Cardinal Hayes Contains Stepinac

BRONX, NY - Archbishop Stepinac's plan of action was not convert. Everyone in the gym knew the ball was primarily going to 6'7" Jordan Tucker '17 and most times he's going to propel the Crusaders offense.

The defensive strategy was just as obvious. Contain the Rivals.com 4-star player, but that's easier said than done, evidenced by the 38 point explosion the junior recently unleashed versus St. Raymond albeit in a loss.

On Wednesday, although he finished with 20 points, Cardinal Hayes managed to curtail Tucker's offensive efforts. The Cardinals pulled off a 72-66 victory, even in the midst of battling its own demons, a demoralizing buzzer-beating non-league loss to Thomas Jefferson during Sunday's Big Apple Basketball Challenge at Baruch College.

"The Thomas Jefferson loss is something we can build on," Hayes Head Coach Joe Lods said he told his team before the game. "We led for 31 minutes and 53 seconds. Let's try to lead for 32 [minutes]."

6'6" wing Ishmael Massoud '18 (8 points & 8 rebounds) took that to heart, putting Hayes on the map early by knocking down a trey and grabbing a rebound to spearhead his team. 6'5" Aundre Hyatt '18 (17 points/four 3-pointers) responded for Stepinac but 6'3" Quran Brickhouse '16 (11 points & 9 rebounds) countered. Tucker broke free and went coast-to-coast for a bucket at the rim but the Cardinals were not deterred. A basket by 5'11" Baron Goodridge '16 (12 points & 4 assists) and a steal by PG Clive Allen '16 (20 points & 3 assists) set off a mini-run that prompted Stepinac to call timeout down 5 points midway through the warm-up quarter.

Tucker came out aggressive after the timeout, made a strong move to the basket and flexed after the finish but the Cardinals would continue to push back, maintaining their five-point lead to begin the second quarter.

Held to zero field goals in second quarter, Tucker lived at the free-throw line but other Crusaders step up to the plate. A push from 5'10" Eduard Minaya '19 (5 points) and 6'3" Jorden Means '17 (19 points) knotted the game at 31 with 1:08 left in the half but an unnecessary foul on Allen while attempting a three-pointer put the senior guard at the foul line with .8 seconds remaining.

The Cardinal took a 33-31 advantage into the third quarter. Tucker continued attacking the rim, and although he shot a low field goal percentage overall, got to the charity stripe where he converted. The Cardinal however got a major bump from Tyrese Williams '18 (13 points) who came off the bench firing from the perimeter on all cylinders, moving Hayes up by 10 points.

Hayes's lead grew to 16 points as Brickhouse scored late in the quarter. Hyatt and Tucker sliced that lead in half as the fourth quarter began

The Cardinals clamped down defensively and Tucker picked up two offensive fouls in the quarter as he tried to assert himself. Hyatt picked up the slack, nailing a trey and subsequently scoring a putback to shave the Hayes lead to four points with 2 minutes left to play. Stepinac would get no closer.

"I told [my players] that this was a league game. I told our seniors that all home games are special," said Coach Lods. "If we [lost] this game, it would be worse than losing to Jefferson."