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CHSAA B/Q Diocesan Semifinal (Recaps)

MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY – Wednesday evening was fire as four teams battled to advance to the finals of the Brooklyn/Queens Sectional Class AA tournament. St. Francis Prep played Archbishop Molloy in the opening game followed by Christ the King versus Xaverian.

Terriers Outlast Molloy, 70 – 56

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CHSAA Player of the Year Josh Pascarelli scores from the perimeter
CHSAA Player of the Year Josh Pascarelli scores from the perimeter

As soon as the ball was tossed in the air both teams were off to the races. While the pace was up-tempo, the initial scoring was low key. With 5 minutes to go in the opening quarter, the score was only 6 – 4 in favor of the Stanners as 6’0” Sincere Folk ‘26 drove to the basket.

6’4” Jayden James ‘23 and perimeter scoring from 6’5” Kuba Cwalina ‘23 kept Molloy in the hunt while 6’3” Tyler Michel ‘24 and 6’0 Vere Anthony ‘24 counted for St. Francis Prep. Tied going into the second quarter, Inside/outside play by 6’5” Oesoemana Sacko ‘26 propelled the Terriers to a slight 28 – 26 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Josh Pascarelli ‘23 began to reinforce why the CHSAA selected him to be the CHSAA player of the year netting 12 of his 21 points. 5’10” Troy Faison ‘26 joined the senior in his aerial attack and SFP’s two-point lead grew to a 9 point advantage at the end of three quarters.

Cwalina and Folk tried to spark a Molloy comeback but Pascarelli kept the offensive pressure on en route to a 14 point win. Michel followed up with 14 points with Sacko adding 11 points. 6’5” Josh Powell ‘26 was the high man for Molloy with 11 points.

Christ the King advances, 63 – 59, in OT Thriller

If the final game of the evening is described as exciting, that would be a gross understatement. Twist and turns, ebbs and flows and will to win was on full display by both the Royals of Christ the King and the Xaverian Clippers.

Still without the services of their starting point guard, Markell Alston ‘25, the Royals were somewhat of a rudderless ship. While they had a powerful front court, without the proverbial quarterback Christ the King had to navigate through that disadvantage.

Virtually neck and neck after one quarter, 6’0” Nasir Muhammad ‘23 stepped on the gas late in the second quarter and help push Xaverian to a 25 – 17 lead at the half. The Clippers clearly had the momentum as the third quarter got underway and signals were pointing to an upset win, but fortunes can change in an instant.

With Muhammad at the helm, Xaverian’s odds of winning were good but with 5:28 the tide quickly turned as the senior twisted his ankle and had to be carried off the court by teammates. With both teams now devoid of their point guards, it the became more of the battle of the front courts. Thunder dunks by St. John’s commit Brandon Gardner ‘23 along with clutch scoring by Devin Vanterpool ‘23 shifted the momentum to Royal’s favor. Down by five points at the end of three-quarters, a basket by Vanterpool sent the game into overtime knotted at 50 apiece. Another bucket by the senior gave Christ the King the edge for the first time. A less than 100% Muhammad returning to the game along with successful Hail Mary shots by 6’0” Aaron Goldstein ‘23 was countered by missed Clipper's free-throws down the stretch. Christ the King went on to win by 4 points.

Vanterpool led Christ the King with 19 points with Gardner and Qin Pang ‘24 contributing 13 points and 11 points respectively. Muhammad and Goldstein netted 16 points apiece Xaverian.


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