NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The first two days of the CHSAA Team Camp have been fantastic and the third might have even been better. We got a chance to see some classic matchups, excellent coaching, and a few big-time prospects. Let’s look at what we saw today.

Christ the King rolls Archbishop Molloy

The Stanners starting five gave the Royals a fairly good run, but the depth Christ the King has been just too much. They shared the ball, made Molloy take tough shots and dominated the glass. Christ the King wore them down and ended up pulling away by more than 15 late in the game. Molloy has a few interesting pieces that we liked plus they played hard the entire the game so they could be a feisty matchup next season. The Royals look absolutely stacked, their shooting looks much improved, and they easily have double digit college players on their current roster.

Nazareth’s pressure too much for McClancy

The second game of the day featured two A programs on the rise in Nazareth and Monsignor McClancy. McClancy didn’t have much height, but their strong guard play kept them in the game early on. They were able to get to the basket for opportunities to finish unfortunately for the Crusaders the defense end was a problem. Nazareth’s offense was as aggressive as their pressing defense which keep building up throughout the game. The Kingsmen had great length, tremendous activity on defense and good ball movement. While the game was close as one point Nazareth dominated the second half building a 20-point lead and eventually won the game. We could easily see Nazareth in the A Championship next season if they play like they did this weekend.

Christ the King knocks off Cardinal Hayes

This prime-time matchup lost a little luster when we found out a few key Cardinals would not be playing but it still was a good contest. The Royals came out firing connecting on multiple threes, throwing down some dunks and getting stops. Hayes refused to back down and got some nice scoring from their guards to keep pace. Christ the King eventually got the lead up to ten in the first half but allowed the defending champions a chance in the second. Despite the Royals looking terrific Hayes was able to stage a late comeback to tie it at 40 with just under two minutes left. While it looked like the Cardinals may steal this the Royals got back-to-back monster dunks to take the lead and seal the victory.

Iona Prep pounds Holy Cross

Iona Prep finished off their weekend going an easy 3-0 after their final victory over Holy Cross. This one wasn’t close as the Gaels pulled away in the second half winning 49-29. Holy Cross had a couple of guards who can score but their interior defense and consistency on that end needs to be a lot better to compete in the CHSAA next season. On the other hand, Iona Prep who hasn’t a ton of time together as a group showed major potential and it wouldn’t surprise us to see them in the final four next season.

Stepinac too much for Xaverian

These teams both were missing key players, but it still was a matchup we were looking forward to. The Clippers came on blazing as they took a 8-0 lead forcing a quick timeout by Stepinac. They responded by taking the lead 12-10 and never gave it back to Xaverian. Stepinac finally got their defense adjusted, they got easy buckets in transition and took a 16-point lead into half time. Xaverian played well offensively at times, but their lack of depth and poor rotations kept them from closing the gap. The Crusaders shot it well all game and ended up closing out the Clippers 66-45. Stepinac should once again be a potential top 25 program in the country while Xaverian showed so promise and could be a problem for opponents at full strength.

Loughlin takes down Scanlan

The final game featured two hungry programs in Bishop Loughlin and Monsignor Scanlan. These two teams were physical, up-tempo, and aggressive. Loughlin’s guard play was fantastic, and their shooting looked very much improved. Scanlan didn’t get anything easy but were able to keep up offensively. This game was tied or close for most of the first half and a lot of the second. Loughlin strung together a quick 6-0 which gave them enough of a lead to hold off Scanlan. These two teams showed a ton of fight, and we look forward to seeing them matchup again. Scanlan has an effective style on defense but needs a bit more structure on the offensive end for them to flourish. The Lions have a big-time back court that could end up getting them back to the final four again.