV
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 5, 2019
Miles Monchecourt (13.2 PPG) did not play on Saturday because of an injury. Kidtrell Blocker (22.2 PPG) was a healthy scratch.
Kearney hosts Rochester Prep for a 7 PM start on Tuesday.
The game was a bounce back effort for Mekeel (5-2), the reigning NYSPHSAA Class B champion. Less than 24 hours after surrendering a double-digit lead in the final three minutes of a 77-75 loss to Northstar Christian on Friday night, the Lions took the floor at Ed Nietopski Gymnasium. They produced points on each of their first six possessions, Saturday including a pair of backdoor cuts along the baseline by Osvaldo Dejesus.
“Coming out strong was going to be important,” Bowman said of his squad’s effort. “I definitely thought we did that. It’s like in a game you got to get to the next play, so for us it was the next game. Actually, it was kind of a blessing to play the next day.”
Dejesus led all scorers with 31 points. Beside finishing off backdoor sets, the junior guard hurt Kearney with his midrange game and the ability to convert steals into points at the other end. More importantly, Bowman pointed out Dejesus was the best playmaker on the floor.
“Ozzie had a great game for us,” Bowman said of his player. “He had 31 for us, but he had 19 scoring opportunities created. Whether a guy made a shot for the assist or not, he had 19 what we call ‘SOCS.’
“If you have 31 points, but only had two assists and only created four opportunities, you just shot a lot. If you score and you’re creating opportunities for your teammates whether they make or miss, then you’re having a good all-around floor game. Ozzie is really starting to elevate. Not only is he getting his own, but he’s getting his teammates involved. Not everybody can create. Some guys are just catch-and-shoot. They can’t get their own shots. He’s doing a really good job of creating for his teammates.”
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