The Archdiocese of New York’s Archbishop Stepinac High School Crusaders and Cardinal Hayes High School Cardinals will play Sunday for the intersectional, or city, boys’ basketball “AA” final, in a repeat of the archdiocesan title game on February 23. Stepinac won that game, 67-51.

 

In the first game of the intersectional semifinals, Hayes took down Monsignor Scanlan High School, 71-49, with sophomore guard Brice Yancey and junior center Amadou Barry both scoring more than 20 points. With a halftime score of 42-24 in Hayes’ favor, the second half was largely a scrimmage for the Cardinals, a young team with its best days ahead of it, thanks to Yancey, Barry, and All-Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) first-team player Malik Fields, all of whom will return for 2026-27.

 

Senior Javan Webb’s unselfish play on the losing side saw him grab an incredible 17 rebounds during his final appearance in a Scanlan singlet.

 

 

The second game featured a recent, rare sight of late: Stepinac trailing a local opponent, at least briefly. Matched up against Flushing, Queens’ Holy Cross Knights, the only Diocese of Brooklyn team in the intersectional final four, Stepinac struggled early in the first half to find focus. Holy Cross poked holes in the Crusaders’ zone defense, taking the lead at points in the first period and early in the second. The first half ended with an uncomfortable 37-27 Stepinac lead.

 

Compounding the White Plains’ team’s worries was the exit of the Crusaders’ and league’s most valuable player, Jasiah Jervis, who sat with an ankle injury after the first quarter. Jervis didn’t even warm up for the second half.

 

 

Stepinac fans who traveled to Fordham University’s Rose Hill Gymnasium, site of the intersectional semi-finals and finals, need not have worried. Rock-solid bench performances from Josh Rivera, whose 20 points included a stylish three-pointer late in the third quarter that put the game out of Holy Cross’ reach for good, and senior Jack Coco, who was an absolute defensive bulldog against the Queens team, were more than enough for a 76-54 win. Darius Ratliff led his team with 23 points and five assists.

 

Hayes and Stepinac will reconvene at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, for the intersectional title game, also at Fordham. Hayes will be looking to out-muscle the current titleholders, who are now two games away from winning the archdiocesan, intersectional, and all-city titles (versus the Public School Athletic League champion) for the second year in a row.