NYPost.com’s CHSAA boys basketball beat writer Marc Raimondi takes a look at Friday’s Class A championship game between Iona Prep and St. Edmund Prep, set for 7:45 p.m. at Fordham University in The Bronx. For real-time Twitter updates, click here.
Iona Prep Gaels
Head coach: Vic Quirolo
Record: 22-3
Player to watch: Luke Wooters
St. Edmund Prep Eagles
Head coach: Dan Wiatre
Record: 20-6
Player to watch: Nick Grasso
Outlook: Both of these teams are going to have a lot to top. Tuesday marked one of the most exciting Class A semifinals imaginable.
St. Edmund Prep came back from 12 points down at halftime to stun Xavier. Chris Tsatsis knocked down a 3-pointer late to put the Eagles ahead for good. Matt O’Neill drained three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to set up Tsatsis’ heroics. It was an incredibly clutch performance, especially for a team that was picked to finish last in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens in the preseason by league coaches – including its own coach, Dan Wiatre.
In the nightcap, Iona coach Vic Quirolo said it best: It was a shame someone had to lose. Moore came back from down 22-4 early on and 42-27 heading into the fourth quarter to tie the game up and send it into overtime. From there, Iona Prep sophomore Isiah Ice drained a pair of 3-pointers and the Gaels gutted it out. Ice missed a trey from the corner – the same spot – as time expired in regulation that hug on the rim seemingly for minutes.
Another classic should be expected Friday night. Iona beat St. Edmund, 54-52, in a tight meeting on Jan. 10. The Eagles, though, have only lost once since then, stringing together 11 straight wins. There might not be a hotter team in the city right now and the boys from Brooklyn are playing with a ton of guts as well as heavy hearts. Jose Rodriguez, a sophomore at the school and a close friend of many St. Edmund players, died during tryouts. As every huddle breaks, they say “Jose!”
Wiatre has never won a title. He wasn’t the coach when St. Edmund won it all in 2003. Ironically, when Iona Prep took home the ‘A’ crown in 2009, Quirolo couldn’t be on the bench. He was in the hospital with an appendicitis. He doesn’t expect to have anything stand in his way Friday night.
“No excuses,” Quirolo said with a laugh.
Neither team has given any all year, Iona Prep the favorite in the preseason and St. Edmund Prep, the Cinderella story of 2011-12. Something has to give. Find out what that is Friday night in The Bronx.
