Hayes wins 2 straight; Gaels drop 2nd in a row
BRONX, NY - On Monday, Cardinal Hayes (11-4), in a highly-contested game, defeated Iona Prep (9-6) at home to extend their win streak to two. Conversely, the Gaels lost its second game in a row, after dropping a game to Abraham Lincoln on Sunday. It was a close competitive match-up, but overall the Cardinals showed great character in the fourth quarter to pick up the, 60 – 56, win.
Iona Prep got off to a good start in the first quarter, knocking down 4 three-pointers to take and keep an early lead. The Cardinals didn’t allow that to deter their play. Tyreese Williams ‘18 made an assist to Joe Toussaint ‘19 for a lay-up. The next offensive possession, Toussaint fed Williams, this time, for a lay-up of his own. Cardinal Hayes trailed 16-14.
In the second period, the Gaels and the Cardinals both traded blows on offense and defense. Iona Prep committed a plethora of turnovers which hindered their scoring. On the other end, Toussaint scored 6 of his 8 points in the quarter keeping Hayes in the game. The quarter ended with Iona ahead 28-26.
To begin the second half, Hayes started off hot and no one was hotter than Williams who displayed his mid-range game. Although he was scoring, Bryce Willis ‘18 from Iona posterized Williams lighting a spark for his team.
After a timeout by Hayes’s Coach Joe Lods, Nick Brennen ‘17 made a three-pointer to tie the game at 40-40. Then, on the following play, Brennen made a back door cut to give the Gaels a 42-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final 8 minutes, the game was dominated by Hayes’ center Terry Dawkins '18 ‘17 who scored 11 of his 12 points all in the fourth quarter. Hayes was leading 48-46 when Dawkins made three field goals all in the paint with the final one being an and-one. The Cardinals led 55-50 with less than a minute remaining. The rest of the game was primarily dominated by free throws. The final two free throws from Dawkins solidified the Hayes victory. Cardinal Hayes won 60-56 improving to a 11-3 record.
After the game, Lods spoke about the impact of Dawkins in the fourth quarter and how much of an impact he had. “Terry made some very crucial plays for us down the stretch. We want to win the rivalry games and Iona is a rival of ours. The game could have gone either way, but it’s nice that the young men of Hayes made some clutch plays.”
Coach Lods added that the Cardinals implemented a specific defensive strategy in the second half to limit the perimeter shots and overall scoring from the Gaels. “We tried to play some zone in the second half. I thought it was effective because it kept us out of foul trouble for the most part. They’re a talented team, it’s hard to stop them.”
Asked if he would bring a similar or different strategy to their next game versus Mount St. Michael, Lods responded, “Well I always tell the guys it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We are trying to learn a little bit as we go through out the whole year. But I shouldn’t have to get them too motivated to play Mount St. Michael tomorrow. So hopefully we come with the same amount of effort and we’ll be ok.”
The Cardinals pulled out a tough victory after trailing most of the game. Iona Prep put a good effort, but were unable to slow down the Hayes offense when they needed to most.