The fourth quarter is first in Curtis Smith’s heart.
The unsung Thomas Jefferson senior guard has made a habit of owning the final frame and did so again on Feb. 6 to lead his team to a thrilling, 68–65 win over host Christ the King at the Apparel Challenge. Smith scored all six of his points in the fourth, including a big three-pointer to tie the score at 63–63 with 53 seconds remaining. He collected the game-changing steal and also put his team ahead for good at the free-throw line in the closing seconds.
“I told Curtis we are not going to play him until the fourth quarter,” joked Jefferson coach Lawrence “Bud” Pollard. “I mean the Westinghouse game, the Robeson game, the Lincoln game. We call him Big Shot C.J. He doesn’t show up until the fourth quarter. He made a big steal right there, and he made the big three.”
Smith jumped a Jose Alvarado inbound pass to Tyron Cohen, took it the length of the court, and drew a foul. He missed the first free throw — but made the second to put the Orange Wave up 66–65 with nine seconds remaining.
“I figured out why I missed it,” Smith said. “I didn’t bend my knees. The second one, I just followed through on my free throw, and it went in.”
Christ the King looked to run the same play with 3.6 remaining, but St. John’s-bound guard Shamorie Ponds stole Alvarado’s inbound pass and drew a foul. He made both free throws to seal a win that gives top-seeded Jefferson (17–7) plenty of momentum heading into the Public School Athletic League Brooklyn Borough playoffs this week.
“This is a big one,” Ponds said. “It builds our confidence a lot going into the borough playoffs.”
He scored 17 of his game-high 29 points the first half, but his driving layup with 28 seconds tied the score at 65–65 to set up Jefferson’s last-minute defensive stand. Junior forward Malachi Faison added 15 points and was a force on the offensive glass. Both had big games, but the Orange Wave’s defense ultimately decided the match.
The Royals (13–7) managed to keep pace in the back-and-forth game — no team led by more than six throughout the match. Jefferson countered by slowing down Alvarado (13 points) and kept shooting guard Jared Rivers in check. Forwards Tracy Cleckley (18 points) and Tyrone Cohen (16 points) both hurt the Orange Wave on the offensive glass, but Pollard was pleased overall.
“We ran a few schemes at those guys, and it worked out great,” the coach said. “We took Jose out of the game and we rotated. We followed the defensive strategies, and we played it to a tee in the late four minutes.”
