Boys and Girls’ Jeffland Neverson goes up for a shot. (Denis Gostev)
Mike Taylor was on fire, flawlessly passing what he described as the biggest test of his life. He was pretty good on the basketball court, too. And now defending champion Boys & Girls is headed back to Madison Square Garden, the site of last March’s memorable title, after its 53-48 victory over No. 3 Wings Academy at CCNY’s Nat Holman Gymnasium Wednesday night.
“Oh man, it felt great to be back with my brothers,” the Rutgers-bound senior said after scoring 10 points in the PSAL Class AA semifinal, his first game back after missing the last six for failing his first-period class.
Principal Bernard Gassaway reinstated Taylor after he aced his Wednesday morning math test – he scored 110 with extra credit, in fact – on the final day of the marking period.
“I got every single question right,” he said proudly.
Taylor’s teammates were happy to have him back, making sure this wouldn’t be his only game after the suspension. Malik Nichols led the Kangaroos with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Jeffland Neverson added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Antione Slaughter tallied nine points and nine assists, but also helped lockdown Wings star point guard Deonte Houston, holding him scoreless over the game’s final 14 minutes.
Boys & Girls (23-6) will meet bitter Brooklyn AA rival Lincoln, 56-54 winners over fourth-seeded Cardozo in the other semifinal, Sunday at 1 p.m. at Madison Square Garden. It’s The High’s third visit to the Garden in the last four years.
“I talk to coaches around the city who’ve been coaching a long time and I know there are good coaches that never have the opportunity to get there,” Boys & Girls coach Ruth Lovelace said. “So I’m very blessed to have the chance to get there even once, much less four times.”
LIU-bound Gerrell Martin led Wings (25-4) with 14 points, Houston had 13 and Amdy Fall 11.
Taylor was rusty, but did hit big shots. His biggest was a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter that capped a 9-0 Kangaroos run, which gave them a 48-40 lead, an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish. Wings twice got within three, but Nichols hit a 3-pointer to make it 51-45 with 2:27 left and Houston missed a potential game-tying 3 with 10 seconds left. After the errant shot, Nichols iced it with two free throws, capping arguably his best all-around performance of the season.
“The kid has the total package,” Lovelace said of the Hofstra-bound wing. “I said from the beginning of the year how special he is. He’s the best all-around player in [the PSAL]. He puts the ball on the floor, slashes to the basket, passes the ball, rebounds, dunks the ball, shoots the 3.”
The senior credited Taylor for opening the court. Though he finished well below his regular-season average, the sharpshooter extended the floor, opening up driving lanes for Slaughter, Neverson and Nichols.
Taylor was elated just to be on the floor Wednesday night. As of Wednesday afternoon, he wasn’t aware he would be made eligible, not until assistant coach Elmer Anderson relayed the good news after initially joking he had cheated on the exam. Taylor said he learned “to take more responsibility for my own actions and just be a responsible young man. I’m 18 now.”
Gassaway said it was simply “good timing” the end of the marking period landed on the same day of the semifinals. He, in fact, said he may change his policy next year that student-athletes have to pass every class to remain eligible.
“He and the team and future players have learned a valuable lesson,” Gassaway said. “The Garden is one day, but the bigger dance is on June 28.”
Now Taylor and the program’s other seniors have a chance to experience both.
