Friendship Collegiate senior Alani Moore stood at the free throw line, icing the Knights' stunning 77-70 win over No. 2 St. John's in the quarterfinal round of the D.C. State Athletic Association boys' basketball tournament Tuesday night, when three of his teammates embraced in a hug near midcourt in Northwest Washington.
Along with Moore, seniors Emmanuel Johnson and Ike Okwara and junior Keon Queen were among the contingent of new players that arrived at Friendship Collegiate this year to play for former Montrose Christian coach Bryan Bartley.
Initially, amid forfeits and residency investigations that threatened to derail the entire season, their alliance seemed shaky. But now, after the Knights had secured their 13th win in a row by upsetting the nationally ranked Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions, emotions flowed.
“Everybody looked at us as the underdogs,” Queen said. “Nobody thought we could do it, and we came out and beat basically the best team in the DMV.”
Going head-to-head with St. John's All-Met Anthony Cowan, Jr., Moore finished with 35 points and served as the catalyst for Friendship Collegiate (15-9). The Knights' size, particularly Queen (17 points, 18 rebounds), and a sluggish start hurt St. John's (28-4), which trailed by 15 points early in the third quarter.
Cowan (25 points) brought the Cadets back to life, and they eventually whittled the deficit down to three points on three occasions in the fourth quarter. But despite some tenuous moments breaking the St. John’s press, Moore always seemed to have an answer.
When St. John’s surged at the end of the third quarter, the Temple recruit nailed a leaning three-pointer at the buzzer. When the Cadets pulled within 58-55 midway through the fourth quarter, he followed with a acrobatic three-point play while dribbling through traffic. In the closing moments, he made just enough foul shots.
“I kept attacking and attacking,” Moore said. “We stuck together as a team and fought hard. That’s all that was: Fighting hard and pulling together strong.”
Friendship Collegiate moves on to the DCSAA semifinals at Verizon Center on Thursday, when it will face IDEA in a rematch of last Saturday's D.C. Public Charter School Athletic Association championship game.
