SOWING A SEED
Kingston moves closer to top seed in sectional tourney with triumph over Middletown
Kingston High’s destiny in boys basketball is now truly in the Tigers’ own hands.
Kingston’s quest for the top seed in the Section 9, Class AA tournament at the end of the month took a big step forward with Friday’s crucial 59-47 triumph over Middletown.
The victory that avenged the Middies’ last-second win in December has put the Tigers in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed. Kingston is now 4-1 in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Division I and 15-2 overall. Middletown, the only Section 9 team to beat the Tigers, is 5-1 in the division and 12-5 overall.
Brian Moore, who had 5 rebounds and 3 assists, was held to 12 points as the Middies doubleteamed him on the wings. The Tigers responded with three more double-figure scorers and staunch defense.
Jimmy Moot (11 points, 5 rebounds) and Daivel Jackson (10 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocked shots) had big games inside. Brady Short came off the bench for 10 points.
“It was a high-stakes game. I think we really relied on each
other to keep our composure and just leaned on each other down the stretch,” Short said. “I think, probably after this game, we’re going to get the one seed in the sectionals. Having this home court advantage and relying on our crowd, that’s really going to be a big thing going forward. We’re going for the section championship. That’s our main goal.”
Shy’quan Royal had a big all-around effort with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
The lead changed hands seven times in a back-andforth battle. Kingston came out strong, leading 18-8 after one quarter.
The momentum swung when the Tigers had three consecutive 3-point field goals spin away. That plus a 4-point play from Daequan Clark ignited the Middies on a 22-6 second quarter. Middletown closed out the half on a 9-1 run to lead 3024 at the half.
Clark and Joel Marrero had 10 points apiece and Marquis Gill 17 to lead Middletown.
“I didn’t think at any time during that run that we lost our composure,” Kingston coach Ron Kelder said. “We stayed focused. We didn’t panic and call too many timeouts, so we still had them in the second half, which allowed us to maybe shorten our bench a little bit and keep guys in that we needed in and keep them fresh.”
Added Jackson, “As we were coming out of one of our breaks, I was thinking, ‘We make runs. They make runs. I was a little worried, but I knew we would rally back.”
Said Kelder, “We continued to fight and I thought we started to get really after it on the glass. They didn’t get any second shots.”
Kingston erased an 8-point deficit in the third. Amir Ridge came off the bench for back-to-back baskets and Royal scored on a putback to get the Tigers
ahead by the end of the period.
The Tigers forced 16 turnovers, including two critical takeaways in the fourth. Moore stole an inbounds pass and scored to open a 44-40 lead early in the quarter. Jackson picked off a pass at half court and turned it into a 3-point play and a 51-44 margin with 3:24 left.
Moore’s no-look pass to Moot for a dagger 3-pointer with 1:39 settled matters at 54-44.
“To hold a high scoring team like that under 50 shows a lot,” Moore remarked.
“I knew this was going to be a real tough game, but I felt like we stayed composed. It was not the best offensive game we’ve had,” Moore added. “It was our best defensive game by far, and that’s what is going to win us the championship: not on the offensive side, not me scoring 30 points, not me going for 40, not one person, but as a team defensively. That’s how we’re going to win.”
Moore proved to be a prognosticator.
“I told coach before the game that we were going to win and the defense will keep them under 50,” he noted. “If we score 50, we’re going to end up with the W. He thought that it was going to be a high-scoring game, but I knew from the start.”
Said Kelder, “I said the first day we started practice after the team was picked that this team is going to win on defense. If we are the best defensive team, we win will games. We competed defensively the whole game and found a way to finally execute offensively.”
Kingston is at Pine Bush on Monday, home for Senior Night against Newburgh on Wednesday and closes out the regular season at Monroe-Woodbury on Feb. 19.
“We have three more league games. We control our own destiny,” Kelder said. “Our goal is to be the number one seed and put ourself in a position where we can try to win a championship.”