Constitution downs MC&S in Public League semifinal
When Constitution senior center Erik Raleigh stepped to the free throw line to shoot with the same left wrist he had broken only 2 months ago, only one thing was on his mind.
When Constitution senior center Erik Raleigh stepped to the free throw line to shoot with the same left wrist he had broken only 2 months ago, only one thing was on his mind.
"Seal the deal and hang on to the game. That was my main focus," Raleigh said.
With 21 seconds remaining and a berth in the Public League finals on the line, Raleigh made one of those free throws to help seal a 56-53 win over the Math, Civics and Sciences Charter in the Pub semifinals at Southern High Wednesday night. The Generals will play Imhotep Charter in Saturday's championship game at 3 p.m. at the Liacouras Center.
"Erik is one of my best foul shooters, and I had absolute faith that he would make that shot," Constitution coach Rob Moore said.
In his second game back since injuring his wrist in December, Raleigh posted six points and four blocks, helping to build an early lead the Generals maintained for most of the game.
Senior forward Abdul King led for Constitution with 14 points, while grabbing nine rebounds, and fellow senior forward Xavier Harris dropped 13 points and pulled down five rebounds.
"Erik and Xavier stepped up down the stretch, making shots and grabbing rebounds," Moore said. "All we needed to do was defend and make some shots. We were able to pull it out in the end and get some stops when it was really in the clutch."
MC & S won the opening tip and scored first points of the night, but by the end of the first quarter, Constitution led by four and did not give up the lead for the rest of the game.
The Generals led by six with 2 minutes remaining in the half, then seized all of the momentum when Raleigh grabbed a steal and made an electric three-point play.
"I didn't see the guy coming up to take a charge, so I had to just float it in," Raleigh said.
Coming out of halftime with a nine-point lead, the Generals continued to make clutch free throws. They finished the game shooting 77.7 percent from the line. Constitution led by as many as 10 points before MC&S struck back with a 10-0 run, triggered by back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Thomas Moore, who scored a game-high 18 points.
The Mighty Elephants battled until the final whistle, but outstanding play from Constitution junior guard Daiquan Walker was too much for them to overcome. Walker, who scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds on the night, made key plays down the stretch.
"[Walker] is the guy who's gotten us to this next step," Moore said. "He's such a good player, and whether he's the shooter or it's the other guys, he's demanding so much attention that we're able to really just feed off of his energy. No one in the league can stay in front of him."
Math, Civics and Sciences sophomore Jeremiah Worthem tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, and Constitution junior guard Tamir Bolger added six points.
"This was getting over the hump, and now were playing at the Liacouras Center on Saturday," Moore said. "You can't beat that." *
