Sports
Forest Hills High School Boys Basketball Outduels Campus Magnet, 60-52
Jose Torres and Nicholas Padgett's 18 points apiece render Bulldogs bite-less, move Rangers into third place.
Forest Hills boys varsity basketball coach Ben Chobhaphand flashed a megawatt smile that lit up Campus Magnet’s gym Tuesday night. Who could blame him for grinning after the game? The Rangers had just defeated the Bulldogs, 60-52, in an exciting pivotal Queens’ AA divisional matchup, moving them into third place.
It was a huge victory for Forest Hills, who exacted revenge for its overtime 66-64 loss at home earlier in the season.
Hero: Senior Jose Torres had a tremendous game for the Rangers, putting up a double double — with 18 points and 16 rebounds in the victory. Senior Nicholas Padgett came off the bench and drained four from behind the arc for 12 of his 18 points in the contest.
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Honorable mention goes to Nicholas Padgett for the 18 he put up, as well.
The Turning Point: With Forest Hills (7-2) behind by two points with 1:26 left in the third quarter, Padgett buried a three-pointer that gave the Rangers a 41-40 lead. After a defensive stop, Padgett connected from three-point land again for a 44-40 advantage.
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Bottom Line: Every time Forest Hills looked as if it would fold, the team somehow maintained its composure and kept the tilt within striking distance until they found their footing in the third period, never looking in their rearview mirror from there.
With three minutes left and up by eight, Chobhaphand didn’t want a repeat of the last time the two squads met, when Forest Hills allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game during regulation, losing in the extra period.
Quotable: Not wanting one of his top players getting taken to task again, Chobhaphand implored Torres to rise to the occasion against the Bulldogs.
"Torres played a hell of a game," Chobhaphand exclaimed. "We kind of challenged Jose Torres, because the first game we felt the kid Jordan Parks had a better game at Forest Hills. So we said, ‘You got to out play him the second time.’"
Who’s Next? Forest Hills hosts Martin Van Buren Thursday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m.
Box Score:
Teams
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Forest Hills
15
14
17
14
60
Campus Magnet
18
12
13
09
52