CHSAA boys basketball beat writer Dylan Butler breaks down the Class A intersectional quarterfinals being played at Mount St. Michael on Saturday.
Here’s the schedule:
1 p.m. – St. Joseph by the Sea vs. Mount St. Michael
2:45 p.m. – Bishop Ford vs. Cardinal Hayes
4:15 p.m. – Monsignor McClancy vs. Archbishop Stepinac
6 p.m. – Xavier vs. Iona Prep
St. Joseph by the Sea Vikings
Record: 16-9
Head coach: Scott Welle
Player to watch: Joe Stabach
Mount St. Michael Mountaineers
Record: 20-4
Head coach: Tom Fraher
Player to watch: Peter Aguilar
Outlook: St. Joseph by the Sea senior guard Joe Stabach said he loves playing on the court at Mount St. Michael and his numbers certainly indicate that. He scored 22 points against Cardinal Spellman in a first-round game and then netted 26 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in an overtime win against St. Edmund there in the second round.
Peter Aguilar likes playing there, too. The Mount junior, who earlier this season reached the 1,000-point plateau, is averaging 26.4 points per game and is a big reason why the Mountaineers are a favorite to advance to the Class A final. Led by Gary Acquah and Brian McMahon, Mount is big, physical and has a huge advantage inside, while Aguilar will also create a matchup problem for the Vikings.
Sea, with its five-guard lineup, is difficult to defend because it spreads the floor so well and everyone in the starting lineup is dangerous from outside.
Bishop Ford Falcons
Record: 18-6
Head coach: John Infortunio
Player to watch: Matt Hall
Cardinal Hayes Cardinals
Head coach: Joe Lods
Player to watch: Nay-Quan Bloomer
Outlook: The last time Bishop Ford stepped on the court at Mount the Falcons were thoroughly embarrassed, losing to the Mountaineers, 75-47, on the final day of the regular season. Will that provide a wake-up call for Ford, which played in each of the last two Class A finals? The answer comes Saturday. Hall and Justyn McMichael is a dangerous backcourt tandem and while the Falcons no doubt miss Kamari Murphy inside, Ford can bang the boards with almost anyone.
Lods was questioning his team’s toughness and the Cardinals responded in a big way with a second-round overtime win against Fordham Prep, thanks in part to a buzzer-beating banked 3-pointer by Davon Sylvester at the end of regulation. Bloomer, who averages 17 points per game, can score in bunches and Hayes is athletic and young inside.
Monsignor McClancy Crusaders
Head coach: Don Kent
Record: 12-12
Player to watch: Brandon Rivera
Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
Record: 15-10
Head coach: Tim Philp
Player to watch: Conroy Baltimore
Outlook: Archbishop Stepinac flexed its muscles and pushed around Monsignor Farrell in a 68-53 second-round victory Tuesday in The Bronx. While Baltimore, who might be the best big man left in this tournament, is a dominant force in the paint, Stepinac is far from a one-man team. Rich Whitten, a physical guard who averages 10 points per game, Kadeem Francis and James Chillemi are all dangerous.
Brandon Rivera was the lone returning player with any varsity experience for McClancy and while the 6-foot-5 senior is averaging 12 points per game, versatile Patrick Modzelewski has been a revelation, leading the squad with 15.6 points per game. Both will have to play well and the Crusaders backcourt of Jordan Tripp and Calvin Lewis is going to have to protect the ball and limit turnovers to give McClancy a chance to win.
Xavier Knights
Record: 15-8
Head coach: Joe McGrane
Player to watch: Eddie Sullivan
Iona Prep Gaels
Record: 20-4
Head coach: Vic Quirolo
Player to watch: Brian Voelkel
Outlook: Every year Iona Prep and Xavier meet during the regular season. That is, except for this year. The Gaels wanted to take their non-conference schedule up a notch and there was no room for the Knights, which led to some good-natured ribbing from McGrane.
“I teased Vic that he ducked us,” he said.
Iona Prep is the clear-cut favorite. Not just against Xavier, which defeated archrival Regis in double overtime in the second round, but to repeat as Class A intersectional champions. Iona has size, strength, toughness and quickness and the most dominant player in the ‘A’ in 6-foot-5 Voelkel, who will join teammate Sandro Carissimo at the University of Vermont next year.
Xavier, which has received solid performances throughout the year by Gallagher, Euroy Smith and Bobby Bruns, who beat the buzzer to score the winning basket against Regis. The Knights should come into the game loose, since expectation is squarely on the shoulders of the visitors.
“It’s going to be a good challenge,” Sullivan said. “We look forward to it.”
