Curtis Smith got hot in warm–ups and never cooled down.
The senior guard hit nine three–pointers and scored a game–high 30 points to lead No. 9–seeded Thomas Jefferson to a hard–fought 75–66 win over No. 7 Curtis High School in the Public School Athletic League Class AA boys’ basketball semifinals at Baruch College on Feb. 28.
Smith was so happy with his pre-game shooting, he took some chances when it counted, he said.
“In warm-ups, I was just making some shots, and I felt like I could hit a couple of them,” Smith said. “That’s why I was taking them [in the game].”
Smith — whose nickname is “Big Shot C.J.” — bucked the trend of Orange Wave shooters not performing well at Baruch, according to coach Lawrence “Bud’ Pollard. He told Smith about the jynx pregame, but quickly realized it wasn’t going to be an issue.
“Coach Kenny [Pretlow] said, ‘C.J. is going to be on fire today,’ telling me how C.J. shot in warm ups,” Pollard said. “He sure was.”
Smith hit seven of his treys in the first half to help give Jefferson a 39–33 led at the break. He missed most of the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul, and Curtis took advantage of some sub-par Orange Wave defense after the break.
“Our defense sucked today,” Pollard said.
The Warriors (22–7) broke the press and pulled within two points with 5:20 remaining in the game. Jefferson again turned to Smith. He came off the bench and connected on his first two treys to ignite the Orange Wave. Sitting out had no affect on him.
“I don’t think I was cold,” Smith said. “I don’t think I get cold a lot.”
Jefferson (20–9) put the game away with a 7–0 run capped by a three–point play from St. John’s-bound guard Shamorie Ponds that put his team up 65–57 at the 1:59 mark. Ponds finished with 23 points, and Rasheem Dunn, who is headed to St. Francis College, chipped in 11.
“C.J. stepped up a lot,” Ponds said. “I’d say he won the game for us…[Those two threes] pretty much gave us our momentum.”
The Orange Wave and Smith refused to let Curtis end its season early, and now Jefferson goes to the semifinals at St. John’s University on March 5.
“That’s is what a senior is suppose to do,” Pollard said. “Go out shooting.”
