Scanlan Rises Up, Downs Terriers

BRONX, NY- For a half of basketball on Saturday it seemed as if Msgr. Scanlan were going to lose all the momentum they had built up over the past 10 days after wins over St. Raymond and Archbishop Stepinac. They were trailing 32-26 at the break to St. Francis Prep and weren't looking particularly good in doing so.

Enter though Rodney "D.J." Bailey '20 as on senior night it was one of the more underrated seniors on the Crusaders team who helped carry Scanlan as he poured in 19 second half points to see his team erase a 10 point third quarter deficit en route to a 63-51 victory over the Terriers.

While some players like Dayton commit Koby Brea '20 and recent 1,000 point career scorer Joe Munden '20 may get more credit, it's Bailey who according to Crusaders head coach Dwayne Mitchell is as integral a part of Scanlan's success as anyone.

"D.J has really matured and he is understanding this is it and he is playing with more of a sense of urgency and really leading us and doing the things you want and we are really depending on him to step up like he did today," Mitchell explained.

Without Bailey this result could've looked a lot different as Latiek Briscoe '22 would drain a three from the right wing at the halftime buzzer to give St. Francis Prep a 32-26 lead. Even after that though the Terriers came out with a strong start to the third and led 43-33 with 5:08 to go in the period as things looked to be clicking for the Brooklyn/Queens school on the road.

Bailey though would hit a three, then less than 10 seconds later it was Bailey off a turnover draining another three, and with less than a minute to go in the third quarter it was Bailey again showing off his range as he had 12 in the quarter to see Scanlan go from trailing by 10 to leading by 1 going to the fourth.

If there was one person who wouldn't let his team lose on this night, on senior night, it was going to be Bailey. A hyped up recruit coming into high school who never really grew but came up with maybe his biggest performance in his final game on the court he calls home.

"I just felt like I had to be a leader because we couldn't lose this game, not on senior night," Bailey stated. "That end of the third was the game changer I really felt and I said to my teammates going to the fourth we got to keep it up, we got to step it up more."

That's exactly what happened as Bailey and Munden went to work. Brea would go down early in the final stanza with an ankle injury, but Bailey's ability to attack the driving lanes, and a huge putback dunk by Munden seemed to really seal the deal.

For a Scanlan team primarily known for its offensive prowess it was the work they put in on the defensive end that may have just been as big as well. The Crusaders limited St. Francis Prep to just 8 points in the final 13+ minutes of the game, a testimony to being ready and playing hard down the stretch of the season in the eyes of Mitchell.

"A lot of teams who win championships play great defense so I said to the guys do you want to be a good team who outscores people or a championship team that really plays defense and they have really bought in on that," Mitchell said.

As disappointing of an opening half as it was for the Crusaders, that's how good of a second half it was as they dominated the play for the final two quarters and led by Bailey's play as he finished with 24 points, 19 of which came in the all-important third and fourth quarters, it was Msgr. Scanlan fighting back to down a very good St. Francis Prep team, 63-51.

Alongside of Bailey it was Brea scoring 15 points while Munden added 12. The win for Scanlan was a little bit subdued by the Brea injury, an ankle and a thigh injury according to Mitchell, and while they as a team and coaching staff aren't sure of how serious the injury is at this point, Mitchell believes that regardless they are prepared to take on anyone in their path.

"He's been bouncing back all season so all we can do it hope, but the bench has to step up like they did today regardless because they brought a great effort," Mitchell stated.

Getting 13 points from Briscoe to lead the way and 11 from Todd Rochelle '21, it was not the result that St. Francis Prep wanted as a win on Saturday would've clinched the #1 seed in the upcoming Brooklyn/Queens Diocese playoffs, but with another chance to lock down the top spot on Tuesday when the Terriers go to Cardinal Hayes, Terriers head coach Jimmy Lynch is still confident in what his team can do on Tuesday and moving into playoff time.

Saturday though was all about Bailey as Lynch called him the reason why Scanlan was able to get the win, with Mitchell saying it was a tremendous effort from a tremendous player.

In Bailey's eyes this is truly what it's all about as he has the Crusaders playing good basketball and has his eyes on a deep playoff run for what he feels is a championship caliber Msgr. Scanlan squad.

"We are a different team now," Bailey said. "We might be like second to last or something like that in the standings but once the playoffs start everyone is 0-0 and we will be ready."