Scholar’s Academy Hoops head into the playoffs

After a dominant regular season, the Scholars’ Academy men’s basketball team continues its unfettered march to the playoffs.
After going 16-0 in the regular season, at times beating opponents by more than 70, the Scholars entered the PSAL B division as the number one seed, for the first time in program history. , out of 54 teams.
After a first-round bye by nature of being the lone seed, Scholars’ began their playoff run against the 32-seeded Institute for Collaborative Education Polar Bears of Gramercy Park.
The team was led by the usual suspects who drove the team’s Macedonian lead throughout the regular season. Junior Raphael Tawil led the team with 21 points 8-for-11 from the field, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Senior Micheal Bowman scored 19 points with 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. The team’s leading scorer in the regular season, Nick Tung, had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Overall, the Seawolves shot 43% from the field and sank 77% of their free throws en route to an emphatic 75-51 win.
The B Division playoffs continued through Scholars’ Academy Gym where the Seawolves took on Summit Academy, a Red Hook school that was the 16th seed. The Eagles finished the regular season atop the Brooklyn B III division with an 11-3 record and, like Scholars, posted over 100 points on more than one occasion. In December, the Summit Academy Eagles defeated the Brooklyn Studio Secondary School Knights 105-32, where 6 of the 8 Eagles who took the field scored in double digits.
The match, played on Tuesday, was tight in the closing minutes. Erudites were down three when Raphael Tawil drained a three-way draw to keep Erudites alive. After a solid save on defense, team captain Nick Tung fired a wide-opening shot to go forward, he added two free throws in the final seconds leading the Seawolves to a 45-41 win.
Tung, the hero of the match in the final minutes. Score 11 points with 6 key interceptions on defense. AJ Ahmed scored a game-leading 12 points with great all-around play, Raph Tawil’s 7 points in the second half kept the Scholars in the game. Dan Kaplan and Aston George led the team defensively, keeping the Eagles big men off the scoreboard.
The Fellows’ playoff hopes will continue in a Friday night quarter-final at home against Chelsea’s Lab Museum, the tournament’s 9th seed. The Lab Museum Gators also went undefeated this season, finishing first in the Manhattan BI division.
“I’m feeling cautiously optimistic,” coach Brett Tawil told The Wave. “If we play to the height of our abilities, I will have a better comfort level. If we shoot badly, we could be at the other end of the celebration.
Scholars’ has already topped its results in the previous two playoffs, having been knocked out in the second round of the 2020 playoffs by Achievement First Brooklyn by a single point.
If Scholars win Friday night, they will face either Baruch College High School or Bard High School in the semifinals on Wednesday the 16th.