East head coach Starling Bryant can be pretty focused before a game and at that time, is a man of few words. Back in 2010, prior to a big nonleague contest at the MLK Classic against Canisius, I asked Bryant how they were feeling. His response, "We got something for them". Two hours later, the Panthers were 49-47 winners over the eventual Manhattan Cup champs. Since that day, it's become pretty standard procedure before tip of a big game to ask Bryant "you got something for these guys"? Last night Middle College visited East for a Yale Cup I rematch, with the Kats having outplayed the Panthers in round one. This time around, East had something for them. That something was the guard duo of Johnathan Lewis & Percy Bryant. When that pair is playing for keeps, it seems near impossible to take anything from them.
Lewis entered the game 42 points shy of 1,000 for his career, and nearly took care of it right then, finishing with a game-high 33 points to lead East to a 73-67 victory over Middle College. Bryant added 22 points to combine with Lewis for 75% of the team's point total. The win gives East a shot to force a three-way tie in Yale Cup I. Middle College is at McKinley tonight. If the Kats lose and East can beat McKinley next week, the three teams would all share the Cup.
Trailing 19-15 to start the second quarter, the Panthers forced a quick series of turnovers to propel an 8-0 run, with Lewis & Bryant scoring two buckets each. Lewis went on to sink a pair of long-range bombs in the stanza, as part of a 14 point quarter for him that helped East to a 37-32 halftime advantage.
Lewis & Bryant combined for another seven points to start the second half, pushing the Panther lead to 44-32, their largest of the game. The Kats then looked to senior Kevin Briggs for a spark, who responded with 14 points in the third quarter and helped to mount a Middle College comback, getting the Kats to within a point on a jumper with 37 seconds before the fourth quarter. After an AJ Ayala free throw for East made it a two-point game, Middle College's Bri'an Brown scored with eight seconds left in the 3rd and converted the "and 1", to give the Kats the lead back, 57-56,entering the fourth quarter.
However, unlike ten days earlier when East fell apart over the game's final 12 minutes, this time the Panthers had something for them. Trailing 61-58 with four minutes left to play, Bryant and Shawn Young stuck consecutive 3-pointers for East, followed by a pair of free throws from Lewis, to give East an 8-0 run that gave them a five-point lead and a lead for good. Lewis & Bryant combined for 12 of East's final 17 points, while holding Briggs & Brown to two points each during the game's stretch run.
Briggs finished with 29 points for the Kats in the loss, while Brown chipped in 19 points.
If Middle College is able to rebound from this loss with a 'W' at McKinley tonight, Middle College will win the Yale Cup. If the Macks win tonight and beat East on Thursday, the Cup stays with them. If East can accomplish the scenario outlined at the top, the could share in a three-way tie for the Cup.
In last night's win, East once again flashed the scary potential they possess when Lewis and Bryant are on top of their games. It looked like that chip was back on their shoulders. Regardless of how the city league shakes out, the Panthers came into this season with state championship aspirations. The only way those will be realized, especially with the way Olean has been playing recently, is if the chip grows. And if it does, they'll have something for them too.
-centercourt
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