Terriers’ Guard Dogs Contain Stepinac
FRESH MEADOWS, NY – St. Francis Prep Head Coach Jimmy Lynch admitted that Archbishop Stepinac would be formidable before the game began on Tuesday. Afterall, the Crusaders are ranked #4 in our NYHoops.com Power 5ive and are led by 5-star guard Boogie Fland ‘24. Stepinac also had a substantial height advantage which could be perilous in the paint. The Crusader’s had some disadvantages that could be exploited too. Normally, Stepinac had Danny Carbuccia ‘25 in the backcourt with Fland acting as his stop gap and pressure release, but the sophomore was still injured and unable to play. The Terriers, however, came to the contest with a plan to exploit weaknesses and perceived strengths and when a plan comes together, it’s a beautiful thing.
Shadowing Fland defensively throughout the entire game with guard after guard after guard, the junior was in solitary confinement and unable to move freely. The bet was that a relatively young Crusader's squad devoid its fearless leader could not beat a well oiled and disciplined St. Francis Prep team. Although Stepinac would not go quietly into the night, they did eventually fade to black with a 73 – 56 upset loss.
Marist bound Josh Pascarelli ‘23 teamed up offensively with 6’3” Tyler Michel ‘24 in the warm-up quarter, knocking down shots from the perimeter. The duo also worked in tandem taking turns staying attached to Fland’s hip on defense. The Crusaders fought back as 6’3” Hassan Koureissi ‘26 and 6’7” Braylen Ritvo ‘24 scored in the paint.
Terriers maintained a 1-point advantage as the second quarter got underway. Consistent scoring from the arc from 6’5” Hao Chen ‘25 and 6’0” Nigel Moore ‘25 negated Stepinac’s interior dominance. Although the Crusaders were able to counter from the air, the inability of Bland to set their table kept them in a 34 – 30 halftime deficit.
Holding Fland to a mere bucket per quarter in the first half was no small feat for St. Francis Prep but Stepinac was beginning to come apart at the seams. Conversely, the Terriers unleashed Pascarelli in the third quarter and St. Francis Prep’s lead grew to 13 points at the end of three quarters.
With 6’0” Vere Alexander ‘25 joining the Terrier guard dogs on defense he stuck to Fland like white on rice. Feeling trapped literally and figuratively, the junior soon tried to force the issue offensively with little success. The Terriers began to feast off transition points from ill-advised Stepinac shots and growing desperation from the Crusaders. The St. Francis Prep’s lead ballooned to 18 points with a little over 1 minute left in regulation. All that was left were the closing credits.
Pascarelli led St. Francis Prep with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Michel added 19 points and 6 assists. Koureissi was the high man for Stepinac with 17 points, 2 assists and 2 blocks with Fland contributing 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
