South Shore Survies Poor Fourth Quarter, Advances to PSAL Brooklyn Borough Boy’s Hoops Finals with Win Over Brooklyn Collegiate

By Jerry Del Priore

Despite a lackluster fourth quarter, the second-seeded South Shore boy’s varsity basketball team led wire-to-wire in its 56-43 win over No. 3 Brooklyn Collegiate in the PSAL Brooklyn Borough semi-final championship game Thursday night at home.

While the Vikings didn’t play its best in the final stanza, coach Shawn Mark felt they did enough throughout the affair to get the W.

“I’m going to say they got the job done,” said Mark, who added the fact that his squad has had a very good season and are 22-4 thus far. “At the end of the day, I’ll take whatever the kids can give me.”

Both teams struggled to find its shooting groove in the first period, but the Vikings, behind senior Femi Odukale’s six points, took a 12-4 advantage by the end of the period.

But the Lions would cut the lead to 12-10 on junior Jaylin Anderson’s bucket with 6:05 to go in the first half.

However, South Shore went on a 14-2 run to surge ahead, 27-12, to end the half.

The Vikings continued to pour it on in the third quarter, building a commanding 42-19 advantage with 2:10 remaining in the stanza.

As Brooklyn Collegiate sliced the deficit to a still sizable 20 points, sweet-shooting junior guard Kareem May nailed a three-pointer to make it a 45-22 contest.

But South Shore sputtered in the fourth period, not scoring its first point until the 4:46 mark, while the Lions cut the lead to 47-34 with 3:14 left in the tilt.

Moreover, Brooklyn Collegiate refused to go quietly, narrowing the gap to nine points (47-36) with 2:45 to go in the game.

But the Vikings outscored the Lions, 9-7, the rest of way to secure the victory.

May led the way for South Shore with 17 points, while Odukale and senior guard Dwight Davis Jr. chipped in with 10 and eight, respectively.

May, who was playing in his third game back since injuring his knee, noted it was great to be healthy and back on the court with his teammates, especially after picking up the win.

Additionally, May said he’s pumped up for the next opponent in the Brooklyn Borough finals, no matter if it’s top-seeded Thomas Jefferson or No. 4 Abraham Lincoln, with the game’s outcome still undetermined at the time.

“I feel good, actually,” May said of his knee. “I missed my teammates. We got the win, and it doesn’t matter who we play next. I come out to play every night.”

With the victory, the Vikings advance to the finals, in which they will face the Orange Wave Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at York College.