CHSAA Archdiocesan Semifinals

BRONX, NY – The Class AA New York Sectional Semifinals was more like a collision of Semi Trucks with all four teams trying to run over their opponents, but you can’t look away. The exciting event took place on Tuesday at Mt. Saint Michael HS and in both games there was an explosion of competition.

Both squad came out firing in the first quarter. The Crusaders Malcolm Chimezie ‘21 doing damage to Cardinal Hayes along with R.J. Davis '20 aggressively attacking the basket, drawing trips to the charity stripe. The Cardinals countered with midrange and perimeter baskets from Shemani Fuller ‘20 and ancillary scoring from Julio Phipps '21.

The combatants were knotted after one quarter that’s when Stepinac started to flex. While locked in zone defense, the Crusaders coupled that with a more assertive offense. Davis ratcheted up his game scoring midrange shots and A.J. Griffin ‘21 and Matthew Brand ‘20 contributed from three point range.

“We had a game plan to make Hayes take difficult shots,” said Stepinac head coach Pat Massaroni. “To not allow Julian [Soumaoro ‘20] and Shemani to get going and make big runs." That strategy worked in the first half as the Crusaders held a 38 – 25 advantage at the midway point.

Soumaoro may have been somewhat contained but Fuller managed to find holes in Stepinac’s defense. Jalen Smith ‘20 also found daylight from the perimeter. Late in the quarter Smith spearheaded a 10 – 2 Hayes run narrowed their deficit to 5 points to start the fourth quarter.

Fuller had a strong fourth quarter and Soumaoro -got hot from three-point range and with 7:24 left in regulation, Hayes was only down 44 – 41. Davis didn’t have his greatest night scoring as Hayes did a good job shadowing him but the North Carolina bound senior hit the clutch shots that counted.

Bigtime players step up in Bigtime moments,” said Massaroni. “Hayes did a really good job defending RJ. They made it difficult - double teams, switching, etc. RJ continued to attack, trust his teammates and made some Bigtime plays under 3 minutes to play.”

The Cardinals could get no closer than three points due to timely buckets by Griffin and Chimezie. Hayes ultimately lost by four.

Davis netted 28 points for Archbishop Stepinac with Griffin and Chimezie scoring 15 points and 11 points respectively. Fuller scored a game high 19 points for Cardinal Hayes.

The Ravens got off to a slow start while the Crusaders came out guns blazing. Perimeter shots from sharpshooter Koby Brea ‘20 and inside play by Hamdel Mohammad gave them an 8 – 2 lead quick, fast and in a hurry. St. Raymond climbed out of their first hole as the trio of Malachi Smith ‘21, Luis Kortright ‘20 and Reggie Hudson ‘20 were productive.

Down with 1:21 remaining a trey by Kortright put Rays on top by a point which was extended to a three point lead to end the warm-up quarter. The second quarter was a crap shoot with the lead changing hands throughout.

A pull-up jumper by Hudson with a 1:39 left in the half tied the game at 26 but a scoring tirade by Brea sparked a 5 – 0 Scanlan run. When the dust settled, the Ravens were down 33 – 28 at the half.

Unhappy with the first half output of his team, St. Ray’s head coach Jose Lopez expressed his opinion. “I didn’t think that our effort in the first half was a true sign of who we were as a team. We worked so hard all season and to see us play as poorly as we did in that first half, and to only be down five, I knew we had something left in the tank.”

The quality of the gas in the Ravens tank was not yet evident in the third quarter with only Gary Grant ‘20 holding it down in the quarter. Monsignor Scanlan was trying to imitate a Mack Truck and leave tire marks on St. Ray’s. Brea continued to be lethal from long range and with help from Joe Munden '20, the Crusaders were up by 14 points with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter but still managed to stay in striking range going into the final quarter down by six points.

The fourth quarter was all about heart and Grant had his best quarter. His energy lit the Raven’s gas tank and the team exploded. Scanlan did not give up with out a fight. D.J. Bailey ‘20 and Munden put up a fight and Scanlan still held a 5 point lead with 4 minutes left to play.

A three-ball by Ray Pimental ‘22 closed the gap and suddenly and the Ravens were within a deuce. Kedar Davis ‘22 drew a foul and the sophomore calmly tied the game a 62 at the 2:17 mark. Grant followed up with a basket that gave St. Ray’s it first lead since the first quarter. The Ravens would go on to eek out a two point win

“It really took a team effort for us to go out there and play as hard as we did and claw our way back and win this game,” said Lopez after that game..

Lopez credited Grant for shouldering a lot of the load down the stretch. “His will to win was so contagious and I think that’s what really got our team going.”

Hudson led St. Raymond with 17 points with Grant scoring 10 points primarily in the fourth quarter. Brea paced Monsignor Scanlan with a game high 22 points.

The championship between #2 Archbishop Stepinac and #1 St. Raymond will take place Saturday February 29th at Mount St. Michael.