Hayes silences haters; Wins Tru-Ballaz chip
BRONX, NY – Cardinal Hayes is mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Although the Bronx Catholic school high school won the CHSAA City Championship last season and has all its players returning, they feel they’re not getting their props when it comes to #1 status.
On Monday, at Frederick Douglass Academy III, the Cardinals outmuscled and out-hustled a bigger, taller Archbishop Stepinac squad to win the Tru-Ballaz Preseason H.S. Classic. Stretch-four forward Terry Dawkins ‘18, who terrorized Archbisbop Stepinac told NYCHoops.net after the 68 – 63 win that beating their division rival meant a lot to the undersized Hayes team as they head into the reqular season.
“This was a big win because it shows that we’re still capable of what we did last year with our size,” said Dawkins.” [This win] shows that we can beat teams that have even better competition and that are taller than us.”
It was a high drama event from start to finish between the two Catholic schools. Hayes took an early lead as Dawkins and point guard Joe Toussaint ‘19 set the pace. The Cardinals surged ahead 8 – 2 forcing Stepinac to call an early timeout to settle the troops. Crusaders point guard R.J. Davis ‘20 and Xavier Wilson ‘19 responded with help from Joel Soriano ‘19 to quickly close the gap and 2 minutes left in the opening quarter Eduard Minaya ‘19 drained a jumper to knot the game at 12.
Hayes moved the ball well and a buzzer beater by Dawkins gave the Cardinals a 2-point advantage to begin the second quarter. That point spread remained intact throughout the half.
Down 31 -28 to start the third quarter, Stepinac made a push as Ed Sanchez and Soriano crashed the boards while Davis attacked the rim. A 9 – 0 run put the Crusaders up by six-points with 5:40 left in the quarter.
It appeared that Stepinac physicality was influencing the Cardinals but as the quarter ended, Hayes turned the tides and began to give as better than they got until tech were issued. Toussaint finished the third quarter in overdrive and Hayes only trailed by a bucket.
A jumper by Tyrese Williams ‘18 at the top of the forth tied the game at 48 but Soriano countered. Dawkins then responded with a clutch three-ball with 6:24 left in regulation that propelled Cardinals into the lead for good.
The momentum shift was palpable as T.J. Reaves scored back-to-back. At the 2:15 mark, Stepinac, who committed numerous late turnovers, was down by seven points and floundering as time was expiring. As the hour glass emptied, Stepinac was forced to foul to stop the clock. Still down by 5 with 21 second left in regulation, the Crusaders could get no closer.
“We had a big goal last year which was to win the championship, which we did,” said Dawkins. “People keep doubting us so we’re gonna have to repeat it again and show them that we’re the best team in the city.”
Toussaint, who earned MVP honors, led the way for Cardinals Hayes with 17 points with Dawkins and Williams netting 16 points and 12 points respectively. Soriano won the sportsmanship award scoring a team high 12 points for Stepinac with Davis adding 11 points.
Expect more and heated rivilries be the with Archbishop Stepinac and Cardinal Hayes and Archbishop
