Wolves VS HS Graphic Communication Arts

     After beating Seward Park in February 2012, the Grand Street Campus' season ended with a loss to the Evander Child's Tigers on February 28th, 2013. All Wolves hope that this playoff experience would be different-- "I hope to go real far since we fell short last year. I'm confident in this team" said Senior Joel Banton who had 14pts in the loss to the Tigers. The Wolves (ranked 28th) faced the HS of Graphic Communication Arts Devils  (ranked 37th) on February 16th, 2013 in their first play-off game of the season. The Devils ended their season, as the Wolves, in the second round to Adlai Stevenson by 3 points. With the Wolves Den without their cheerleaders, the fans came to support their team.
     The first quarter began will a couple of turnovers from the Devils. The Wolves began to score but Coach Sharpe urged his players to wake up and push the ball off of the Devil’s misses. In this fast pace game, the Wolves were able to balance their scoring between their players. Most of Grand Street’s scoring came off of jump shots. The Devils found themselves in a quick 13-4 deficit as a result of their miscommunications and missed shots. The Wolves were able to rebound both on the offensive and defensive end against the Devils leading rebounders Khalil Tucker and Darius Webster. When the Devils tried to bring up the ball, the Wolves guards Lawahn Lewis and Anthony Reese played great defense, which forced turnovers. The Wolves continued to roll as they put their famous pick and roll play in action with centered on Tarik Allicock. After about 5 minutes of stagnant scoring from the Devils, Terrell Fullerton converted on a 3 pointer with a minute to play. Fullerton had his way on offensive by beating his man of the dribble, but his team mates could not score. With lobs, tough lay-ups, and 3's the Wolves jumped out to a 26-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Devils started the second quarter with a quick turnover but received their first points of the second at the line. Despite a tough shot inside from Darryl Green Jr. 2 minutes into the second quarter, the Devils carelessly turned over the ball and the Wolves were there to clean up their mess. Tarik Allicock showed use more from his scoring repertoire with back to back scoring, one lay-up going left, and the other a smooth spin move off of an offensive rebound. The Wolves with 5 minutes to play had a 32-12 lead over the Devils. Though the Wolves had a great lead, they began to settle for 3's which Coach Sharpe did not approve of. With a hustle play from  Nathaniel Wyatte who lost the ball, retained it, caught an offensive rebound, and got an and 1, the Wolves showed their intensity. The half ended with the Wolves comfortably up 37-21 over the Devils. At the half Coach Sharpe said "the guards are doing it [defense] right but we just have to do a better job at containing #10 (Fullerton) and continue to make easy lay-ups".
     In the third quarter the Devils attacked much better than previously; they picked up a steal to begin. Early in the third, the Wolves continuously left Glenn Wilkerson open behind the arc--one mishap resulted in a 3 at 6:15 in the 3rd. From then on Wilkerson became something similar to unstoppable from 3, scoring his third of the game about 1:30 seconds after his second 3. Joel Banton stepped up on the offensive and defensive-- hitting jumpers and even catching a ferocious block. Banton's effort did not go unappreciated as Coach Sharpe commended him for his hustle. The crowd began to get into the game from the block and Allicock’s dunk attempt on a fast break (he was fouled on the dunk). With a minute left in the third Wilkerson hit two deep three's cutting the lead to 10-- the Wolves Den was stunned. The third quarter ended with a score of 54-46 GSC on top. The Wolves strategy going into the fourth was switching to 1-3-1 zone defense to stop Wilkerson. The Wolves had to work a little harder to score over the momentous Devils, but they nevertheless found a way to put points on the board. The Devils did a much better job of scoring off of misses. Grand Street's Assistant Coach Merced emphatically told his players that "everybody needs to rebound on defense" in a time out with 4 minutes to play. With that said, Allicock continued to clean up the glass and the Wolves caught their most exhilarating play of the game; after running Wilkerson off of the line into a tough floater the Wolves caught a block resulting in a fast break dunk from Nathaniel Wyatt. From that point the Wolves took complete control over the game--being up by 15 with 3 minutes left to play. The Devils run was over despite a three from Fullerton to end the game. The final score was 71-59 GSC.
      After the game Devil's Head Coach Patrick Gaffney said "Grand Street Campus jumped on us early and we never recovered... we couldn't handle their big man #15 (Tarik Allicock) inside. They are well coached and deserved to win". The Wolves would definitely agree as they celebrated their first win of the playoffs. Before the game, Coach Sharpe said that the magic number for rebounds was 40 and the Wolves came within 3 rebounds shy of that goal. The Grand Street Campus Wolves will head to Pathways College Prep to face the 5th ranked TrailBlazers on Thursday, February 28th, 2013. Point Leader- Glenn Wilkerson 22pts (HS GRAPH...) Assist Leader- Anthony Deese 9 assist (GSC) Rebounding Leader- Tarik Allicock 17 rebounds (GSC). Game Facts - GSC out-rebounded HS Graphic Communication Arts 37-16 - GSC had 19 total assist compared to HS Graphic Communication Arts 6

 ----Congratulations to the HS Graphic Communication Arts for making it thus far-----

GSC Visits Harry Van Arsdale

As a result of the NYC snow storm on February 8th, Grand Street Campus' last game against the Harry Van Arsdale Cardinals was postponed. On February 12th, 2013 the Wolves made their way to Harry Van Arsdale to play in a game that mattered the most to the Cardinals; if the Cardinals wanted to make the playoffs this would have to win this game. Head Coach Thornhill of the Cardinals said that he told his team before the game that "all we need to do is execute… I expect us to go to the playoffs". In the first quarter, GSC's play was far from what it was during the course of the season. The Cardinals started the game with back to back scoring in the paint without any challenge from GSC. Even when the Wolves had the opportunity to score they missed free-throws and open lay-ups. The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead over the Wolves with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. On almost every trip down the court, the Cardinals were able to score by finding the open man in the paint. Grand Street's first points came with about 4 minutes to play with a lay-up from Lawahn Lewis. With scoring from multiple players including Richardo Malin and Jordan Coleson, the Cardinals increased their lead to 11 very quickly, while GSC only put up 4 points with 2 minutes left in the first. GSC managed to score ending the first with a score of 19-9. To begin the second quarter, Coach Sharpe inserted Kamaal Seymour-- which was probably the earliest he was put into a Grand Street game—to defend the paint. Finally, the Wolves defense started to pick up but even on fast breaks after steals, the Wolves could not convert. The poor rebounding of GSC reared its ugly head once again as Malin who was probably the shortest on the court, grabbed rebounds over GSC's taller players. Coach Sharpe constantly inserted and withdrew players to find a team that would be able to provide some scoring for the Wolves. As the Cardinals continued to roll with excellent rebounding from Xavier Long, who had 4pts in the first, none of GSC's shots fell even the open ones. The only two players who scored for GSC in the second quarter were Joel Banton and Lawahn Lewis who added 2pts a piece. The half-time score was an unforeseen 30-14 lead by the Cardinals. At half time Coach Sharpe blamed the incredibly low scoring from the Wolves on their inability to convert on open opportunities; Sharpe also added that "they are letting Van Arsdales energy interfere". When asked about the attitude of the GSC players in the locker room Sharpe said "it’s positive, we just have to get everyone on the same page". In the third quarter the Wolves tried their best to be more aggressive on both sides of the court despite the Cardinals intensity. While the Wolves made strong moves to the basket, their defense continued to fail as the Cardinals opened up a whopping 24 point lead with 3 minutes to play. Coach Sharpe immediately called a time out and expressed his anger to his players without holding back. The anger did in fact turn into some scoring from Tarik Allicock but it still was not enough. With 12 seconds left, Coach Sharpe showed his complete disappointment by benching all of his thus-far trustworthy players and inserting the bench. The Cardinals Xavier Long put some of his talents on display with nice moves to the hoop including a couple of reverse lay-ups. The score at the end of the third was 51-23. Couldy St. Jean, only in his 3rd game of the season, provided some instant scoring for GSC in the first couple of minutes. As the Cardinals went on a missing streak, St. Jean took advantage and scored 8 points for GSC. The Cardinals took complete control over the game as Long scored 10points in the second half. The final score was 61-33. While the Cardinals celebrated, the somber minded Wolves could do nothing but accept their lowest scoring game of the season. Despite the loss to Harry Van Arsdale, Coach Sharpe spoke before the game saying that "[this season was] successful because with only one Senior we were able to win a lot of games despite our inexperience”. Sharpe added that Senior Joel Banton came in as he should—as a leader. When asked about what he was impressed by and what he hoped to carry into the playoffs, Coach Thornhill responded "that they actually executed what we've been practicing and for us to just be patient and believe that we're a great team instead of just listening to me saying it". The Cardinals showed their ability to compete against the higher ranked GSC team. Point Leader- Xavier Long 19 points (HVA) Assist Leader- Johnny Ayars 6 assist (HVA)Rebounding Leader- Xavier Long 12 rebounds (HVS) The Grand Street Campus Wolves ended their season with a record of 10-4 which they didn't hope for but will have to accept, and the Harry Van Arsdale Cardinals with a record of 7-7. The standings go as followed: 1. Benjamin Banneker(13-0) 2. Grand Street Campus(10-4) 3. Automotive HS(8-5) 4. Harry Van Arsdale(7-7) 5. Dr. Susan S. Mckinney(5-8) 6. Bushwick Campus(4-9) 7. Campus of John Jay(3-10) 8. Global Studies(3-10). The schedule for the playoffs will be announced shortly.

Global Studies Visits Wolves Den

After coming off of two game winning streak against Dr. Susan S. Mckinney (final- 72-67) and a non-league game against Christ the King, the Grand Street Campus Wolves returned to the Wolves Den on February 6th, 2013 to face the Global Studies Jaguars. In their previous meeting, the Wolves visited Global and lost because of poor free throw shooting and a lack of energy. Coach Sharpe said free throw shooting would continue to be a key to beating the Jaguars. Because of an altercation outside of the campus, no fans were allowed to speculate; most of the cheering came from the uplifting cheerleaders. The game began with some excellent ball movement from Grand Street and some not so excellent ball movement from Global Studies. The Wolves were able to jump out to a quick 8-4 lead with scoring from Nathaniel Wyatte,

Joel Banton, and Anthony Deese. Mid-first quarter GSC turned the ball over three consecutive times but right after, the Wolves continued to get the ball inside-- slithering their way inside for easy lay-ups against the Global players. Lawahn Lewis who seemed to have lost his head in Grand Street’s game against Banneker, picked up a technical foul for his comments to one of Global’s players; GSC’s assistant coach quickly advised Lewis to relax. Lewis was not called for any more techs after the incident. With back to back steals and stagnant scoring from the Jaguars, the Wolves then took a 10 point lead with 3:26 left in the first. One noticeable difference between this game and the Wolves game against Banneker was that the Wolves were able to catch offensive rebounds which in turned into points. The Jaguars closed the gap later in the first quarter with back to back three's from Kevin Davis Jr. The first quarter ended with a score of 22-15 with GSC up. The Wolves started the second quarter with some impressive guard defense. Turnovers began to rack up for Grand Street as Global went on a little run with scoring from Davis and Isaias Orbay. Global increased their interest by getting a block and grabbing offensive rebounds-- they tied the game at 25 with 4 minutes to go. Grand Street responded well to Global as they continued to get

better on the glass and got to the line more. Tarik Allicock showed a pretty spin move in the paint to increase Grand Street’s lead to 14 to end the half at 39-25. During half time Head Coach Mick of Global Studies said, "We need to find the open man in transition. The team as a whole needs to be more intense on d and [we need to] pick up the pace". As the clock ticked down until the start of the second half, the GSC players got some shots up as it was unnecessary to go into the locker room. The Wolves came out in the third quarter well a sense of placidity, as Lawahn Lewis, who had 7 points in the first half, drained a 3 after about a minute of play. Kyle Giddings then hit a smooth step back jumper but it wasn't enough-- GSC defense was too much for Global as they turned the ball over after failing to inbound the ball. Global, mid-third quarter, picked up a second technical foul (the first being in the 2nd quarter), after its player used inappropriate language on the court. The technical foul shots only added to the lead as Joel Banton knocked both of them down.

The Wolves continued to roll as Banton tantalized the Jaguars with 3's and quick lay-ups. The third quarter ended with a 3 from Lawahn Lewis; the score was 63-39. In the fourth quarter the Jaguars were able to grab some offensive rebounds and hit threes, (from Davis JR.) but the game got away from them and they knew it; they began to look uninterested. At the four minute mark, the score was 73-50. The rest of the game was history. From the starters who were now on the bench, jokes echoed across the void Wolves Den. The final score was 81-60. At the end of the game Coach Sharpe said that he was "very happy with the bench play". The Global Studies Jaguars now 3-10 will play in their last regular season game at Benjamin Banneker on February 8th, 2013 while GSC now 10-3 will play at Harry Van Arsdale on the same day.

Grand Street Campus vs Benjamin Banneker 1/30/13

On December 12th, 2012, the Grand Street Campus Wolves lost in double overtime to Benjamin Banneker in the Wolves Den; this time around the Wolves visited the undefeated Warriors on January 30th, 2013. The Wolves, coming into this game, knew that they had to perform at a very high level in order to defeat Banneker; everyone sensed how big this game was. After coming off of a 3 game winning streak against Bushwick Campus, John Jay, and Automotive, the then 8-2 Wolves had some momentum coming into this game. With Banneker's stacked 17 man roster, Coach Sharpe said that the key to winning was that the bench was ready to play. From the tip, Banneker pressured Grand Street making them turn the ball over on their very first possession. The turnovers for Grand Street continued to rack up as they experienced some difficulty with Banneker's vexatious defense. Grand Street's first points came at about 5 minutes in the first quarter from Joel Banton.

It was translucent that the Warriors objective was to make GSC work for every point. On one end of the court, the Wolves shots weren't falling and on the other end, the Wolves allowed Banneker's guards to breeze past them in the paint. Late in the first quarter, the Wolves calmed down and finally got a break by scoring off of a steal. The Wolves managed to take a 12-5 lead with 1:32seconds left in the first as a result of effective ball sharing. One area that foreshadowed some trouble was the rebounding-- GSC allowed the shorter Banneker players to get offensive rebounds leading to easy put backs.The first quarter ended on a Banneker run putting them only down 11-12. In the 2nd quarter, the poor defensive rebounding from the Wolves continued despite their increased effort on the defensive end. Prince- Jov Antonie, who had just 2 points in Banneker's previous game against Dr. Susan S. Mckinny, caught fire from behind the arc knocking down 3 well guarded 3 pointers mid-second quarter. Coach Sharpe gathered his team after the last 3 which got the crowd fired up, to remind them that "the game is not over". Out of the timeout, the Wolves took their time in finding Joel Banton for a quick jumper; the score was then 19-16. Banneker continued to take advantage of Grand Street's lack of presence in the paint by driving in and making lay-ups. Before everyone knew it, Banneker jumped out to a 10 point lead with 2 minutes to play in the second. Lawahn Lewis, who was bothered by the referees and Banneker players, scored his first point in the whole game-- a 3 pointer with 4 seconds left in the 2nd. The halftime score was 30-20 with Banneker on top. During halftime Coach Sharpe said "we're controlling [the game] fine, we're just not getting anything off the bench". After Banneker received their first point of the 3rd from the free-throw line, GSC went on a 5-0 run cutting Banneker's lead to 4. A major turning point occurred when Lawahn Lewis got called for two quick fouls, in which Lewis and Coach Sharpe disagreed with. One specific play showcased the Wolves inability to rebound in the 3rd when Grand Street players allowed Guard Lynden Parkinson to catch an offensive rebound and score. Lewis, knowing that it was time to step up, began to attack inside earning him a trip to the free-throw line. The third quarter ended with Nathaniel Wyatt getting out and running, scoring 4 points to put GSC in a good position to come back, the score was 42-39. The Warriors lead diminished when Lawahn Lewis knocked down 2 tough 3's to start the fourth quarter. It was evident that GSC's defensive guard play,

started to take a toll on the Warriors as they were forced to run more clock time down in order to set up a play; nevertheless, Banneker continued to score off of offensive rebounds. A similar situation to that of Grand Street's last game against Banneker-- the foul situation was 8-1 with 3 minutes to play in the 4th favoring Banneker. In a time out, Coach Sharpe made sure he had some words with the referees concerning this matter. The foul situation improved for GSC as Banneker picked up 2 quick fouls. GSC's Assistant Coach urged Lawahn Lewis to keep his head after Lewis become irritated by missed calls. When Lewis was sent to the bench he looked toward the Assistant Coach asking if he fouled out; the Coach confirmed his suspicion and all Lewis could do was sit in disappointment reminiscent of the team’s last game against Banneker. With 1:15 to play the score was 50-45 Banneker leading. After two made free throws from Banneker's Devante Carolina, Anthony Deese who is known for his assisting, scored a 3 pointer to bring the score to 52-48. With 32 seconds left in the game and the Wolves down by 8, (because of Banneker's offensive rebounds) Joel Banton hit two pressured 3's for GSC.

The 3's weren't enough as the Wolves were forced to foul Banneker every time they received the ball. The final score was 58-54 with Banneker again triumphing over the Grand Street Campus Wolves. What frustrated Coach Sharpe was not the lack of poise from his players, but instead, the 19 total offensive rebounds from a GSC team that caught 29 defensive rebounds in one game against John Jay. When asked how crucial was losing Lawahn Lewis in the 4th and what was the main cause of the lost, Coach Sharpe replied " Lawahn is an extra scorer and a good defender. Our bench just wasn't ready for this highly competitive game". Unfortunately, the win that the Wolves wanted so badly was jeopardized because of their poor rebounding. Benjamin Banneker now 11-0 will play John Jay (3-8) on February 1st at John Jay. The Wolves (8-3) will head on the road to face Dr. Susan S. Mckinny (5-6) whom they have beaten 82-54 on December 17th, 2012, also on the 1st of February.