Bedford Academy is the fourth seed, but it’s playing like No. 1.
The Panthers handily took apart No. 5 Evander Childs, 72-46, in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals Wednesday to reach the final four for the fourth straight season.
Sean Snagg had 21 points and six rebounds, Neil Veira had 16 points, Darien Best added 12 points and nine rebounds and Darren Thomas had 12 points and five assists for Bedford.
Coach Rob Phelps lauded his team’s defensive effort in shutting down Evander (20-8) stars Jaquan Conway and Romaine Thomas. Iran Duncan and Snagg combined to limit Conway, a combo guard coming off a 30-point explosion, while Ellis Everett did a fine job on the 6-foot-6 Thomas.
“That was big, they go through those two guys,” Phelps said. “Once we shut them down, they had nowhere else to go. You could see they have a very good team, but our defense was on point today.”
Through three playoff contests, Bedford (24-5) has prevailed by an aggregate 75 points. The Panthers have had a different leading scorer in each contest and seem primed to win their second ‘A’ title in three years.
“Right now we’re playing very well, but as a coach I always think we can play better defense and execute our offense better, be more patient,” he said. “But overall, we’re playing very well.”
CLASS B
No. 3 Newcomers 70, No. 11 Leon Goldstein 56: Lucas Savage had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Daniel Finkelstein had 12 points and Jacob Berardi added eight points and 12 rebounds for Goldstein (17-5) in defeat. Newcomers (18-0), the undefeated Queens B West champion, will meet No. 7 WHEELS in the semifinals Sunday at 11 a.m. at CCNY in Manhattan.
No. 5 Health Professions 64, No. 20 BCAM 62: Gelvis Solano poured in 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Kwame McClatchie had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Health Professions (17-2), which rallied from a six-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and takes on the No. 1 Pathways/No. 8 School of the Future winner in the semifinals Sunday at 3 p.m. at CCNY. BCAM finishes its season at 14-7.