St. Raymond Boys is 1-9 against Archbishop Stepinac since January of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The St. Raymond Boys Ravens will square off against the Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders at 1:00 p.m. One thing working in St. Raymond Boys' favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five contests.
St. Raymond Boys is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New York's top teams: Iona Prep, who was ranked 15th at the time (St. Raymond Boys was ranked ninth). St. Raymond Boys claimed a resounding 73-38 victory over Iona Prep.
NaJay Bess
| 02/18/25 @ Iona Prep | 23 |
| 02/16/25 vs Monsignor Scanlan | 3 |
| 02/11/25 vs Holy Cross | 13 |
| 02/09/25 @ Monsignor Scanlan | 10 |
| 02/07/25 vs Cardinal Hayes | 5 |
| + 18 more games |
NaJay Bess and Tai Turnage were among the main playmakers for St. Raymond Boys as the former went 10-for-14 to rack up 23 points and the latter went 7-for-12 on his way to 21 points and five assists. That's the most points Bess has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Brandon Stores, Jr., who earned ten points.
They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: St. Raymond Boys was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Archbishop Stepinac rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They took down the Cardinals 77-62. The win continues a trend for the Crusaders in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won six in a row.
Archbishop Stepinac's win came from a few key players St. Raymond Boys will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Danny Carbuccia, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists. Another player making a difference was Jasiah Jervis, who went 7-for-11 en route to 19 points and five boards.
St. Raymond Boys has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-11 record this season. Archbishop Stepinac's record now sits at 21-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Raymond Boys has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Archbishop Stepinac struggles in that department as they've been averaging 39.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
St. Raymond Boys came up short against Archbishop Stepinac in their previous matchup back in January, falling 89-80. Can St. Raymond Boys avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
