BRONX, NY- Saturday evening, the Albany Academy Cadets (12-4) visited Cardinal Hayes (16-7) and won a hard-fought game, 77-69.
The game began with both teams looking lethargic with cold shooting early. The score was only 3-3 with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter. The first team to break out of their slump were the Cadets of Albany. August Mahoney '19 connected three times from beyond the arc in the quarter. This helped them end the first period with a lead of 18-9.
Hayes began the second period with Joe Toussaint ‘19 being fouled on a three-point attempt and converting on all 3 free throws. After the play, Mahoney came down the other end and buried his fourth triple of the game. Then senior CJ Mulvey of Albany Academy finished an and-one to make the lead 24-14 with six minutes in the quarter.
The Cardinals were still unable to get into a consistent rhythm. However, Toussaint kept Hayes in striking distance by scoring 11 points in the period. Even with the great scoring output from Toussaint, the Albany Academy Cadets devastated the Cardinals defense with their balanced scoring attack. All five starters scored in the second quarter along with Mahoney making his fifth three-pointer. Albany Academy finished the first half leading 40-27.
In the second half, the Cardinals seemed to awaken from their shooting slump as a team. 6-2 forward Terry Dawkins ’18 nailed two triples along with pull-up jumpers coming from guard Jontai Williams. Even with more offensive contributors, the Cadets continued to play a disciplined brand of ball. This time the beneficiaries in the third quarter were 6-7 Marcus Filien ’18 with 6 points, point guard Will Bennett ’17 with 5 points, and Hameir Wright with 4 points. The Cadets maintained a double-digit advantage ending the quarter 57-45.
The fourth quarter began with much of the same lackluster play from the Cardinals, while the Cadets continued to play almost impeccable basketball. Hayes was able to get points on the board, but did not get the necessary stops to shrink their deficit. With two minutes left, the Cardinals improved the defensive intensity with a full court press and trap on the Albany ball handlers.
On the offensive end, Toussaint buried an and-one three-pointer and converted on a four-point play after making a free throw. That bucket was the momentum boost that the Cardinals needed which made the score 67-59. This was the first time the Cardinals were down single digits since the second quarter. After that shot, Hayes trapped a Cadet and forced a turnover by having him step out of bounds with 1:35.
Following the turnover, Dawkins buried a huge three-point shot to make the score 67-62. Then for the second time in a row, the Cardinals trap at half court and Toussaint gets the steal. In the fast break, he drove to the hole and completed a tough contact lay-up. With the score 67-64 Cardinal Hayes made it a one possession game with 1:02 left in the game.
After a timeout from Coach Brian Fruscio of Albany, the players regained their composure and stopped turning the ball over. The four free throws from Wright and Mahoney held off the sudden comeback from Hayes. The assist by Filien to Mulvey for a lay-up was the final field goal that put the Cardinals away. Albany Academy defeated Cardinal Hayes 77-69 in the competitive game.
After the game, NYCHoops.net talked to Coach Fruscio about how his team played a very disciplined game today. “That’s how we play. I didn’t feel we played out of sorts. They have 3 guys that can play who are super super players. They do a lot of great pick and pop stuff and Joe, Toussaint, poise is amazing. We had to stay disciplined and we had to stay focused on how we do. It was good that the young sophomore August Mahoney got it going in the first half. They did a good job on him in the second half limiting his touches. But I do think he did some good things to help us and extend some leads.”
Mahoney scored a team high 23 points and connected on 5 three-pointers for the Cadets. Wright, ranked 83rd in country per Rivals 150, finished with 12 points. For the Cardinals, Toussaint scored a game high 24 points in the loss.
Albany Academy’s victory ended the two-game win streak for the Cardinals. Although the Hayes team were behind for entirety of the game, they never gave up. It was just too little too late. For the Cadets, they picked up a big win against a strong opponent. This win is one that will give any team confidence heading into the playoffs.
