Stepinac rolls over South Shore; Claims NYS Federation TOC Class AA Title
GLENS FALLS, NY- Coming into this high school season many people felt as if Stepinac was a very good team that may be a year away. They had a dynamic leader in senior Alan Griffin '18, but with R.J. Davis '20 as just a sophomore and young gun A.J. Griffin '21 only beginning his high school career as a freshman there was a sense of could the Crusaders be a bit too young to be among the best in New York State.
Saturday though Stepinac put all those questions to rest as challenge after challenge put in their way the Crusaders answered with flying colors as the youth proved wise beyond their years, and with the Illinois bound Griffin proving to be among New York's best nothing could stop them.
After running through the CHSAA by winning the Archdiocesan and Intersectional Championships the Crusaders then made their way to Glens Falls to prove they weren't just the Catholic's Leagues best, but also the best in New York overall as they went for a Class AA NYS Federation Tournament of Champions title.
They rallied back to defeat Long Island Lutheran on Friday night 76-72 to get revenge on a loss earlier in the season to LuHi, and then with just South Shore of the PSAL between them and a Federation Championship it was just one more hurdle to clear to achieve all their improbable goals.
It was a fast start by Stepinac as they connected on 11 opening half three's to run out to a 44-34 lead at the break, and while the treys weren't reigning at as big of a clip in the second half, the aggressiveness and drive continued to grow as led by Griffin and his 28 points and 16 rebounds the Crusaders proved to be the best of the best in downing a solid South Shore team for the Federation crown, 88-76.
From the start it was all about the three ball for Stepinac as even with the Vikings doing a good job in closing out on the likes of Griffin and Davis, the Crusaders shooters couldn't be contained. 11 made triples in the first half gave Stepinac a 10-point advantage.
Playing on such a big stage in the biggest game of the year may have made other teams apprehensive, but for Davis it was just the opposite as he says they came out ready to make a major statement.
"It was about the amount of reps in practice," Davis said. "We had a great shoot around earlier today and we carried that over and it translated into the game in the first half."
The shooting touch from Stepinac was so on point in the opening half that Griffin admitted it felt as if every shot they took from long range was going in. Shooting 11-15 in the opening half from behind the arc was as impressive a statistic as Crusaders head coach had seen, attributing their success from long range to their laser focus and determination to close out the season on top.
Even with the shots not falling at as high a rate in the 3rd quite the lead continued to grow for Stepinac as the Griffin brothers both began to find driving lanes more accessible, and the Crusaders frontcourt led by Xavier Wilson '18 and Joel Soriano '19 each became near impossible for South Shore to score against as Stepinac outscored the Vikings 25-12 in the 3rd to take a commanding 69-46 lead.
At that point it was all about enjoying the final quarter before getting to celebrate. Each Crusaders player admitted knew they were going to win as they took the court for last 8 minutes of the season, and while they did get a bit lackadaisical defensively in allowing South Shore to trim the lead, what Stepinac did for the first three quarters was too much to overcome.
It was mission accomplished when the final buzzer sounded as the Crusaders stormed the court in celebration as they were able to do what not many felt was possible at the beginning of the year, finish the season on top of the mountain as New York's best as they knocked off South Shore 88-76 in convincing fashion.
Scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds was the elder Griffin, though Davis added 25 points, while the younger Griffin chipped in with 16 points in the total team effort to give Stepinac the title.
South Shore in defeat was paced by Dwight Davis Jr. '19 who had 17 points for the Vikings, with Sekou Sylla '18closing out his high school career with a 16-point, 10 rebound double-double performance.
Achieving the ultimate feeling of CHSAA and Federation Championships, Massaroni admitted to being near speechless after the win, though he noted how special a group of kids he had and believing that this will go down in history as Stepinac's greatest team ever as he left to celebrate with his team.
"It's got to go down as the best team in Stepinac history," Massaroni said with a wide smile. "I don't think it's hit me yet what just happened but for us to win so many tournaments from the Archdiocesan to the City to the Federation now it's an unbelievable feeling and I know I'm going to enjoy this tonight, and the kids will too."
