Stepinac makes CHSAA history with fourth straight intersectional win
NEW YORK – Stepinac collected its well-earned hardware, lined up for a team photo and collectively raised four spindly fingers skyward.
It’s not something you see very often.
The Crusaders, in fact, became the first team in the nearly 100 years of the CHSAA to win four straight AA Intersectional championships Sunday when they posted a 72-59 win over Cardinal Hayes at Fordham University.
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“Oh, man, it’s a blessing,” Michigan State signee Jasiah Jervis said. “What a great feeling. After we got the first championship I came back with a mindset to get three more. I wanted to end the season with a fourth and we got it.”
Stepinac went undefeated against league opponents this season.
“Holding up four fingers, that’s crazy,” said Fordham commit Hassan Koureissi. “I wasn’t sure what to expect coming in here today but doing it again and playing here at Rose Hill where I’ll be next season, it makes everything that much better.”
St. Francis Prep (1955-57), Power Memorial (1963-65), Tolentine (1980-82) and Christ the King (2013-15) are on the short list of CHSAA teams with three-peats in the “City” final.
“I think some of the players understand the significance of making history, I think some won’t fully understand it until they get older,” Crusaders head coach Pat Massaroni said. “Shoot, I don’t know if in the moment I completely get what they’ve done. I brought the program from the semifinals to practice on Friday and went through all of the winners and the coaches and the MVPs since 1928, and there are some special names and special teams in there. Now this group is part of that history and nobody will ever take that from them.”
Turning point
The pace was almost breakneck in the first half. Darius Ratliff got the Crusaders going then Adonis Ratliff took over. Stepinac was up 37-27 at the half. There was an emphasis on running more settled offensive sets after the break and that’s when the Crusaders began to dominate. Hayes just didn’t have the wherewithal to match up with 14 feet of Ratliffs. The USC-bound twins sparked a decisive 18-9 run to close the third quarter along with Josh Rivera to give Stepinac a 59-41 lead heading into the fourth.
Box score
Cardinal Hayes (21-9): Amadou Barry 7P, 6R; Hector Almodovar 2P, 4A; Malik Fields 16P, 4R, 3A; Bryce Yancy 24P, 7R, 3A; Christian Brown 10P, 6R.
Stepinac (25-4): Darius Ratliff 12P, 11R, 3A; Dylan Perry 9P; Adonis Ratliff 21P, 8R, 4A, 4B; Hassan Koureissi 17P, 4R, 5A; Jasiah Jervis 10P, 3R, 5A; Josh Rivera 12P, 3R.
Takeaways
Too much talent can sometimes be an obstacle, but it’s never been an issue for Stepinac, which speaks to the patience and character of this group. There are six Division I players in the rotation. There’s not enough possessions in 32 minutes for all of them to fill up the scorebook, so they figure out game to game who’s on and go that way. And there’s no hesitation.
“I feel like we’ve gotten really good at adapting,” said Koureissi, who along with Jervis made a point to facilitate. “We all understand it’s not always going to be your night. We’ve got three McDonald’s All-Americans and then me and Dylan and Josh coming off the bench with the ability to hit six 3s any game. We did a great job handling all of that. If it was your night, we were going to feed you.”
It would be a mistake to believe winning this championship was easy. Stepinac had to shuffle the lineup several times while starters dealt with injury or illness. There were logistics to juggle while playing a national schedule, too.
“Winning is hard and to do it four years in a row, it’s a truly remarkable achievement by this group,” Massaroni added. “I know how much they have sacrificed this season and I’m so happy for them right now.”
All-tournament
Payton Wilson (Holy Cross); Jamal Jordan (Scanlan); Bryce Yancy (Hayes); Adonis Ratliff (Stepinac); Amadou Barry (Hayes); Hassan Koureissi (Stepinac). MVP: Darius Ratliff.
Live blog
Stepinac (24-4) vs. Cardinal Hayes (21-8)
Teams are warming up. We're about 20 minutes from getting started. Stay tuned.
Starting lineups
Hayes: Hector Almodovar; Malik Fields; Bryce Yancy; Christian Brown; Amadou Barry.
Stepinac: Darius Ratliff; Adonis Ratliff; Hassan Koureissi; Dylan Perry; Jasiah Jervis.
First quarter
Bryce Yancy corner 3 gives Hayes a 3-2 lead with 6:20 to go in the quarter. Stepinac has two early turnovers. ... Darius Ratliff takes outlet from Adonis Ratliff and throws down a thunderous dunk. ... Christian Brown hits a triple and it's a 6-6 game with 4:37 left. ... Crusaders do have Jasiah Jervis back in the lineup. The Michigan State commit suffered an ankle injury a week ago and was out on Wednesday for the semifinals. ... Stepinac is beginning to dial up the pace. Dylan Perry scores on the run to give the Crusaders a 12-9 edge with 2:30 to go in the first. ... The Cardinals are having turnover issues now. ... Adonis Ratliff at the line again. Makes one. Stepinac is up four. End 1: Stepinac 17, Hayes 13.
Second quarter
Crusaders having a few selfish moments to start the quarter. Coming up empty on a pair of transition chances where an extra pass gets a high-percentage shot. ... Josh Rivera with a four-point play. Stepinac leads 21-13 with 6:26 to go in the half and Adonis Ratliff follows that with an 80 mph breakaway layup. Time out Hayes. ... Bryce Yancy ends the run with the and-one. ... Crusaders are working to get stops and running. Jervis with a tap-in makes it a 29-15 lead with 4:26 to go. ... Brown has the Cardinals back in this, 29-22. Stepinac is looking for highlights and forcing the issue on the offensive end. ... Darius Ratliff, "Yo, we have to slow down," after the second straight outlet pass lands way too deep and out of bounds. ... Adonis Ratliff and Jervis on the run, twice, It's a 35-22 lead. Halftime: Stepinac 37, Hayes 27.
Adonis Ratliff has 13 points and four assists to lead Stepinac. Darius Ratliff, Jervis and Rivera all have six. Crusaders have forced 10 turnovers and are shooting 47% from the field. Bryce Yancy leads Hayes with eight points. Amadou Barry and Brown have seven apiece. Cardinals are shooting 36% from the field.
Third quarter
Brown opens the half with a set play 3 from the top of the key and it's a 37-30 gap. ... Jervis with a drop pass for an easy Perry bucket and it's a 41-30 lead for the Crusaders two minutes into the half. ... Trading buckets now. ... Yancy scores. Darius Ratliff answers. Stepinac is up 45-34 with 3:53 to go. ... The Crusaders are taking a beat and getting settled on the offensive end this half. ... Adonis Ratliff with a kick-out 3. Offensive rebound and setup came from Darius Ratliff. Stepinac is up 16 with 2:51 to go in the quarter. ... Rivera with back-to-back 3s. He's really heated up the last month of the season. Crusaders have a 56-38 advantage in final minute. ... Adonis Ratliff applies the exclamation point with a long NBA triple just before the buzzer. End 3: Stepinac 59, Cardinal Hayes 41.
Fourth quarter
It's showtime now. Jervis attacks the rim with a couple of moves. Perry gets the and-one on a break. Stepinac has a 66-43 lead. ... Crusaders are using clock, running set plays. Adonis Ratliff gets to the line and makes it a 70-52 cushion with four minutes left. ... Jervis on a blow by and it's a 20-point lead. ... Stepinac clears the bench and brings off the starters to a loud ovation with 59.7 seconds left. ... The Crusaders are now the only team in CHSAA history with four straight City titles. St. Francis Prep, Power Memorial, Tolentine and Christ the King all had three in a row. Final: Stepinac 72, Hayes 59.
Mike Dougherty covers high school basketball for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Stepinac makes CHSAA history with fourth straight Intersectional win
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