Sunday was reckoning day for six top Catholic high schools' boys' basketball teams of the New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) facing off in the league's quarterfinal playoffs.
In the first game, host St. Raymond's High School for Boys downed Staten Island's St. Peter's Boys High School, 67-55. Archbishop Stepinac High School then defeated Mount Saint Michael Academy 72-55 in the second matchup. Ben Lyttle led his team's scoring with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists; national prospect Boogie Fland scored 13 points with six assists, and four steals; and Dylan Perry had 12 points with six rebounds. Stepinac was coming off two straight losses to end their regular season, including to playoff top seed Cardinal Hayes High School. In Sunday's final game, Iona Preparatory edged Monsignor Scanlan High School 63-62, with a last-second block by A.J. Rodriguez to seal the win. Iona Prep advances to Tuesday evening's semi-finals against Stepinac. Iona Prep defeated Stepinac just over a week ago, 44-42, in one of the season's most exciting games. Sunday's quarterfinals were played at St. Raymond's, in the Parkchester section of the Bronx.Cardinal Hayes High School, as the playoffs' number one seed, earned a bye for the quarterfinal round, and now faces St. Raymond Tuesday evening. Both the semi-finals and finals will be played at Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, with the finals slated for Saturday, February 25.
The semi-finals will feature two of the country's top prospects: Cardinal Hayes's Ian Jackson, who committed to the University of North Carolina earlier this month; and Stepinac standout Boogie Fland, who has yet to commit, although the University of Alabama and Syracuse University are believed to be pursuing the point guard fervently.