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Basketball: St. Francis Prep surges past Iona Prep in CHSAA AA city quarterfinals

eugene rapay, rockland/westchester journal news
·4 min read

BRONX - Iona Prep was down by four at halftime against St. Francis Prep and with CHSAA AA Most Valuable Player Josh Pascarelli held in check thanks to a solid gameplan by the Gaels, Iona Prep seemed to be in relatively good position to make its run after the break.

Unfortunately for Iona Prep, the Terriers' freshman forward, Oesoemana Sacko, had other plans. He stepped up in a big way, finishing with a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double on 12-of-19 shooting to help spearhead a second-half surge that allowed St. Francis Prep to pull away for a 75-54 win in the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham on Sunday night.

"He had 16 points in the first half, made multiple threes, he was dominant," Iona Prep coach Steve Alvarado said of Sacko. "He was dominant, and that got them back in the game. They got the Catholic League Player of the Year (in Pascarelli), we know he's good, but we didn't expect him to have 16 points in one half. That was a gut punch for us and forced us to kind of change the way we wanted to play ourselves."

Iona Prep's Lucas Morillo (11, red) tries to drive past St. Francis Prep's Nigel Moore (11, white) during the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham University on March 5, 2023.
Iona Prep's Lucas Morillo (11, red) tries to drive past St. Francis Prep's Nigel Moore (11, white) during the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham University on March 5, 2023.

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St. Francis Prep opened the second half with an 8-0 run in the first few minutes to push its lead into double figures.

"We never recovered from that," Alvarado said of the second-half flurry.

While Sacko single-handedly succeeded, the rest of the floor started to open up for his teammates, and the Terriers surged throughout the second half, eventually leading by as much as 24 points.

The Terriers were unrelenting on both ends of the court and hardly looked back.

"We were moving the ball, playing as a team defending them pretty well, but then the second half just got away from us," Iona Prep senior A.J. Rodriguez said. "We didn't come out successful, but we had a solid season. I don't really know (what went wrong). I feel like we probably could have hit more shots, maybe played together a little bit more, but they played us really well, so I can't really say much."

Iona Prep's A.J. Rodriguez (red) is fouled while driving to the basket during the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham University on March 5, 2023.
Iona Prep's A.J. Rodriguez (red) is fouled while driving to the basket during the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham University on March 5, 2023.

What it means

Iona Prep had defeated St. Francis Prep on the road, 72-64, back on Feb. 7. Pascarelli led the Terriers with 22 points in that previous meeting, while Sacko was limited to just five points, but it was a very different result in Sunday's rematch.

The Terriers avenged the loss and ended the Gaels' season in the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals.

Player of the game

Oesoemana Sacko, St. Francis Prep: He didn't look like a freshman. Sacko scored from nearly anywhere on the court, finishing inside, but also knocking down mid-range and three-point shots. Sacko never slowed down once he got going and finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal.

St. Francis Prep Oesoemana Sacko (25, white) puts up a shot during the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham University on March 5, 2023.
St. Francis Prep Oesoemana Sacko (25, white) puts up a shot during the CHSAA AA city quarterfinals at Fordham University on March 5, 2023.

By the numbers

St. Francis Prep (18-8) — Josh Pascarelli had 12 points. Vere Anthony chipped in seven points, four boards, 11 assists and four steals. Tyler Michel had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, while Nigel Moore had 12 points, five boards and two blocks.

Iona Prep (17-11) — Johnny Keenan led the Gaels with 13 points and two steals. Blaise New finished with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Lucas Morillo chipped in nine points and five rebounds. Alex Bryant and A.J. Rodriguez each had eight points.

They said it

"I think we had a really fantastic season," Rodriguez said. "Shoutout to the coaches and my teammates, hopefully they come back and be here next year."

"Everyone for the most part, except for one team, has to lose and unfortunately we lost earlier than we wanted, but we had a great year," Alvarado said. "We had a lot of great memories, a lot of excellent wins. We were one of the best teams in the Catholic League, if not, the state, so they have a lot of good things to draw on. It stings right now, but when they go back and reflect on it, we had a really memorable year."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: CHSAA basketball city playoffs: St. Francis Prep surges past Iona Prep