By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
STAMFORD, Conn. – The hype surrounding the Trinity Catholic Crusaders and Stamford Black Knights was unprecedented for the city of Stamford in recent years, and when the two teams got together for their boys basketball showdown Wednesday night at SHS, they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Playing before a crowd of more than 1,200 in Stamford’s Kuczo gymnasium, the top-ranked Crusaders overcame a furious third-quarter rally by the home Knights and went on to win, 67-62.
Junior Remy Pinson sparked the Crusaders with a pair of 3-pointers after Stamford had taken a 43-39 lead late in the third quarter. The two treys gave Trinity a 45-43 lead and began a 25-13 lead which gave the Crusaders the lead for good.
The victory solidified the Crusaders’ grip in the top spot in the FCIAC standings, as they improved to 12-0 in league play and 14-0 overall. Stamford fell to 10-1 in the FCIAC and 12-1 overall, while Bridgeport Central moved up to second place with a record of 11-0 in the league and 12-1 overall.
Central will host Stamford on Friday, Feb. 13, before squaring off with the Crusaders at Trinity Catholic in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Hilltoppers also have Greenwich (10-3 overall, 8-3 FCIAC) and Staples (10-4, 8-4) remaining in their final six games.
Trinity has a tough final four games, with Greenwich, Staples, St. Joseph (9-4, 8-3) and Central remaining, while Stamford has just three teams with winning FCIAC records remaining on the schedule: St. Joseph, Central and Bassick (7-5).
After the top three, the remainder of the FCIAC playoff picture is wide open, with Harding, St. Joseph and Greenwich all tied for fourth with 8-3 league marks, Staples next at 8-4, and Bassick and Danbury currently tied for the eighth spot at 7-5. New Canaan (6-6) and Trumbull (5-6) are also lurking just outside the bubble.
Trinity and Stamford put on a show Wednesday night in a possible preview of the FCIAC championship game in March.
The Crusaders led 29-21 at halftime before the Knights went on a remarkable 22-10 run to take a four-point lead late in the third quarter. Trinity’s Pinson, however, finished the third quarter with a 3-point basket and opened the fourth with another trey to begin the decisive rally. He also capped the ensuing 23-15 run with another 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 64-56 advantage.
Stamford senior guard Chris Evans netted a game-high 25 points, but the combination of Trinity seniors Tevin Baskin and Eric Jean-Guillaume was too much as the pair scored 45 points — Baskin with 24 and Jean-Guillaume with 21. Baskin also had nine rebounds. Pinson finished with 11 points, while Takari Smalls and Ryan Adkins had four each.
For Stamford, senior point guard Michael Tiscia had 10 points, while Cordell Booker, Mark Ellis and Marc Guirand had six each.
The win was the 13th straight for the Crusaders against the Knights. Stamford last won a game in the sries back in 1997.
More Boys Basketball: Harding rains 3s in win over St. Joe’s
The Warren Harding Presidents bounced back from a loss to Bridgeport Central with an 89-76 victory over the St. Joseph Cadets in Bridgeport on Wednesday night. The win allowed Harding to leapfrog over St. Joe’s and into fourth place in the standings, as Harding now owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against Greenwich and St. Joe’s.
The Presidents hit a dozen 3-pointers against the Cadets, including seven from senior guard Mike Davis, who finished with a game-best 25 points. Harding also had three 3-pointers from junior guard Jermaine Campbell, who scored 15 points. Junior guard Laquan Mendenhall scored 13, and seniors Devon Pratt and Devon Armstrong had 10 apiece, as the Presidents had five players score in double figures.
Harding trailed 39-37 at halftime, but outscored the Cadets 31-22 in the third quarter and 52-35 in the second half to get the victory.
Junior guard Greg Langston scored 21 points to lead St. Joe’s, while sophomore center Oscar Assie added 19 and senior Kyle Walker scored 16.
Stratford remains perfect in SWC
Over in the SWC, the Stratford Red Devils remained undefeated at 13-0 overall with a 68-49 win over Immaculate on Wednesday. The Devils received a 19-point performance from Brandon Sherrod, 16 points from Russell Payton and 10 points from Howard Jefferson.
Immaculate (9-4) also had three players score in double figures, as Chris Bader had 13 points, and Ryan Nolan and Mark LaPorte had 11 each.
Stratford, which has already defeated league rival Bunnell (9-4), 54-42, this season, has a couple of big home games on tap: Notre Dame-Fairfield (10-3) on Feb. 10, and Kolbe Cathedral (8-5) on Feb. 20.
Kolbe was upended by the Bunnell Bulldogs 72-69 on Wednesday night in Stratford, as Terrell Coward racked up 34 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. Chris Rosario added 10 points in the win.
For Kolbe, Ronnie Underwood and Max Boynton each scored 20 points, and Dominique Langston had 16 in defeat.
Notre Dame-Fairfield improved to 10-3 with a 40-point smashing of Oxford on Wednesday, 94-54. The win was a nice rebound for the Lancers, who fell to Kolbe 81-71 last Friday. Greg DeSantis had 18 points to lead Notre Dame, while Jim Hock had 14, Arkel Miles had 12 and Tom Bajda had 11.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com
