Royals guard Omar Calhoun goes up for a shot. (Damion Reid)
In addition to going over strategy and diagramming plays, Joe Arbitello sends his players out for each quarter with one mission: to hold the opposition under a certain point total.
“We don’t think about how low it is,” Christ the King sophomore Omar Calhoun said. “We try to get it done.”
For the most part, the Royals have kept Arbitello happy. Tuesday evening, they certainly did, limiting Xaverian offensively in a 55-38 win, the third time CK has held a league opponent under 40 points.
The Royals (12-3, 6-1 B/Q), second in The Post’s NYC boys basketball rankings, didn’t explode offensively – senior forward Maurice Barrow was the lone player in double figures with 14 points – but they did have depth. Dominykas Milka and Roland Brown each added eight points and 10 rebounds, Corey Edwards had seven points and eight assists and Calhoun also had eight points.
“Defense is basically our offense,” Barrow said.
Calhoun, a sophomore highly regarded for his perimeter shot, did a fine job on Xaverian sharp-shooter Brian Bernardi, limiting the underclassman to five points, all in the first half. He also guarded Clippers leading scorer Justin Exum (12 points). He refused to let either guard free for an open look or let them get by him to create for others.
“We just harp defense, defense, defense,” Calhoun said. “I like guarding the other team’s best player. I like to make sure that person is not scoring.”
That music to Arbitello’s ears. In his second year at the helm, he has emphasized defense from the start. He wanted his team to be known for its defense. As a 10th-grader, a former coach at Christ the King told Arbitello holding the opposition under 50, especially at the Middle Village, Queens school, almost guaranteed victory. The Royals play a lot of man-to-man, but their help defense is what Arbitello raves about.
“We look to help each other on the defensive end – that makes us a good defensive team,” Calhoun said.
Against Xaverian (6-7, 2-5), which runs a methodical, perimeter-oriented offense predicated on ball movement and backdoor cuts, he was particularly pleased.
“With them, they run their stuff so well, you have to make sure you’re intoned for 35 seconds,” Arbitello said. “I thought we were patient.”
While the Royals’ size advantage didn’t hamper them on the defensive end, it was a bonus when they had the ball. Barrow, Milka and Brown basically played taps on the glass, combing for 15 of Christ the King’s 21 first-quarter points. The Royals were in charge the rest of the way, holding a 30-21 lead by halftime. They broke it open late in the third quarter with a 9-2 run, capped by a Calhoun 3-pointer and a Barrow putback. Xaverian never threatened again.
“If I’m Christ the King, I expect to be at Fordham in March,” Clippers coach Jack Alesi said.
Arbitello isn’t looking that far ahead. His response to the Royals possibly taking over the top spot in the city with Rice’s loss to Holy Cross was merely a shrug of the shoulders. Their most important game is the next one: home for Bishop Loughlin.
“It makes us happy, but we’re not complacent, we’re gonna continue to work hard,” Calhoun said. “We’re just trying to get better, so by the time we get to the city [playoffs] and state [playoffs], we’re prepared.”