Stepinac Downs St. Ray's 89-80 in White Plains

| 01/18/2025

By: Steven Schwankert

The Crusaders’ Danny Carbuccia passed 500 career assists in the win over a Bronx rival

Archbishop Stepinac's Darius Ratliff (13) and St. Raymond's Ibrahima Camara (33) jump for the ball at the start of the Friday, January 17, game.
Archbishop Stepinac's Darius Ratliff (13) and St. Raymond's Ibrahima Camara (33) jump for the ball at the start of the Friday, January 17, game. Stepinac won, 89-80. Photo by Steven Schwankert/The Good Newsroom

What a difference 10 days makes.

Although the Archbishop Stepinac High School Crusaders won both meetings with Bronx rival St. Raymond High School for Boys Ravens, Friday night’s incarnation of Stepinac was smoother, more relaxed, and tighter in the 89-80 win.

Unlike Stepinac’s 67-64 victory on January 7 at St. Ray’s, the Crusaders played as a cohesive unit throughout and didn’t dig themselves a double-digit hole that required a second half comeback.

Stepinac Senior Danny Carbuccia wrote himself into his school’s basketball record books during the game, surpassing 500 career assists. 

After some initial back and forth between the two teams, St. Ray’s started to wobble after the Ravens’ senior guard Brandon Stores Jr. was called for a technical foul for slapping the ball away during a change of possession. It was a strange misstep from Stores, who finished as his team’s — and the game’s — top scorer with 30 points. St. Ray’s led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter.

The team effort that drove Stepinac throughout the contest came to life in the second quarter. During the game eight players scored for the Crusaders, including five in double digits. The home team led 41-31 at the half, with 6’11 junior Darius Ratliff stufing home three straight dunks in the second quarter.

Unlike the numerous scorers that contributed to the Ravens’ close loss 10 days earlier, St. Ray’s scoring was largely limited to Stores Jr., junior Ibrahima Camara, and senior Tai Turnage, with the trio contributing the bulk of their team’s points. 

In the second half, the Crusaders led by as much as 19. Things got heated in the fourth quarter, when St. Ray’s Coach Jorge Lopez, furious over what he saw as fouls on Turnage that went uncalled, drew his team’s second technical of the night. Although the Ravens got as close as six points, the home crowd never worried down the stretch. The final score was 89-80.
 
Adonis Ratliff led Stepinac with 21 points. Jasiah Jervis had 17, and Darius Ratliff added 14 for the Crusaders.

Stepinac, having now won seven in a row, travels to Springfield, Massachusetts, on Sunday to play Richmond Heights, Ohio, in the Hoophall Classic at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. St. Ray’s takes on the Eagle Academy Eagles of Brooklyn on Monday afternoon.
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