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CHSAA Intersectional 2nd Round Recaps

FRESH MEADOW, NY - The second round for the Catholic HS Athletic Association got underway on Wednesday at St. Francis Prep HS. In the opening game, Christ the King was pitted against Mt. Saint Michael. The final game of the evening featured Archbishop Molloy versus Iona Prep.

Royals Beat Back Mt. St. Michael, 66 – 59

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Dwayne Pierce ‘24 set it off early for Christ the King Royals with help from 6’8” Qinfang ‘24 Pang and Brandon Williams ‘23. By the start of the second quarter, Mount St. Michael was in a 15-point hole with Noah Best ‘22 doing his best to dig the Mountaineers out.

Late offense by Best and 5’9” Jayport Smith ‘24 narrowed the gap to nine with two minutes remaining in the half, but any headway was reversed with treys from 6’1” Luke Perry ‘22, leaving Mt. St. Michael down 39 – 27.

Dwayne Pierce
Dwayne Pierce

With Best literally, the Mountaineer’s best and last hope, the senior spent his final game scoring courageously in isos but to no avail. Still down by 17 at the end of the third quarter, the Bronx high school fought valiantly reducing the point spread to 5 with a minute left in regulation. Devin Vanterpool and Pierce countered and put the final nails in Mount’s coffin.

Pierce led Christ the King with 12 points with Vanterpool and Williams contributing 11 points each. Best was the high man for Mt. St. Michael with a game high 31 points.

Molloy Zones Out Iona Prep, 71 – 61

John McCabe & Emmanuel Ikioda
John McCabe & Emmanuel Ikioda

The Molloy Stanners strategy was simple enough. Zone, zone, and more zone. Iona Prep, other than R.J. Greene, had no solution. While the Gaels kept it close in the the first quarter, a 7-point second quarter put them in a 31 – 18 deficit by the half.

With their head coach Steve Alvarado under the weather and MIA, Iona Prep was a rudderless ship. Down 10 at the start of the fourth quarter, it was all hands-on deck. The Gaels made one last push. Greene along with 5’10” Blaise New ‘23 and 5’10” Johnny Keenan ‘25 trimmed Molloy’s advantage to three-points with 1:45 left in the game.

Three points was a close as the Stanners got as 6’3” John McCabe ‘22 and 6’4” Emmanuel Ikioda ‘23 scored from the air and by land and fortified Molloy's lead. Both teams have had a rough season, but Molloy played one of its best games of the season.

McCabe was Molloy’s leading scorer followed by 6’4” Jayden James ‘23 and Ikioda with 16 points and 12 points, respectively. Greene paced Iona Prep with 22 points.

CHSAA Varsity "AA" 1/4 Finals


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