All Hallows’ Davon Robinson had 17 points and two big free throws to lead his team to the quarterfinals. (
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Ethan Hamlet was swatted moments earlier on a corner 3-pointer as the shot clock ran down. The All Hallows junior sharpshooter wasn’t too pleased with the sequence.
“Getting blocked sucks,” Hamlet said. “It’s not something I’m accustomed to.”
He corrected his mistake.
With the game tied and less than three minutes to go, Hamlet used a pump fake as the shot clock wound down. He got his defender in the air, went by him and put in a floater plus the foul. All Hallows would not trail again in a 52-49 upset of Xaverian in the CHSAA Class AA boys basketball second round Thursday night at St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows.
“That was a big one,” Gaels coach John Carey said. “Ethan is a very bright kid.”
The guard helped All Hallows (10-14) win its first playoff game in three seasons, since a semifinal appearance in 2009 against Rice. The victim of multiple tough losses in the regular season, the Gaels closed this one out with aplomb.
“We know we can beat anybody in this league,” senior guard Davon Robinson said. “Nobody is unbeatable.”
He helped put the finishing touches on this victory. Robinson, who left the team last season in December (personal reasons), made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to put All Hallows ahead 52-49. George Lambert and Dillon Burns missed 3-pointers late for Xaverian (17-10), allowing the Gaels to hold on.
“My teammates and I, we worked hard to get there,” Robinson said. “I didn’t want to let them down.”
Robinson spent time on the bench with three fouls in the second half, but still finished with 17 points, Hamlet had 15 points and John Brens added 10. All Hallows meets division rival St. Raymond in the quarterfinals 6 p.m. Sunday at Fordham University. The Ravens beat the Gaels four times previously, the last coming last week in the CHSAA Archdiocesan quarterfinals. All Hallows was competitive in most of the meetings.
“We’re just happy to be in the game,” Carey said. “I do think our kids believe in themselves.”
SMU-bound sharpshooter Brian Bernardi had 15 points and Burns had 10 points for Xaverian. Clippers coach Jack Alesi was impressed by how All Hallows adjusted to what his team was doing offensively.
“Any team that Carey coaches is well-coached,” Alesi said. “He’s as good as there is at Xs and Os. You either get them out of their style or you play their style.”
Xaverian wasn’t able to break All Hallows out of it. The Gaels, who play five guards most of the time, ran their sets, took the shot clock down every possession and got good looks more times than not. The halfcourt pace to the game was clearly in All Hallows’ favor.
“I think we were more disciplined than we were for most of the season,” Carey said.
All Hallows had close losses to Holy Cross, Mount St. Michael and Archbishop Molloy. All three of those teams are in the quarterfinals. Now the Gaels are too.
“Anything can happen in one game,” Carey said. “Dream big.”
