Dozo Uses Construction to Prep for LuHi

OAKLAND GARDENS, NY – The Cardozo Judges have their sights set on Saturday’s confrontation against L.I. Lutheran at the Apparel Challenge but did not overlook league business. On Thursday, the Judges prepped for the upcoming tournament by dispatching its PSAL AA rival, HS for Construction, 84-67.

The Red Hawks jumped out in front 5-0 early as Wes Nelson, Jr. ‘16 (17 points) and Joe Nicholas’16 (10 points) scored but a dunk by Tareq Coburn ’16 (18 points) shifted the momentum in Cardozo’s favor. Dejavaughn Utley ‘18 (8 points) tied the game at 6 with 3:09 left in the first quarter and HS for Construction never saw the lead again.

Rashond Salnave ‘16 (33 points & six assists) went coast to coast, giving the Judges the lead. Even though the Monmouth-bound senior would pick up two early fouls, he set Dozo up for a 4 point lead to begin the second quarter.

Marcus St. Furcy ‘16 (21 points) and Nelson would keep Construction in the hunt and tied the score at 18 with 6:18 left in the first half but Coburn and Aaron Walker ‘16 (17 points, 10 assists & 10 rebounds)) would respond from the perimeter. Salnave would net a trey that put Dozo up by seven.

Cardozo would lead 40-35 to begin the second half but the sequence would loop for the remainder of the game. The Red Hawks would attempt to make a run and Salnave, Coburn and/or Walker would hit clutch shots to put the game just out of reach.

Down by eight at the end of three quarters, Construction would fall back by as many as 13 points with 3 minutes left to play. Salnave would end the game shooting white hot in the final minutes to help propel the Judges to a 17 point win.

Salnave said that winning this game is a good springboard into the game against Lutheran. “That’s a big game,” said Salnave. “High School for Construction, they’re one of the best schools in our division. We lost to Queens High School of Teaching already so now we’ve got to beat the best teams to prove we’re the best.”

With Head Coach Steve Masiello from Manhattan College watching, Walker, who scored his first triple double, said this was the first game of the season where he, Salnave and Coburn were all clicking together. “I try to do everything on the court whether its rebound, defense or get my teammates the ball and also [to] score.”

The senior combo guard feels that the win over Construction and how the trio played should bode well for Cardozo as they go up against L.I. Lutheran. While balance between the “big three” is a key to victory, Walker said the strategy is also to “Get everybody else involved.”

Both Cardozo and HS for Construction had the same league record at 14-1 before the game but the win by Cardozo put the Judges in the driver’s seat when it comes to the upcoming PSAL seedings by winning the Queens division. Salnave, however, said he’s got bigger fish to fry then a division title this time around.

“We’ve gotten division titles already,” said Salnave. “Three years in a row. Now we’ve just gotta clinch a division championship. We haven’t been winning that lately.” The senior team leader said he hopes to use the momentum of a win on Saturday to help achieve that goal.