CHSAA NY Sectional Semis Heat Up

BRONX, NY – Four teams played on Tuesday at Mt. Saint Michael’s gym in the semifinal round of the CHSAA Class “AA” New York Sectionals and every team left it all on the floor. One team got splattered in the end while another tried to keep its Cinderella story going for one more round.

In the Urban Dictionary, ‘unconscious’ is defined as “When a basketball player gets hot from the three-point line and makes a bunch of shots.” Right next to that description should be a picture of 6’0” Payton Hudson ’18.

The junior guard led Archbishop Stepinac to a definitive win over Scanlan netting 10 three-pointers from everywhere on the court. “I was just focused,” said Hudson who credited getting to his school gym three hours early to get up shots for his consistency from the arc. He also admitted that his preferred breakfast choice is what got him prepared mentally. “I had my usual Raisin Cinnamon bagel with bacon, butter and syrup. The coaches don’t like my breakfast but it’s the best one I ever had.” After the game, Hudson's teammates could be heard chanting from the locker room, "Cinnamon bagel with bacon, butter and syrup!"

The Scanlan Crusaders, who were without 6’6” Gabe Bryan ‘17 (foot injury) and Jalen Lecque ‘18 (leg tweak), still went up 17 – 7 led by dunks and dominance from 6’7” Victor Potter ‘17 in the paint. It wouldn’t be until the end of the opening quarter that Hudson let fly with his first three-pointer. Bucket by he and 5’10” Eduardo Minaya ‘19 closed the gap to 5 points with ½ a minute left in the quarter but a trey by 6’6” Marc Trinidad ‘17 extended Scanlan lead to 8 points as the second quarter got underway.

Early in the quarter, 6’2” Jorden Means ‘17 drew a foul that sparked 8 – 0 run capped off by another trey from Hudson that tied the game at 20 apiece. Trinidad kept Scanlan by a point during the first half of the quarter but 5’10” R.J. Davis ‘20 drained a jumper at the 4:30 mark that gave Stepinac the lead for good.

A third trifecta from Hudson along with additional firepower from Means and Davis resulted in a 12 – 2 run that left Scanlan down 44 – 34 at the half and in the rearview mirror.

“We thought we had to match their physicality,” said Stepinac head coach Pat Massaroni. “They’re really athletic. They’re really physical. They attack the rim both offensively and defensively.”

In the first half, Massaroni admitted that his team didn’t stick to the game plan but executed in the second half.

Scanlan came out swinging in the second half, hoping to make up ground but the Crusaders weathered the storm and then some. Countering baskets made by 6’6” Saquan Singleton ‘17, Potter and Trinidad, Hudson netted two three-pointers in the third quarter. Singleton drained a bucket at the buzzer but Monsignor Scanlan still trailed by 18 points to begin the final quarter.

Davis immediately opened the fourth quarter with a jumper and Stepinac was now up by 20 points. A final trey by Hudson along with a 16th overall team 3-ball from Means, punctuated by an emphatic dunk by 6’5” Alan Griffin ‘18 albeit with a torn meniscus spiked Stepinac’s advantage to an unholy 30 points with 2:40 left to play. Scanlan ultimately lost by 28 points.

“An unbelievable performance tonight by Payton,” said Coach Massaroni. “To shoot the ball at that high a level in a game that was so physical and so quick. It was great for him and great for the kids.” Asked about Hudson’s breakfast regiment, Massaroni responded, “I told him to stop eating it. He hasn’t stopped and I guess it does what it does.”

Hudson finished with a game high 32 points with Means and Davis contributing 21 points and 18 points respectively. Trinidad led Scanlan with 20 points with Singleton adding 13 points.

Win or lose, this has been the best All Hallow’s team we’ve seen in a while. As an eight seed the Gaels did the unexpected and took down #1 seeded Cardinal Hayes in the quarterfinal round on Sunday, earning them a trip to the semifinal round.

Could All Hallow pull off another miracle win over the Mountaineers and make an unprecedented trip to the championship round. Unfortunately for the Gaels it was not Sunday and it appeared that there would only be one playoff miracle per season. In a game where All Hallows never led, the Mountaineers staved off numerous attacks to advance to a championship game versus Stepinac.

Mt. Saint Michael head Coach Tom Fraher said didn’t use the up and down fast paced strategy employed by Hayes. He said he like to play possession for possession especially when they have the lead. “When you’re winning by eight, they’ve got to come get you. Let’s not make it easy for them by playing track meet.”

With 6’2” Elijah Buchanan ‘17 leading the way, Mt. Saint Michael moved out from 16 -2 with points piled on by6’4” Jacob Rodriquez ‘17 and 6’5” Joe Bull ‘17. All Hallows did not score a basket until there was only 2:59 left in the warm-up quarter. Although the Gaels got points from 6’4” Kieffer Punter ‘17 and 5’10” Carnell White ‘17, Mountaineers 5’10” point guard Mike Green ‘19 along with 6’2” sharpshooter Mike Krause ‘18 kept Mount ahead by 13 points entering the second quarter.

Green and Bull pushed the Mountaineers led to 19 points midway through the quarter but 6’2” Nick Johnson ‘19, All Hallow’s quarterfinal hero, sliced their deficit back down to a manageable nine-points. That is until Buchanan and Krause move the needle back to 14 points to end the half.

Similarly to Sunday’s game, the Gaels were in a hole the appeared to be impossible to dig out of but they did so why not just do it again? Punter, whom the team dedicated the Hayes win to, felt the same way and was in attack mode and with the help of Donald Hartley kept All Hallows within 9 points as the fourth quarter commenced.

As All Hallows ramped up its defense in preparation for a run, poor spacing by Mt. Saint Michaels resulted in turnovers. A basket by Johnson closed the gap to 7 points early in the fourth quarter and with 4:13 still left to play, Buchanan picked up his 5th foul.

Suddenly the impossible seemed plausible. A clutch basket by Punter and with 3:20 left to play, the Gaels were only down 53 – 47 and dialed in their defense even more.

The Mountaineers were hemorrhaging and an intentional foul on Hartley with 1:43 put the junior on the line and shave the point spread down to 5 points. Fortunately for Mt. Saint Michael, All Hallows was unable to capitalize on their possession after the free-throws and Bull scored to re-extend their lead back to 8 points.

The Gaels made a final run with 1:26 and were within four points but unlike Cardinal Hayes, the Mountaineers made free-throws down the stretch until All Hallow ran out of real estate.

Coach Fraher said that the last 3 minutes played by Green and Bull when Buchanan fouled out were pivotal to the win. “[All Hallows] only got one shot in the last three to four minutes of the game. Now they made a couple but they only got one. Joe Bull got every rebound. Rodriguez got every rebound.” Fraher also praised Krause who went six-for-six from the free-throw line in the last 30 seconds.

Buchanan scored 20 points for Mt. Saint Michael with Bull adding 18 points. White and Punter paced All Hallows with 17 points and 15 points respectively.