Stepinac is looking to make history.
There have been some memorable runs by marquee programs in the past, but the Crusaders have an opportunity to top them all if they can lock up a fourth straight CHSAA City Championship.
First up is the Archdiocesan tournament, which helps seed the win-or-go-home City bracket.
Sunday, March 8
CHSAA AA Intersectional Championship
At Fordham University
Cardinal Hayes vs. Stepinac, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, March 4
CHSAA AA Intersectional Tournament semifinals
At Fordham University
Stepinac 76, Holy Cross 54
AS: Darius Ratliff 23P, 5R, 5A; Josh Rivera 20P; Hassan Koureissi 10P, 4R, 6A; Adonis Ratliff 8P, 8R, 6A, 4S; Jack Coco 7P, 2A.
Cardinal Hayes 71, Monsignor Scanlan 45
Sunday, March 1
CHSAA AA Intersectional Tournament quarterfinals
At Fordham University
Holy Cross 70, St. Raymond 67
Stepinac 67, Iona Prep 51
Monsignor Scanlan 76, Christ the King 73
Cardinal Hayes 73, Nazareth 69
Friday, Feb. 27
CHSAA A Intersectional championship
At Fordham University
No. 1 St. John’s Prep 54, No. 3 St. Joseph’s by the Sea 48
CHSAA B Intersectional championship
At Fordham University
No. 1 Cathedral Prep 59, No. 3 Kennedy Catholic 57 OT
Thursday, Feb. 26
CHSAA AA Intersectional Tournament second round
At St. Francis Prep
NY3 St. Raymond 58, NY7 St. Peter’s 53
BQ3 Nazareth 57, NY 6 Mount St. Michael 54
Wednesday, Feb. 25
CHSAA A Intersectional Tournament semifinals
At Christ the King
No. 3 St. Joseph by the Sea 42, No. 2 Monsignor Farrell 36
No. 1 St. John’s Prep 58, No. 5 Salesian 54
Sal: Kev Mitchell 26P, 10R, 5A; Joe Secola 13P, 3R; Jon Lagos 8P, 7R, 3A; Marvell Hammett 3P, 10R.
CHSAA AA Intersectional Tournament second round
At St. Raymond
NY4 Monsignor Scanlan 63, BQ5 Xaverian 42
NY5 Iona Prep 66, BQ4 St. Francis Prep 52
Sunday, Feb. 22
CHSAA B semifinals
No. 1 Cathedral Prep 62, No. 5 Regis 40
No. 3 Kennedy Catholic 62, No. 2 LaSalle 56
KC: Sebastian Jackson 22P, 6R; Se’nre Tuitt 18P, 9R, 8A, 6S; Thomas Imperati 13P.
Saturday, Feb. 21
Stepinac dispatches Hayes, claims Archdiocesan title
NEW YORK – There were some polite smiles after Stepinac captured another championship and collected more hardware, but very little emotion.
That’s likely to change in the days ahead.
History is three wins away following a convincing 67-51 win over Cardinal Hayes in the CHSAA AA Archdiocesan Championship on Saturday at Mount St. Michael. Up next is the league’s Intersectional Tournament.
No team has ever won four straight “City” titles.
Stepinac made it three Intersectional championships in a row a year ago and locked up the No. 1 seed with this win. The Crusaders have a bye into the quarterfinals and are schedule to play next Sunday against Iona Prep or St. Francis Prep.
“Getting into the postseason, it definitely feels more serious,” senior forward Adonis Ratliff said. “We’re battling in practice, getting after it. … Coach is picking it up, even our assistants, they’re on us heavy. Every day in practice the vibe is work hard.”
The list of legendary teams and individual talents who have competed in the CHSAA over nearly 100 years is lengthy.
It’s hard to do something historic in this league.
“Winning again would mean a lot to us,” senior guard Hassan Koureissi said. “You know, nobody has won four in a row, so our names would be linked to CHSAA history. When people talk about the top teams in the league, we’d like to be that team they talk about.”
Turning point
Stepinac was dialed in from the start, then played so well for two- and three-minute stretches. The Crusaders were momentarily pushed when Hayes got within 57-49 in the last four minutes of play. Jasiah Jervis fed Ratliff on the post for a quick answer. At the other end, Jack Coco delivered another timely steal and Ratliff slammed the door when he applied the perfect touch from behind the arc.
“Coco is like a Swiss army knife for our team,” Ratliff said. “He doesn’t make that many shots, but you know he’s going to play defense and work harder than anyone on the floor.”
Box score
Cardinal Hayes (19-7): Malik Fields 4P; Hector Almodovar 4P; Bryce Yancy 19P; Christian Brown 8P; Amadou Barry11P; Cheikh Samb 2P; Souleymone Kone 3P.
Stepinac (21-4): Darius Ratliff 6P, 6R, 3A, 2B; Adonis Ratliff 21P, 12R, 3B; Josh Rivera 5P; Hassan Koureissi 16P, 6R, 3A; Dylan Perry 9P, 8R; Jasiah Jervis 10P, 3R, 4A.
Takeaways
Stepinac was at peak efficiency in the opening minutes. It was textbook basketball with a little bit of style. The ball moved freely during an 11-4 opening run and every shot was a layup or a clean look from 3-point range. There were four or five stretches just like that over the course of the game.
“The approach these guys have going into every game is high level, kind of professional in the way they prepare themselves mentally and physically,” Crusaders coach Pat Massaroni said. “They come out and play four or five really good minutes and then you realize they’re high school kids for a couple minutes and then they play four or five really good minutes and then you see them play like high school kids.”
With three McDonald’s All-Americans and five Division I signees in the starting lineup, Stepinac rarely has an off game. There are some bumpy stretches, though. And that’s not a concern. It’s not about dominating, it’s about winning. “Not everything is going to be perfect,” Koureissi said. “The group, everybody knows that. We’d love to have a perfect eight minutes, but we’re not perfect. We battle through our mistakes and move on to the next possession.
CHSAA A quarterfinals
No. 5 Salesian 55, No. 4 Xavier 46
Sal: Kev Mitchell 18P, 7R, 3A; Mark Stiller 12P; Joe Secola 9P, 5S; Johnnie Lagos 7P, 7R; Vaughn Meier 5P, 3A; Marvell Hammett 2P, 5R, 3B.
No. 1 St. John’s Prep 82, No. 9 Moore Catholic 49
No. 3 St. Joseph by the Sea 70, No. 6 Fordham Prep 57
No. 2 Monsignor Farrell 52, No. 7 St. Edmund 39
Friday, Feb. 20
CHSAA AA Brooklyn/Queens Championship
No. 3 Christ the King 68; No. 5 Holy Cross 53
CHSAA AA Intersectional Tournament
Outbracket
No. 7NY St. Peter’s 59, No. 6BQ Archbishop Molloy 56
No. 6NY Mount St. Michael 71, No. 7BQ Bishop Loughlin 51
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Brooklyn/Queens AA
No. 3 Christ the King 101, No. 2 St. Francis Prep 98 3OT
No. 5 Holy Cross 62, No. 1 Nazareth 53
CHSAA B Tournament quarterfinals
No. 2 LasSalle 49, No. 7 Sacred Heart 26
No. 3 Kennedy 61, No. 6 Cristo Rey Brooklyn 44
KC: Sebastian Jackson 25P, 17R; Ari Boubert 13P; Se’nre Tuitt 11P, 4R, 4A, 6S; Thomas Imperati 7P, 3A.
No. 5 Regis 57, No. 4 Spellman 41
Tuesday, Feb. 17
Archdiocesan AA semifinals
No. 1 Archbishop Stepinac 92, No. 5 Msgr. Scanlan 62
AS: Jasiah Jervis 23P, 4R, 6A; Adonis Ratliff 12P, 5R, 3A, 5B; Hassan Koureissi 12P, 3R; Josh Rivera 12P, 7A; Jack Coco 5P, 4A.
Note: It was a one-possession game until the Crusaders dialed up the defensive intensity and the offensive efficiency, fueling a decisive run. They headed for the locker room at the break up 42-21. … The Crusaders play for the championship at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mount St. Michael.
No. 2 Cardinal Hayes 90, No. 3 St. Raymond 56
Monday, Feb. 16
Brooklyn-Queens AA quarterfinals
No. 2 St. Francis Prep 73, No. 7 Bishop Loughlin 65
No. 3 Christ the King 77, No. 6 Molloy 50
No. 5 Holy Cross 65, No. 4 Xaverian 37
Sunday, Feb. 15
Archdiocesan AA quarterfinals
No. 3 St. Raymond 71, No. 6 Mount St. Michael 48
No. 2 Cardinal Hayes 87, No. 7 St. Peter’s 46
No. 5 Monsignor Scanlan 62, No. 4 Iona Prep 50
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Stepinac and Cardinal Hayes to meet for CHSAA AA “City” title
Reporting by Mike Dougherty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
