Xaverian Claws Past Lions; Win CHSAA Intersectional Chip
BRONX, NY - The history of Xaverian basketball has always been built around toughness and defense which is why it should come as no surprise that in the CHSAA Class "AA" Intersectional Championship Game at Fordham University on Sunday that is was a tough defensive play ended up pushing the Clippers to victory.
Playing Bishop Loughlin for the title, a game that saw many people doubt the Clippers chances coming in, it was of course a defensive play, a charge taken by guard Zack Bruno '17 in the closing seconds, to help seal the Clippers first City Championship since 2005, taking down the Lions 59-56.
It wasn't easy to get to the win though. They trailed 44-33 with 2:02 to go in the 3rd quarter and things could have been interpreted as bleak for Xaverian as against a quality team like Bishop Loughlin, a comeback would be tough.
The Clippers though are a never say die type of team though. They never felt they were out of the game and Xaverian scoring the last 4 points of the quarter, they were only down by 7 going to the 4th at 44-37.
It was a 7 point game, but feeding off of head coach Jack Alesi, Xaverian was far from done. They had fended off a double digit deficit and were right there ready to strike late, which after being up by double digits early had Clippers forward Nyonty Wisseh '16 believing they were still alive.
"An 11 point lead is not a big lead in basketball," Wisseh stated. "We were up 11 earlier in the game and they made a run, so we just felt it was time for us to make our run."
It was that sort of confidence that was all over the place on the Xaverian side of things. The fact that they had played strong defense all year long too made them confident that they could get the stops when they were needed.
Maybe it was Bishop Loughlin getting out of their game plan, or maybe it was Xaverian just executing down the stretch with seniors who wanted it more, but from 2:02 to go in the 3rd to 5:06 left in the 4th, the Clippers would go on a 16-1 run as Wisseh and Bruno were able to get out in transition off steals and turnovers and make the plays needed to put Xaverian back in front, 49-45.
The Xaverian crowd was alive as they tried to push their Clippers to the finish line, and every time Bishop Loughlin did try and come back and make it a one possession game, someone from Xaverian was right there to extend the lead again.
It was the Clippers feeding off the mindset of their coach as Bruno said it was all about clamping down and doing what they had been doing all year to close it out.
"Coach Alesi always says do everything from our defense and get out on the break, and that's what we were doing in the 4th quarter today," Bruno said.
Bishop Loughlin though for as much as they struggled to score for a long stretch in the 4th, they had their chances late. They were able to cut the deficit to 56-54 with under a minute to go and guard Brandon Leftwich '16 would miss a runner down the lane for Xaverian giving the Lions a chance to tie with 27 seconds left, and almost immediately, Idan Tretout '18 was fouled in the backcourt, sending him to the line for 2 FT's.
The Lions could've tied the game up but Tretout missed both FT's. Tyrese Gaffney '17 was able to come up with the big offensive rebound though, and with a good look right at the rim, the ball rolled all around and came out, seemingly giving a sign that this was the Clippers day.
Leftwich was then fouled with 19.6 seconds to go, and he would drain a pair of FT's to once again push the lead back to 4 for Xaverian. The almost always solid Clippers defense did allow Loughlin star guard Markquis Nowell '18 an easy layup going down the floor coast to coast with 12.2 to play, and once again they immediately fouled, this time sending guard Jordan Guzman '16 to the line for a pair of big FT's.
Guzman would only go 1 of 2, giving Bishop Loughlin one last chance to send the game into overtime. Loughlin was clearly attempting to get the ball into the hands of guard Keith Williams '17, but he was being denied by Wisseh, so instead Gaffney decided to head down the lane, though on his way to the basket there was Bruno waiting as he stepped in and took a huge charge with 0.9 seconds to go.
It was a charge that Bruno after the game said he would never forget. He admitted that charges have not been his, or the Clippers strong point all year, but that when it came time for him to take one in the biggest moment of his life, he did it.
"I haven't taken a lot of charges this season but I guess you could say I made up for it," Bruno said.
Quite possibly the perfect way to end a game for an Alesi coached team, with a charge, Xaverian was able to just inbound the ball and the clock would then hit zero as the players all stormed the court as the Clippers won their first CHSAA Intersectional Championship since 2005 in what was a near improbable run for Xaverian, culminating on this day with a 59-56 title game victory.
Wisseh was named Championship Game MVP as he had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while it was Bruno, who Alesi admitted after the game has been playing with a hip injury and is not 100%, who also had 18 points and thinks this game was the perfect ending for this team.
"Coach Alesi would love the game like that. He always gets on our back about not taking charges and I was able to get maybe the biggest one in Xaverian history," Bruno said with a huge smile after the game. "That means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to Coach Alesi."
The defense, the charge, the toughness, and the fact that saw Xaverian finish 4th during the regular season in the Brooklyn/Queens Diocese and go all the way to win a City Championship, all that made this run by the Clippers one of the more improbable runs in recent CHSAA history, but it just shows that if you believe, anything is possible.
For Bishop Loughlin, Nowell had 17 points, while Williams had 14 points, and while this is the 4th Championship Game loss head coach Ed Gonzalez, he admitted that he hopes this team can have another run in them next year with only 2 players graduating off of this year's squad, though for now it's going to be a tough pill to swallow and one he will not get over for a while.
He did admit though that the best team on this day did win as Xaverian he said outplayed them and deserved the win, a win that many did not expect to see this season.
It may have been shocking to others, but to those on the Clippers sideline they always believed. They never lost faith regardless of their 11 losses they had this season, and because they kept the faith and played some of the best defense you will see, they came out as champions.
For a tough coach who preaches defense before anything, the fact that this game was decided by a charge call really does say it all. It's a play and a game that Alesi admitted will be remembered for generations by the Xaverian basketball community, and he admitted that while getting to hang a banner in the gym will be nice, he is even more proud of the fact that he has such a quality group of kids who are representing them as champions.
Now though it's on to the New York State Class "AA" Federation Tournament where in the semifinals on Friday the Clippers will take on Aquinas Institute of Rochester, and while it may set back his golf schedule for a little while longer, he is happy to still have more games with kids that he clearly loves.
"I think we have a game somewhere upstate to play and we will give that a shot also. This has been a tremendous ride though and it really doesn't get any better than this."
