By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN — When Michael Taylor and the Boys & Girls Kangaroos threw up the basketball to celebrate their first PSAL title since 1979, it sparked a feeling of joy that swept over the entire community.
Taylor had 25 points and seven rebounds to lead Boys & Girls past the Cardozo Judges, 55-50, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
For the Kangaroos (28-5), it was the only way to honor the memory of Dr. Frank Mickens, a beloved principal and basketball coach at Boys & Girls High School who passed away last July.
“He’s still looking down at us, I wish he was here to share it with us,” said point guard Antione Slaughter.
Boys & Girls and head coach Ruth Lovelace had come painfully close to tasting PSAL championship glory in 2006 and 2007, only to lose in the finals to Brooklyn's Abrahan Lincoln in the finals both years.
It was Mickens, who among his many accomplishments, believed in Lovelace enough to name her as the team's coach 16 seasons ago.
“He deserves all the credit,” said a teary-eyed Lovelace, who became the first female coach to coach her team to a PSAL boys' title. “He had an unbelievable passion to coach. He had an unbelievable vision. I wouldn't be standing here talking to you to today."
Boys & Girls didn't make it easy for their coach, falling behind early to top-ranked Cardozo.
The Judges (19-3) came into the game favored and jumped out to an 11-2 lead by the time five minutes had ticked away in the first quarter. Cardozo kept the Kangaroos at a 10-point disadvantage for most of the game behind the play of 6-foot-8 center Ryan Rhoomes.
Rhoomes, who is headed to prep school South Kent after this year, dominated the boards with a game-high 24 rebounds, just four short of Boys & Girls team total.
“He’s the best big guy in the city,” said Taylor.
But in the end, even Rhoomes' play in the post wasn’t enough to deny the Kangeroos their first PSAL championship in 31 years.
With three minutes to go in the third quarter, Taylor brought the Kangaroos within four with a key 3-pointer. Seconds later, Slaughter drew a charge to get the ball back for the Kangaroos — a play that got him so pumped up he slapped the referee on the butt.
The momentum had swung to the Kangaroos and they didn't give it up from then on out.
Taylor locked the game up for the Kangeroos by making two free throws with 18.4 seconds left in the game. By the time the Kangaroos threw the ball in the air, dozens of cheerleaders, fans, parents and tearful supporters gathered around the team in midcourt, holding a picture of Mickens high.
“I came out strong, I came out shooting the ball very well,” said Taylor, who's one of the most heavily-recruited college prospects in the city. “I just played a big half.”
Boys & Girls upset win over Cardozo was just one of several big games in prep school hoops this weekend.
Manhattan's Rice High School blew past Xavierian High School, 65-51, in the CHSAA Class AA quarterfinals on Friday night. Jermaine Sanders led Rice with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Kadeem Jack added 15 points and four blocks in the win.
The Raiders face Loughlin in the semi-finals.
“They’re playing with that chip [on their shoulder] right now,” Rice coach Mo Hicks told the New York Post. “And we need them to do that.”
