St. Peter’s Subdues Stepinac in Shocker

MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY – Staten Island served notice to the top of the CHSAA food chain on Sunday evening at the NY Hoops Festival, gnawing Archbishop Stepinac to the bone and then beating them, 66 - 63. Defeating one of the best teams in the nation in one of the best leagues in the nation is no small feat but the Eagles pulled it off with surgical precision.

“We knew Stepinac was a talented team with two high major guards, “ said St. Peter’s Head Coach Ryan Woods. “So, we wanted to make it difficult for them. Force tough shots, crowd ‘em when they get in the paint and wall up when they get close to the rim.”

While that strategy would prove to be effective, it had to marinate for a while. In the opening quarter, it appeared as if the Crusaders had the appropriate spice. Danny Carbuccia, one of the two guards Woods spoke of along with the powerful 6’5” Ben Lyttle inside gave Stepinac a three-point lead heading into the second quarter.

In what would be a low scoring half, Stepinac did enough to lead 31 – 28 at the half but not enough to deter the Eagles from attempting to take off. Although they were still losing at the half, St. Peter’s was able to hold Boogie Fland, one of the most coveted guards in the United States to two free throws and a bucket in the first half.

As the third quarter began, the attentiveness of the plethora of College coaches in the stands, including the likes of head coaches St. John’s Mike Anderson and Memphis’s Juwon Howard, also intensified. The momentum shift was palpable.

Stepinac was holding on to their lead by a thread, but it would be the emergence in the third quarter of 6’6” Qadir Martin ’24 who was the difference maker. The junior wing transfer from Curtis HS infused just enough public-school toughness in the paint to alter the complexion of St. Peter’s, a squad more notably known for their perimeter skills.

If not for a buzzer beater by Carbuccia to end the quarter, Stepinac would have relinquished its advantage at the end of the third quarter. Shortly thereafter, the beast mode play of Martin inside along with back-up by 5’11” Jalen Munson ‘24 and 6’3” Steven Bradley ‘23 outside put the Crusaders on its heels for good.

Following in the footsteps of his Staten Island royalty brothers Malik Martin and Hassan Martin of URI, Martin led St. Peter’s with 27 points with Munson and Bradley and adding 9 points apiece. Carbuccia paced Stepinac with 21 points with Fland finishing with 14 points

To those who see Staten Island as an also ran, Coach Woods has a strong retort. “We play hard. We play tough out there. Always have. We’re a member of the Double "A" and we’re proud of that. We play a tough brand of basketball that we’re proud of.”

South Shore Big Ups Wagner, 61 – 47

It appeared as if there might be a Staten Island Insurrection at the NY Hoops festival as Susan Wagner took on South Shore following St. Peter’s upset win over powerhouse Stepinac. Could Wagner pull off a second S.I. victory against a vulnerable Brooklyn squad that seems to be going through some internal strife?

Initially the answer was, quite possibly. In the opening quarter, the Wagner Falcons was powered by 5’10” guard Devin Louisson ‘25 whose scoring prowess and facilitation skills matched his bravado. “You can’t guard me,” he was heard saying as the sophomore netted 12 first half points.

The undersized Wagner squad led after the first quarter as the bigger Vikings appeared to be asleep at the wheel. Wagner. Fortunately for South Shore, they woke up before hitting a brick wall. Leading 27 – 23 at the half. Buoyed by the play of Jarrett Dingle ‘23 and Kyrone Alexander and bolstered by the third quarter exit by Louisson, the Vikings size eventually crushed the Falcons.

Dingle netted 16 points for Shore with Ibrahma Ba ‘23 and Alexander adding 14 points each. Louisson scored 12 points total for Wagner.