Yesterday evening, the boys’ varsity basketball team traveled to Manhattan and came home with a gutsy, 53-41 win over Avenues that improved their PSAA record to 7-2 and clinched them the East #2 seed in next week’s postseason tournament.

The Bears entered the game short-handed and began slowly, falling behind 6-9 after the first quarter and trailing by the same margin, 15-18, at the half. But the boys charged out of the gates in the third quarter, pouring in 23 points to wrest away control of the game. All five Bears provided a balanced attack as Nate Small (6 points), Federico Chiappa (6), Orlando Morris (5), Randolph Logan (4), and Charlie Onana Awana (2) soared past the Aviators to carry a 38-28 lead into the fourth.

In the final frame, Onana Awana dropped in seven points to lead the Bears to a 15-13 quarter on the way to the victory. Chiappa led all scorers with 18 points and was supported by Small (12), Onana Awana (10), Morris (7), and Logan (6).

It was a key win for the Bears, allowing them to clinch the #2 seed in the East Division ahead of their regular season finale today vs. Long Island Lutheran. Regardless of today’s outcome, they host a home quarterfinal on Monday vs. West #3 Waldorf, a team they dispatched 70-49 just a few weeks ago.

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