OVERTIMECTK66St. Fran.61
Who needs Omar Cook?
Last night at Christ the King, the Royals’ flashy point guard fouled out on a technical with 28 seconds left in regulation, but the Royals were still able to beat conference foe St. Francis Prep 66-61 in overtime.
Mihail Malik picked up a loose ball at halfcourt and went in for a layup with 1:46 left in OT that gave CTK a 60-59 lead that it never surrendered.
“Four weeks ago, we had a meeting and I told the guys if they don’t stop watching Omar play, I was going to start charging admission,” CTK head coach Bob Oliva said. “Tonight, everybody stepped up.”
They had to. After jawing with the officials all night, Cook was given a technical while Prep’s Steve Hartwig was about to attempt a free throw, which was Cook’s fifth foul of the game.
No team in the CHSAA relies more on one player than CTK (15-4, 8-1 CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens) does and the Royals were unable to hold on to a three-point lead after he left the game.
But Prep hit just three of six free throws in those final 28 seconds and wasn’t able to steal the win.
“I thought we were in good shape,” said St. Francis coach Tim Leary, whose team fell to 14-5, 4-3. “We shot a little too quickly, but if one of those shots goes in, it might have been over.”
In the extra session, the Terriers scored four quick points before Mike Radziejewski nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one. It wasn’t the first big shot the senior had made.
“Mike had the game of his life,” Oliva said. “Two weeks ago, he was sick and didn’t know if he could practice. I said to him if he had heart, he would play. Well, he practiced and then played his best game the next day against [Archbishop] Molloy. Tonight, he did even better.”
Radziejewski led CTK with 23 points, including seven in overtime. He and fellow senior Zack Williams (18 points) guided the Royals in Cook’s absence.
“The first thing that happened was, I got scared,” Radziejewski said of his thoughts when Cook (10 points) left. “Whenever we’re in a tight situation like this, [Omar] is the reason we get out of it. Mr. Oliva always told us that even without him, we could win every game.”
Well, probably not every game, but this was a big one, which made it all the more catastrophic when Cook got his technical.
“I just stared [the official] down,” Cook said. “He said I waved at him. I didn’t. I just shook my head. Tonight, I didn’t do anything. I admit, sometimes I do. If it was any other game, I would understand it, but not this one.”
And the St. John’s-bound senior, who has been playing the best ball in the city in recent weeks, knows things like this will haunt him.
“It’s bad, because everybody will think I’m a bad person,” said Cook, who despite the scowl he wears during most games is personable off the court. “It hurts because it gives me a bad reputation.”
Oliva, despite the win, was livid after the game.
“[The official] lost his head right there,” Oliva said. “He had done a great job, but he blew it there.”
Fortunately for the Royals, they didn’t.
