FRESH MEADOWS, NY - The atmosphere was electric as a packed St. Francis Prep gym hosted the Holy Cross Knights on Friday evening. This was no ordinary game. The Terriers (6-5) versus the Knights (8-6) is a rivalry that goes beyond standings and rankings. In their first of two league games, Holy Cross would draw first blood, extracting a 66-55 win in enemy territory.

"This is a rivalry game. All the fans come out so we had to get this win," said Knights go-to-guy Jermaine Bishop . The senior guard led the way for his team with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists but it would be 6'1" junior Jamel Horton and 5'11" junior Chaz Platt, two of the team's primary role players, that would make the clutch plays at critical points in the game.

"We wanted to press them man-to-man to get into their space to let them know that we're here to play right off the bat," said Holy Cross Head Coach Terry Tarpey.

Horton had 16 point & 4 assists while Platt contributed 11 points which included key deuces and treys that helped put the game away. "We just wanted to set the tone from the beginning of the game," said Horton. "I know how big this game is. A lot of emotions involved so I wanted to be the one to set the tone and get my team going early."

The weather was the big winner in the warm-up quarter as frigid temperatures created condensation and early slips and falls by both teams. Holy Cross held a slight 13-10 advantage entering second quarter buoyed by shots from Horton. 6'3" junior Kyle Beason, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, provided a good percentage of the Terriers early offense but Holy Cross did a good job countering.

St. Francis Prep knotted the game with a three-ball from 6'0" senior Connor Bacci (5 points) as the game remained one of inches for most of the half. Horton and Platt would move Holy Cross ahead 21-17 with 3:20 left in the half. 5'11" senior Shane Herrity would help close the gap and 20 would tie the game at 23 with a minute but struggle to score throughout the game

The Knights tried to shut down St. Francis Preps leading scorer. "The game plan was [Herrity] doesn't really shoot the ball all that well and he tries to go right all the time," said Bishop. "We tried to cut that off tonight." That plan was only partially successful as Herrity still managed to put up 21 points to lead the Terriers.

Holy Cross took a 27-35 lead into the second half and Bishop increased that lead to 8 points early in the third quarter with an and1 and a strong drive to the hole. Tempers flared as the Knights were slowly gaining momentum but Herrity pulled the Terriers to within 2 points with 3:20.

Bishop responded for the Knights. With 2:48, the Holy Cross lead was 42-36 as Christian Wilson (5 points) scored from the free-throw line and baskets by Pratt pushed the lead to 48-36 with 1:40 left in the quarter.

Early desperation set in as SFP took some rushed shots. Down by 10 with 33.5 second left, Herrity fouled Horton who bumped the Knights lead back to 12 from the foul line.

St. Francis Prep was down 51-41 to begin the fourth quarter and trailed 55-41 with 6:20 left to play. The Terriers were never able to close the gap.

Coach Tarpey applauded the efforts of Bishop but also the role players like Platt and Horton who stepped up. "Chaz gave us some positive things," said Tarpey. "Jamel had his legs going. He was getting to the rack real nice. He's a strong bodied guard and when he plays in fifth gear he's really really good."