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basketball Edit

Hayes Takes CHSAA Archdiocese Chip

BRONX, NY - The CHSAA Archdiocese of New York Championship Game on Saturday afternoon featured the marquee matchup of Cardinal Hayes and St. Raymond's. The two faced off in a pair of memorable matches during the regular season and in front of a packed house at Mount St. Michael in the Bronx, another classic was expected.

A classic was expected and a classic is what a standing room only crowd at The Mount got as behind 18 second half points from guard Clive Allen '16, the Cardinals were able to pull away late and take their second Archdiocese title over the Ravens, 60-53.

There was a buzz in the crowd from the start, and one of the more interesting notes for Cardinal Hayes was the fact that Allen and fellow guard Pedro Marquez '16 were on the bench to start the game. Both had showed up late to school on Friday and Cardinals’ head coach Joe Lods said that there had to be a punishment for their mistake.

"Someone’s signals got crossed," Lods said about the fact both were late on Friday. "I get paid to coach, not to win, and at the end of the day the kids need to be held accountable."

It was a tough break to have two of their leading scorers on the bench to start the game, but the affects weren't felt all that much as the Cardinals got off to a very fast start.

Baron Goodridge '16 hit a big corner threes, and then 5 quick points from the outside from undersized forward Quran Brickhouse '16 helped give Cardinal Hayes a 13-4 lead early on with the star backcourt duo on the bench, and Lods admitted that the stellar play from an unsung hero early on gave him hope that this would be a positive result for his team.

"When Quran came out and made his first couple jump shots I was like this is my day because he hasn't really made any jump shots all year," Lods said.

It was a 13-4 game with 3:31 left in the opening quarter when both Allen and Marquez came into the game, but they didn't have an immediate impact though the Cardinals did maintain where they were at that taking a 17-9 lead after one.

Clive Allen
Clive Allen (M. Libert)
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While the first quarter belonged to Cardinal Hayes, it was St. Ray's who came alive in the second with a stifling zone that really frustrated the Cardinals, and with both guard Isaiah Washington '17 and forward Sid Wilson '17 stepping it up on the offensive end of the floor as well, the Ravens were able to take their first lead of the game with 21.6 seconds left in the half to take a 25-24 lead going into the locker room.

They were still in the game but it was a disappointing 2nd quarter, especially for Allen who scored just 2 points in the opening half, but after receiving a piece of advice just before the start of the 3rd quarter he felt he was going to come out big in the second half.

"Shavar Newkirk's dad was here and he came up to me and said I was playing too hyped," Allen said. "He said to slow down and compose yourself and everything would be ok."

It was just a matter of trusting his game and understanding what he needed to do, and the fact that his opening shot of the 3rd quarter was a nothing but net three pointer really had to give himself, and the Cardinals hope that this would turn out ok for them.

Allen ended up finishing with 11 points in the 3rd quarter, and Cardinal Hayes once again built up a lead as much as 6 points with 3:14 to go in the period, but St. Ray's finished the 3rd strong as Wilson scored on a pair of post-up attempts late to tie things up at 39. Goodridge though would connect on a floater in the closing seconds to send the Cardinals to the 4th up 41-39.

The game was still up for grabs though, as the Ravens clearly had the players and talent to pull it up out as the demonstrated by taking a 5 point lead with 6:19 to go in the game, but again it was Brickhouse, a player who doesn't ask for the credit who came up with some of the biggest plays of the game.

"Quran is one of the best defenders I have ever had," Lods stated. "He just does he job down there and gets 6 points and 8 rebounds and takes charges and does whatever is needed and never asks for any attention from it."

He may not ask for the attention, but his play down the stretch demanded the attention as he finished down low off a beautiful feed from guard Joe Toussaint '19 to slice into the St. Raymond's lead, and when a big time stop was needed on the defensive end, Brickhouse was the man.

With 2:31 to go in the game Brickhouse was there to take a big charge on Wilson, and then on back to back defensive possessions after that he blocked shots by Washington and Omar Silverio '18 on the perimeter to help his team be able to push the ball in transition and retake the lead with under 2 minutes to play in the game.

His defensive work may not get a lot of attention, but Allen called Brickhouse the X-Factor for the team all season long, though the senior forward himself just said he was doing his job.

"I just know how to play defense and block shots and do whatever my team needs me to do. That's my role and I love it," Brickhouse said.

In the closing minute it became integral for Cardinal Hayes to connect on their FT's and Goodridge, Toussaint, and big man Victor Montenegro '16 all came up huge late as the Cardinals were able to hold onto the ball as the final seconds ticked off to claim another Diocesan Championship, taking down St. Raymond's 60-53.

Allen had 18 of his game high 20 points in the second half, while Goodridge added 17 points, and Brickhouse had 11 in what was a team victory in every sense of the word.

It was a second half to truly remember for Allen, and he said a major motivating factor for him was the fact that he didn't want to lose once again to the Ravens when it mattered most. They had lost to St. Ray's in last year's Diocese Semifinals and he did not want to experience the feeling of losing to them in a playoff game again.

"Last year they beat us when it counted and I took that personally because I didn't want to fail my team," Allen said about coming up big in the second half.

It was an Allen and Brickhouse with big plays late, along with some clutch shots from the likes of Goodridge and wing Ishmael Massoud '18 which helped the Cardinals take the title.

St. Raymond's never quit trying to get the win, always looking to find ways to get the ball in their hands with a chance to win it in the closing seconds, but they couldn't do it. Wilson had 16 points for the Ravens in the loss while Washington added 13 points of his own in the defeat

It's another Archdiocese of New York Championship for Cardinal Hayes as Lods and his assistant coach Tim Philp, who Lods credits for a lot of the team's success, helped lead the team to yet another title.

Now it's onto the CHSAA Intersectional Championship for the Cardinals, and while this diocese title has to have them among the favorites, the fact that they have been doubted by many for much of the season keeps them, according to Brickhouse, with a chip on their shoulder as they move forward to what they hope ends in a truly remarkable season.

"We were considered underdogs all season so we have to show where we belong, at number one."


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