Anthony Reyes asked himself a simple question Friday afternoon as Poly Prep trailed Fieldston in its NYSAISAA Class B semifinal in The Bronx.
“What am I going to do to make sure this game isn’t my last game?”
The answer was simple: everything it took to ensure victory.
Poly Prep’s lone senior contributor poured in 20 of his game-high 27 points in the second half in a dazzling performance to lead the third-seeded Blue Devils to a thrilling 74-63 win over the second-seeded Eagles.
“He’s a refuse-to-lose kind of dude,” Poly Prep coach Bill McNally said. “His value is more than just his numbers. He’s a winner.”
Reyes sank four 3-pointers, he finished off drives in the lane against taller defenders, but most importantly, he took ownership of the contest. With Fieldston up 43-33 midway through the third quarter, with Reyes’ Poly Prep career hanging in the balance, he exploded.
Reyes had 11 points in a 24-3 run bookending the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. He pulled Poly even with a traditional three-point play and extended the lead to eight with a heavily contested 3-pointer two steps beyond the arc. When Fieldston got within 57-51, Reyes knifed into the lane for a layup and sank the accompanying free throw.
“I felt like everything I was putting up was going in,” he said. “The ball felt good coming out of my hands.”
Teammate Charlie Marquardt added: “I wasn’t surprised because sometimes he gets hot like that and nobody can stop him.”
It wasn’t a one man show for Poly Prep (16-9). Marquardt scored 13 points and eighth-graders Wolfgang Novogratz and Najee Taylor, in just his third varsity contest, combined for 21 points, 11 from Novogratz, the Poly Prep point guard.
Marquardt raved about Reyes’ leadership qualities as much as his basketball skills. The four-year varsity player is one of three seniors on the team, but the other two are seldom-used reserves.
“We have to be the youngest varsity team on the planet,” McNally said.
Reyes has eased the learning curve, taking the leadership mantle and run with it like an outlet pass. He runs practices along with the coaches, leads warm-ups and even directs teammates during the game.
He’s been a true leader this week. Reyes scored 22 points in Thursday’s come-from-behind quarterfinal win over Columbia Prep and was brilliant against Fieldston (20-7), making every clutch shot. The performance ensured he has at least one game left in his Poly Prep career, before he takes his talents to Haverford.
“I know my coaches depends on me, my teammates depend on me – if someone has to step up, it has to be me,” he said. “I’m the only senior. … I want to do everything I can to win the game when the pressure’s on so the young guys don’t feel the pressure themselves.”
Fieldston’s disappointment was perhaps more extreme than Poly Prep’s elation. The Eagles have fallen in the semis two years row – they lost to Collegiate last year – and felt this was the year to get to Albany. They were up double figures in the second half, in their own building, but were thoroughly outplayed for much of the second half.
“Poly played a great game and we had no response,” Fieldston coach Steve Bluth said. “I thought they played harder than us, I thought we got rattled. …. We lost to Long island Lutheran and Bedford [Academy last weekend] and I thought we played our asses off. I don’t thing we had that fire today. I don’t know why.”
Reyes smiled when told Collegiate would be meeting Poly Prep on Sunday in the ‘B’ final. The four-time defending NYSAIS and state Federation Class B champion Dutchmen have ended the Blue Devils season in the NYSAIS final the last two years and swept them during the regular season en route to the Ivy Prep League crown.
“I’m prepared and so is everybody else on the team,” he said. “We’re all ready.”
