In a wild, regular season-ending matinee that featured numerous lead changes, counter buckets, and ties, St. Francis Prep 2025 guard Vere Anthony (St Francis Prep, NY ‘25) hit a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer on the move with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. This titanic trey gave SFP a four-point lead and proved to be the dagger in SFP's pulsating 60-54 victory over Archbishop Stepinac in Queens on Tuesday night.

Stepinac, which came roaring back from a 35-28 halftime deficit with a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, was handed its first loss in CHSAA "AA" play. The Crusaders concluded the regular season at 20-4 overall, 14-1 in conference action.

St. Francis Prep, which now heads into the postseason with a significant momentum roll, was buoyed by 17 points and eight rebounds from hulking 6-foot-7 Class of 2026 forward Oesoemana Sacko (St Francis Prep, NY '26).

Sacko sparked SFP with 14 first-half points, utilizing his inside-outside presence as he scored the Terrier's last eight points of the half. He also attained the 1,000-point milestone, a rare feat for a junior. Ethan Butler (St. Francis Prep, NY '26)6-foot-6 '26 guard, scored 15 points to go with six boards and five assists. Butler stuck a pair of timely 3-pointers and a deep jumper in the second half.

After Jasiah Jervis' (Archbishop Stepinac HS, NY '26) hard baseline drive cut the lead to one, 49-48, SFP coach Jimmy Lynch called a timeout. St. Francis regrouped and executed on a play culminating with Butler's smooth left-handed driving layup with 3:07 remaining.

UMass-bound point guard Danny Carbuccia (Archbishop Stepinac HS, '25), who was recently honored for scoring 1,000+ points and dishing out his 500th career assist at the storied program, fed Adonis Ratliff (Archbishop Stepinac HS, NY '26) for a reverse layup which cut Stepinac's deficit to one, 51-50.

This set the stage for the aforementioned game sealer from Anthony. The 6-foot, weathered senior guard, who also recently scored his 1,000th point, secured a defensive rebound and iced it on a pair of free throws with 36.9 seconds remaining. The 6-foot-11 Ratliff, a versatile 2026 prospect who has been hearing from Rutgers, UCF, Stanford, Mississippi State, and others, narrowly missed a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and eight blocks. He was a defensive stonewall at times, steering the driving lanes clear and altering the trajectory of shots around the paint.

Stepinac is still without Ratliff's twin brother, Darius Ratliff (Archbishop Stepinac HS, NY '26) who has been sidelined with a foot injury. Both the Ratliffs have been an integral component of Stepinac's success this season, despite playing sparingly as sophomores last year. Anthony, who finished with 12 points, bucketed a fall-away jumper to knot it at 19-all with 4:25 remaining in the second quarter. After Sacko turned a steal into a transition dunk and Ratliff answered with a soaring dunk to again tie it at 21-21, Anthony stuck a straight-on 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining in the first half as SFP seized a 24-21 lead.

Wedged in between a pair of Sacko 3-pointers was a bucket by Stepinac's Jalen Mehu (Archbishop Stepinac HS, NY '26). Sacko then drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 51 seconds left. He knocked back two of three free throws and split another pair of free throws as SFP entered halftime with a seven-point edge.

During the final three minutes of the third quarter, fans got to see why such a marquee matchup was saved for the tail end of the 2024-25 regular season. Stepinac's Josh Rivera (Archbishop Stepinac HS, NY '27) splashed a long 3-pointer and Carbuccia split a pair of free throws with 2:15 remaining in the stanza, as Stepinac regained the lead, 43-42. SFP answered as 2028 guard Justin DeSena (St Francis Prep HS, NY '28), who has been tremendous during the stretch run, bagged a 3-pointer as the Terriers took a 45-43 lead to close out the quarter.