Stepinac Cruises to Archdiocese of NY Chip
BRONX, NY- After falling in last season's CHSAA Archdiocese of New York title game, Stepinac were hoping for a bit of redemption this time around as they took on Cardinal Hayes looking for their first varsity basketball championship of any kind since the 1960 CHSAA City Championship team.
There was a lot going for Stepinac coming into this one as they have been playing some of their best basketball of the season as of late and led by the Griffin brothers of Alan Griffin ‘18 and A.J. Griffin ‘21 the Crusaders wouldn't be denied as Alan had 29 points and 11 rebounds, with young brother A.J. scoring 20 of his own in what would be a 78-62 victory for Stepinac.
Since last year's 73-69 loss to Mount St. Michael for the CHSAA Archdiocese title the Crusaders have had a goal of getting the title they so badly wanted. Last season was their first appearance in this game since 1986, and this time around Alan Griffin said his team was confident coming in they would bring home the hardware.
"We all wanted this win, it was real important to us," Griffin explained. "This was a goal from the start of the year and we all felt we could come out here and get it this time."
A young and inexperienced team last season, this year's team was full of veterans who had been in this position before, and they were ready to prove a point against the defending CHSAA City Champions in Cardinal Hayes.
The Cardinals got out to the quick start taking a 15-11 lead after one quarter, but the older Griffin was not going to be denied his opportunity at a championship. He connected on a three ball to open the second quarter, and then soon following that up with a putback and a finish in the lane as he would score 11 points in the 2nd alone to give Stepinac the lead.
It was a 31-27 Crusaders lead with 5.1 seconds left in the half when R.J. Davis '20 went full court and pulled up for a three just before the buzzer that was nothing but net sending Stepinac to the locker up 34-27, a momentum shift of epic proportions, and a shot that Crusaders head coach Pat Massaroni understood was huge.
"At 5.1 seconds to dribble up the court and to make that, it changed the feeling going into halftime for sure," Massaroni stated. "It was big for us but that's what big time players like R.J. do."
That shot gave Stepinac momentum, and when Griffin would hit on back to back threes to open the 3rd the lead was suddenly 13 for the Crusaders. Davis would steal the ball in the backcourt and pull up for another three, but he would get fouled. He hit all 3 from the FT line and it was a 9-0 run to start the half, and a 12-0 if you extend back to Davis' made three to close the half, putting Stepinac in firm control going up 43-27 with 6:18 left in the 3rd quarter.
With the Griffin brothers and Davis continuing to shine, the lead rose to as big as 60-40 for Stepinac, and with Joe Toussaint '19 fouling out for the Cardinal Hayes with 7:06 left in the 4th it seemed like the Cardinals were all but done in for.
Tyrese Williams '18 though had different ideas as he propelled a 12-2 run during which he scored 8 points to get the deficit to just 62-52 with 4:53 left. Massaroni would call a timeout to settle down his group, and off the timeout Davis would find young A.J. Griffin for a corner three that he made which getting fouled.
A shot like that from a freshman is rare, but Griffin is no common freshman with the talent he has displayed, and he knew stepping into that shot that it was his time to shine.
"I knew we needed a big shot and I know I can make big plays when I need to, so I stepped up and made the shot," Griffin said confidently.
He drained the FT to make it a four-point play and give Stepinac back a 14-point lead, while crushing any momentum that Cardinal Hayes may have had. A slash by Davis, and then two more finishes by the older Griffin pushed the lead back up 19 for Stepinac and it was close to celebration time for the Crusaders. Massaroni emptied his bench in the closing two minutes and when the final buzzer sounded it was pure jubilation as the Crusaders won their first Archdiocesan Championship, taking down Cardinal Hayes in convincing fashion for the trophy, 78-62.
With Alan scoring 29 points, and A.J. scoring 20 points in a Griffin family show at Mount St. Michael on Saturday as both proved why they are high level talents. They haven't had many chance to play together over the years because of the 3-year age gap between them but having this opportunity this season and winning the Archdiocese title with his brother by his side made the day even more special for Alan.
"This is a great accomplishment. It's so enjoyable to play with my teammates, and especially my brother," Griffin said. "It's been fun playing by his side for the year."
While it was the joy of victory on one side, the other felt disappointment as even with Williams leading the Cardinals with 20 points, nothing seemed to go right for Cardinal Hayes who once again struggled shooting from behind the arc, and never really were able to match the intensity that the Crusaders brought early in the second half.
As the Archdiocese of New York champions Stepinac will now have a bye in the CHSAA Class AA City Quarterfinals where they will play an opponent still to be determined. This is a special moment for all the Stepinac community to finally have basketball hardware after such a long drought, and while it’s gratifying and fulfilling, Massaroni says they still have more business ahead to achieve everything they hope for this season.
"We are excited, and we will enjoy this, but we know they will soon need to regroup for next week because there is still more to do."
