FRESH MEADOWS, NY – Part one of the 2nd Round of the CHSAA Class “AA” Intersectional Playoffs got underway Wednesday evening at St. Francis Prep H.S. Bishop Loughlin battled Mt. Saint Michael in the opener followed by St. Raymond vs Holy Cross.

Mt. Saint Michael were truly up against Lions as 6’6” twins Justin Champangie ‘19 and Julien Champangie ‘19 torched the Mountaineers in open court. With 6’5” uber-athletic Ibrahim Wattera ‘21 as Mounts primarily scoring option, Loughlin forged ahead and led 29 – 19 at the half.

The Lions were firing on all cylinders as they dominated the boards on both ends of the court and received additional offense from 5’10” Will Lee ‘19 and 6’4” Tyshawn High ‘19. With 5’7” Taj Chiles ‘20 controlling the pace and tempo throughout the game, the Lions maintained a 11-point advantage as the they embarked on the final quarter.

The Mountaineers did receive additional offense in the second half from 5’11” Mike Green ‘19 but it would not be enough. Mount St. Michael never held the lead.

The Champangie’s were the high scorers for Bishop Loughlin with Julien netting 21 points and Justin adding 15 points. Green was the top scorer for Mt. Saint Michael with 16 points.

6’2” sharpshooter Elijah Perry ‘19 opened the game up with a quick 3-ball followed by a drive but after that, the Holy Cross Knight’s production slowed down considerably. Dallas Watson ‘18 and 6’6” Darius Lee ‘18 countered midway through the opening quarter and Holy Cross played catch-up from that point on.

Due to strong inside play from 6’4” Zayquan Warren ‘19, the Knights took a brief lead but relinquished it as Lee and 6’6” Gary Grant ‘20 went to work. To Holy Cross’s credit they hung tough with the Ravens as 6’0” Sahdique Watkins ‘18 created shots for himself along with 6’2” Robert Bland ‘19. At the end of the first half, the Knights only trailed, 33 – 29.

While Cross attempted to keep pace, turnovers derailed their efforts. That and scoring surge led by Lee, Omar Silverio ‘18 and Watson pushed the Ravens advantage to 12 points to begin the fourth quarter. Holy Cross was beginning and had cut their deficit in half with 2 minutes left to play but a fragrant foul by 6’0” Tyler Chapman ‘20 on Grant at the 1:23 mark took the wind out of the Knights sails.

Lee was led St. Raymond with 17 points with Watson and Silverio adding 16 points and 13 points respectively. Bland paced Holy Cross with 19 points with Watkins and Perry contributing 15 points each.

Second Round- Part 2

#4 St. Peter's vs. #8 Msgr. Scanlan- 6pm

#3 Iona Prep vs. #7 All Hallows- 7:30pm