After undefeated regular season, Summit Academy Charter School’s boys basketball team easily won their first two playoff games, both of which took place at home in Red Hook, and notched an impressive victory against South Bronx Preparatory. The Eagles were on a roll – until the coronavirus canceled the final games of the postseason.
In their first playoff game, Summit beat the Institute of Collaborative Education by 32 points. In their second playoff win, on March 4, the Eagles, a number-three seed, beat the Pace High Setters, the 14th seed, 81-61 to advance to the B Division’s Elite Eight.
The bleachers were filled, and there were even some people standing in a packed and enthusiastic gym to see the team play for their 22nd overall victory of the season. Coach Phil Grant was satisfied with the win against Pace.
“We moved the ball well and got some good shots early,” Grant observed. “I was most impressed with our defense. I was kind of upset because there were a couple of plays where I thought we could have taken charges, but we bailed them out by reaching, but we were in good position most of the night. We did a good job helping and jumped ball screens well.”
Against Pace, a crew of five Summit seniors led the way with double-digit point totals: Jordan Council (24 points), Donte Howard (14), Nicholas Mickens (11), Soumana Sylla (11), and Jeremiah Hewitt (10).
“It’s great to have senior leadership at this time of the year,” Grant said. “You need leadership in the playoffs, and they are stepping up.”
With their victory against Pace, the Eagles moved on to South Bronx Prep, the defending B Division champions, on March 7. “We are going to be in for a dogfight,” Grant predicted.
Grant was right. The quarterfinal at Achievement First Brooklyn High School turned out to be a thrilling victory for Summit, in which the Eagles pulled ahead at the end of the game to edge the defending champs, 64-62.
Jordan Council was once again the high scorer for the team, finishing with 25 points and the game-winning basket. Mickens had 11 points, and Howard and Hewitt each chipped in with seven.
The win over South Bronx Prep earned Summit a berth in the Final Four for the first time in school history. But the Eagles’ championships dreams ended abruptly – not because of another team, but because of COVID-19. Mayor Bill de Blasio suspended Public School Athletic League activities on March 12, and New York City schools closed their doors altogether starting on March 16.
Coach Grant’s son, Philip Grant, had played his first games of the season in the postseason after tearing his meniscus before Summit’s opener in the middle of November. He had returned to action after a long recovery and was playing well off the bench.
“He had 12 points the first game and eight points tonight,” Grant said after the second playoff game. “He is playing limited minutes, but that’s all I need from him. He came in and did a good job. He rehabbed well, his practices went well, and it’s a good time to have him back.”
The semifinal was supposed to take place on March 14 against Achievement First Brooklyn. In 2019-20, Summit finished 14-0 in the B Division and went 4-4 in a challenging non-league schedule, which included three games in a tournament in North Carolina.
