John Jay Has a Lot to be Proud of Despite Loss to Peekskill

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After starting their season at 1-5, John Jay went 10-4 and earned the league championship. A berth in the sectionals wasn’t bad either. But the merit still meant playing fourth seeded Peekskill and their 14-6 record. No complaints, John Jay’s good early start didn’t hold up after a long season.

“We just kind of ran out of gas,” lamented Coach Sayre after the 68-32 loss.

The start had the Wolves streaking out of the gate, though. Ryan Valdes hit from downtown, and a Will Civetta steal made it five straight on the layup.

Of course, the Red Devils were far from prey. Darius Smythe ripped a defensive board, and with Jayden Chavis already on the run, Peekskill had a long fast break basket for their first bucket.

Isaiah Crawford added foul shots after pressure forced Brendan Corelli to turn the ball over, but the strategy didn’t work the next time. Corelli willed his way across half court, found Valdes and Colin Bishop was left open on the baseline for a 7-4 John Jay lead.

Unfazed again, Peekskill made it look much easier. Crawford hit a corner three, and Marquette Webster had his way on a put back with 2:52 left in the first.

Still, John Jay didn’t mind putting in the work. Valdes blew past Chavis, and on the penetration, Bishop was open on the baseline for the 9-9 tie.

The Wolves had their lunch pails out on defense too. Sam Rickel and Bishop both got blocks inside, but a traveling and a missed putback by Bishop kept the Wolves from getting out front.

Chivas wasn’t very forgiving either. Playing guard and center, his long range projectile resulted in a four point play, and he hit two more from the line to put John Jay on alert at 15-9.

So with Corelli’s ears perked, he sunk his teeth into a spin move. The point guard beat the defense high and scored low through the interior.

15-11, it was definitely a game after one, and the same went for almost half of the second. Misses to start, Chivas broke the string from downtown, but Valdes matched up. He went around a Bishop pick, and the corner three kept the margin status quo.

Timeout for Peekskill, the respite didn’t necessarily settle the home team, and two consecutive turnovers followed. Unfortunately, John John could not capitalize. Corelli and Valdes both stepped into open threes and neither fell.

So Peekskill showed how it was done. Crawford drove baseline, kicked to Jah Walker in the corner, and he extended to a 21-14 lead.

In at 3:55, the duo teamed up moments later to make it hurt even more. Walker saved the ball under the John Jay basket, and Crawford took it from there. He rose with one hand on the drive and went under hand to beat the interior defense

A ten point lead, Jaden Chambers came pretty close to outdoing his teammate. He drove the paint through two John Jay defenders and didn’t worry about the miss. He fought for the rebound, and the put back made it 26-14.

1:51 left in the half, the game was reaching a point where John Jay had to play perfect basketball, and Bishop’s missed put back yielded exactly what the Red Devils wrought.

Still, the Bishop kept his head up and made up on the next two possessions. His offensive rebound set Valdes up for a short jumper, and next he was on the receiving end of a no look pass from Valdes.

A thing of beauty, John Jay just wasn’t able to get enough of the synergy that got them here. “They kept us away from the rim,” said Sayre.

Either way, Peekskill closed the half on three of four from the line, and perfection was still the Wolves only chance. No mercy, Peekskill forced a turnover to start the third, and Crawford responded by going head over heels.

Another acrobatic drive to the hoop made it 31-18, and the rest of the Red Devils took it from there. Chivas found Smythe for a layup, then the versatile big man converted a foul shot on a half court steal, and Webster dropped a put back to put Peekskill up by 16.

No coming back at this point, Sayre knows how much the last game loss always hurts, but the big picture will eventually come into view for his players. A great turn around and a league championship, he boasted, “It’s something you can’t take away.”

That said, he’s sure the past isn’t the only thing that will be permanent, and accomplishment has Sayre looking forward to the carry over. “That’s the definitely the message, they were always together. Such an unselfish group, they play hard and always work and compete,” the coach concluded.