Down two starters and a key reserve, Holy Cross coach Paul Gilvary was able to get an early look at some of his first-year varsity players and how they would respond to their first real game.
The new Knights answered the call in a big way, as Holy Cross routed host Cardinal Hayes, 81-56, in both team’s season-opener Friday night in The Bronx.
Holy Cross, ranked No. 10 in the city by The Post, opened the season without starters Will Davis, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery, and Mairega Clarke, who hasn’t been cleared to practice because of high blood pressure. The Knights were also without key reserve Tayvon Moore, who sprained his ankle in a scrimmage against Lincoln last week.
“It’s not something you can worry about because there’s nothing we can do about it,” Gilvary said. “Injuries happen and that’s why everybody comes to practice every day. You never know when you’re going to get your opportunity.”
One player who seized his chance was Anthony Libroia, who started in place of Davis. The junior sharpshooter netted 14 points, shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range and had seven assists. As a team, the Knights drained nine 3-pointers, all attempts within the flow of their offense.
“He’s a very good shooter, a good ball-handler, an unselfish player,” Gilvary said of Libroia. “We play basically all the time with four guards so as long as we’re unselfish with the ball and we look for a better opportunity, we could be pretty tough to guard, I think.”
With Libroia, Ed Roscigno, Khamall Dunkley and center Marcus Hopper all knocking down shots from beyond the arc, it opened up lanes for Evan Conti and Marquise Moore to get to the basket. Conti, who struggled with his shot, finished with a game-high 21 points and added 12 rebounds and six assists, while Moore had 17 points.
“We knew guys were hurt and other guys had to step up and that’s what we did,” Moore said. “We tried to find open guys because we know we have a lot of shooters. We were shooting well tonight.”
Cardinal Hayes was also down a starter as forward Jalen Jenkins sat out because of a disciplinary suspension. The result was a trickle-down effect as Fadil Yacoubou, who would normally be a big small forward had to move inside and the Cardinals guards struggled mightily against Holy Cross.
“We just looked like we were poorly conditioned and looked like we weren’t playing as hard as they were,” Cardinal Hayes coach Joe Lods said. “As a coach, it’s the worst thing you could watch. It’s like torture. Tonight it looked like I wanted to win more than my team did.”
After falling behind early, Holy Cross went on a modest 9-0 run and led 18-12 heading into the second quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers by Dunkley and Libroia. That lead ballooned to 43-24 at the half and remained at 19 after three quarters.
The Cardinals rallied briefly at the start of the fourth quarter, cutting their deficit to 12, but Holy Cross went on a 17-2 run capped by another Libroia 3-pointer to lead 78-51 with 2:28 left.
“He just tells me to shoot it,” Libroia said of Gilvary. “He makes us go early and get some shots off before practice and just tells us to have fun and always find the open man. We have four guards on the court at all times and that’s four shooters.”
Hopper did a solid job inside, finishing with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds and made Hayes junior Amadou Sidibe work for his 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Sidibe was one of the only positives for Cardinal Hayes Friday night.
“The other bright spot was when the buzzer went off at the end of the fourth quarter,” Lods said.
Meanwhile, Holy Cross has a lot to like about an impressive season-opening win at a traditionally tough place to play.
“If we’re able to play together and shoot the ball like we did tonight, we’re going to make noise,” Conti said. “We’re on a mission this year.”
