It was deja vu all over again.
NEW YORK – It was déjà vu all over again.
Aaron Walker made another game-winning play. Cardozo beat Christ the King for the second time in as many weeks. And Cardozo is the SNY Invitational champion for the second straight year.
Cardozo defeated Christ the King 66-63 at the SNY Invitational Championship at City College of New York behind Walker’s 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals. A week ago Friday, Cardozo edged Christ the King, 67-65, on a last-second tip-in by Walker.
Walker’s heroic MVP performance Saturday included a breakaway dunk down the stretch and 1-of-2 free throws in the final seconds. It helped salvage his team’s 10-for-24 shooting from the line, an issue that almost cost Cardozo a victory against Mount Vernon in the semifinals on Friday.
In that game, Walker went for 25 points, nine rebonds and three assists.
“I tell college coaches that I’ve been doing this for a long time, and they’re supposed to respect my opinion,” said Cardozo’s Ron Naclerio, who’s coached for over 40 years. “And I’ve told coaches – don’t come and watch [Walker] play. Just walk over and offer him a scholarship.”
Manhattan is the only school to offer Walker a scholarship and head coach Steve Masiello was sitting courtside, while coaches from VCU and Iona were also on hand.
“I don’t know too much about [Manhattan],” said Walker, a 6-foot-1 senior guard. “I hear they’re really good. Their coaching staff is really good.”
He said St. Bonaventure, DePaul and Nevada have also showed interest.
Walker was matched up against Christ the King’s Jose Alvarado, whose nifty passes sparked multiple crowd reactions throughout the weekend. Alvarado finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists after nearly posting a triple-double Friday night in the win over Brentwood. Holy Cross-bound guard Tyrone Cohen added 18 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Alvarado’s list includes St. John’s, Seton Hall, VCU, Miami (Fla.) and Indiana, to name a few.
Tareq Coburn, a 6-5 left-hander, added 21 points for Cardozo, including 5-for-11 from deep. He went for 10 straight points from the second quarter into the third, to give his team a 10-point lead early in the third quarter.
Coburn was planning to visit St. Bonaventure Sunday, but said they cancelled so he could visit for a week after the season ends. The senior also received offers from Fairfield, Drexel, Monmouth, Fordham, St. Francis (N.Y.) and St. Peter’s. He said Iona has also shown interest, and that he’ll wait until the spring to decide.
Cardozo has now defeated Christ the King twice this season, but a potential third matchup in the New York State Federation tournament in Glens Falls, N.Y., may be the pivotal one.
Naclerio said he and Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello joked about a potential third matchup.
“I said, ‘You know what, I hope you beat me today and I win the city championship,'” Naclerio said of his halftime conversation with Arbitello. “He said, ‘No, you beat me today. I want to win city championships.’ So, I said, ‘let’s call it a tie, and hopefully we see each other in states.'”
BRENTWOOD WINS CONSOLATION GAME
Jamel Allen scored 16 points in the second half as Brentwood came from behind to defeat Mount Vernon 70-67 in the consolation game of the SNY Invitational.
Allen, an uncommitted 6-6 senior, finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, including 15 points in the third quarter.
“We got punched [Friday night],” Allen said about the 16-point loss to Christ the King. “We needed this win. Last night we had a quick meeting, and we talked on the bus a little bit how we wanted this game, so we came out and played hard.”
Allen said his team spoke about not letting the crowd and referees affect the way they played, an issue that may have got the best of them against Christ the King.
Allen posted back-to-back double-doubles after finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds Friday. The senior has only received an offer from St. Peter’s along with some interest from Siena but his performance here should open some eyes.
Coaches from VCU and Iona were on hand Saturday afternoon to watch Brentwood-Mount Vernon.
“I think he can play anywhere,” Brenwood coach Anthony Jimenez said. “I really do. I have a lot of faith in him. I think he’s just going to continue to become a better player and a more complete person, and it’s going to play dividends for him later.”
Allen’s teammate Michael Almonacy – who will play at Stony Brook next season – finished with 11 points.
For Mount Vernon, 6-8 junior big man Gregory Calixte finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Marco Morency – a 6-2 junior guard with offers from Monmouth and Iona – added 21 points.
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