CS 21 Snaps PS 11 21-Game Winning Streak; Captures AAA League Title

Friday night at Eagle Academy in a rematch between last year’s finalists, CS 21 stunned defending champ PS 11 with an early 16-2 blitz on their way to a wire-to-wire 33-27 win, capturing the 2014 Academics and Athletic Achievement (AAA) elementary school basketball league title. Not only did the victorious Panthers exact revenge for last year’s 30-25 title game loss to the Red Storm, CS 21 head coach Tyrees Cheeseboro’s undefeated squad (11-0) dealt PS 11 (10-1) their first defeat after 21 straight wins.

“We understood that P.S. 11 are the champions,” said a euphoric Coach Cheeseboro, “and to beat the champs you’ve got to beat them at their game, playing team ball and bringing it hard from start to finish.”

Led by game MVP Jakai White, CS 21 raced out to a huge early lead on their way to a 22-8 halftime advantage. The Red Storm spent much of the first half misfiring from outside and chasing the Panthers’ dynamic duo of White and Tylaur Johnson. Jakai poured in all of his game-high 13 points in the first half while Tylaur—who is barely five feet tall—was brilliant in dribbling rings around P.S. 11 defenders.

“Tylaur is our little floor general,” said his coach. “He keeps the ball moving and he’s hard to stop because he’s an excellent dribbler.

Down sixteen at the half, Clem Rand’s P.S. 11 squad came out determined to extend their winning ways. Opening the half with suffocating defense on White and Johnson, the Red Storm were inspired by the aggressive play of Alani Bryant, who made a critical play three minutes into the third quarter, dealing a hard foul to CS 21’s Jordon Burke. Although Burke hit one of two free-throws to extend the Panther lead to 15 points, Ms. Bryant’s actions jolted her teammates to life. The Red Storm went on a 13-2 blitz led by Lashon Bryant—no relation to Alani—who contributed eight of his team-high ten points during the runs, including two long three-point baskets.

With the Panther lead whittled down to 25-21 midway through the fourth quarter, CS 21’s Tylaur Johnson hit a layup to extend his team’s advantage to six. After a miss at the other end, Tylaur’s drive to the basket drew a foul from Alani Bryant, fouling out the Red Storm’s best defender.

Tylaur hit one of two free throws then stole the inbound pass and made a nifty pass to teammate Jordon Johnson for a layup that gave the Panthers a commanding 30-21 lead with less than two minutes remaining.

PS 11 would creep no closer than six points as CS 21 played keep away for much of the game’s final seconds to capture their fourth league crown and second in four years.

“Congratulations to the CS 21 players and coach for a well deserved victory,” said  a disappointed P.S. 11 coach Clem Rand. “Even though It’s really tough [to lose] I’m proud of my kids, They could have folded their tents at halftime but they came out and left everything on the court.”

William White, Jakati’s dad, was captivated by the play of the Panthers, led by his son who has played on the CS 21 squad the past four years.

“I’m amazed because when I was his [Jakai’s] age we had no type of structure,” said White. “We could barely dribble the ball up the court. Now they’ve got crossover dribbles, they shoot threes.”

The White presence at CS 21 will continue with Jakai’s two brothers—Dawan and Tashan—following in their brother’s footsteps.

For AAA commissioner John Leftridge, having two undefeated teams in his league final was the perfect finish for the twelve-team league, now in it’s tenth season.

“It was a great turnout, a great facility, a great year,” said Leftridge, who co-founded the co-ed elementary basketball league with Mark Zguro of PS 44. “Like a true champion, P.S. 11 didn’t give up. But the reality is that if you don’t get on top of CS 21 they’ll beat you.”