Archbishop Stepinac High School’s Patrick Massaroni repeated as Coach of the Year for Catholic High School Athletic Association’s (CHSAA) “AA” boys basketball, and four archdiocesan players were named First Team All-League, the association announced Sunday.

Stepinac senior Danny Carbuccia and teammate Jasiah Jervis, a junior, represented the White Plains school on the list. Joining them were St. Raymond’s High School for Boys’ standout senior Brandon Stores Jr. and Iona Preparatory School senior Johnny Keenan. The other First Team players are from high schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

The all-league teams were announced before and during the first round of the archdiocesan playoff games, which took place Sunday, February 16, at Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, the host for the 2025 tournament.

Top seed Stepinac had a bye and the long weekend off, although Massaroni attended to scout the day’s first game, Cardinal Hayes High School vs. St. Peter’s Boys High School. Hayes led 35-19 at the half, and the 71-62 final score made the game look closer than it was, despite some fine play by St. Peter’s.

In the day’s best matchup, St. Ray’s faced Monsignor Scanlan High School in a game where both teams left the floor frustrated. This contest amounted to a team that has played below its potential all season – St. Ray’s – against a team that was playing up to, and perhaps beyond, its potential in Scanlan. Scanlan’s players may look back at this game and wonder if they could have won it. St. Ray’s players, except for Georgia Tech-bound Stores Jr., will think of this game and wonder why it was so difficult. Tied 39-39 at the half, St. Ray’s relied on Stores Jr. and Second Team All-League senior Tai Turnage for most of their point, although they should have enough talent to go around. The Ravens won it 61-53 and now face Iona Prep, a team with which they split their two-season league games.

Iona Prep is this season’s most fun team to watch. Coach Tim Philp’s team looks a bit like the New York Knicks of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their passing flows and their players are unselfish with the ball. Their strength – and weakness – lies in their reliance on three-point shooting. It’s an interesting strategy, considering how well this team rebounds. Shooting from the outside has worked well against some teams, like their Sunday opponent Mount Saint Michael, but not necessarily against others, like Stepinac. Iona Prep’s starters were already resting on the bench by the start of the fourth quarter as they brushed Mount aside, 77-56. Johnny Keenan made the First Team All-League, and sophomore Dillon Callahan was named to the Second Team, but one wonders if it shouldn’t have been the other way around. CHSAA fans should be happy they get to watch Callahan for two more years before he makes the college leap.

In the semi-finals on Tuesday, again at Mount Saint Michael, Iona Prep faces St. Ray’s at 5:30 p.m., and Cardinal Hayes takes on Stepinac at 7:30 p.m.