The Panthers used a strong third quarter push to take the advantage and never looked back as they led the entirety of the second half after breaking a 32-all tie at halftime.
After St. Frances Academy jumped ahead 46-34 following a 14-2 spurt to begin the second half, it appeared Archbishop Stepinac had gotten back into the contest after it countered with an 8-0 run to make things 46-42 mid-way through the quarter.
However, St. Frances Academy kept their foot on the pedal to go on a 9-0 run before four-star USC signee
Adonis Ratliff nailed a 3-pointer just before the end of the period to cut the deficit to 55-45 entering the final quarter.
Jones, senior
Carter Fisk and junior
Chance McCoy each knocked down triples for the Panthers to spark the nine-point swing late in the third.
Junior guard Chance McCoy knocked down a big third-quarter 3-pointer during a 9-0 run as St. Frances Academy knocked off No. 1 Archbishop Stepinac 67-58 on Saturday. (PHOTO: Kim Kravitz)
Although the top-ranked Crusaders were able to muck things up on the defensive end in the fourth quarter, holding SFA to just 11 points, they were unable to find a rhythm on the offensive end and could not cut the deficit below nine points for the final eight minutes.
Senior
Anthony Smith was a key cog in the victory for the Panthers, finishing with 18 points in the win.
Archbishop Stepinac began the season ranked No. 1 in the Preseason
MaxPreps Top 25 after winning 21 of its final 22 games to close out last
season.
The Crusaders finished their 2024-25
campaign ranked No. 24 in the final MaxPreps Top 25 with a record of
26-4. The Crusaders are 44-2 against New York opponents over the past
two seasons and have captured three consecutive Class AA City
championships.
St. Frances Academy has now knocked off the nationally-ranked Crusaders in back-to-back seasons following a 59-58 victory last year. The Panthers move to 4-1 on the year with their lone loss coming against Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Baltimore, Md.) earlier in the week.
SFA looks to continue their momentum into Monday when they travel to Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore. Md.).
Archbishop Stepinac (0-1) returns to the court for a conference showdown at Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) on Friday.
Top 40 Michigan State signee
Jasiah Jervis finished with a team-high 20 points in the loss. Ratliff chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots.
Terence Jones III finished with a game-high 23 points and knocked down three shots from long distance. (PHOTO: Kim Kravitz)
Senior guard Anthony Smith chipped in 18 points in the signature victory for the Panthers. (PHOTO: Kim Kravitz)
