Hayes, Stepinac Still in National Poll

Cardinal Hayes and Archbishop Stepinac high schools continue to be the top boys basketball programs in the state and among the nation’s top teams.

Cardinal Hayes is ranked first in this week’s state Class AA poll compiled by the New York State Sportswriters Association and is 10th in the Max Preps national poll. Stepinac is third in the state poll and 18th in the national poll. Mount St. Michael Academy is 12th in the state poll.

In Class A, Msgr. Farrell is second in the 

Cardinal Hayes’ Ian Jackson, a 6-foot-5 small forward, is the nation’s sixth-best sophomore, according to ESPN. Stepinac’s Johnuel Fland, a 6-foot-2 point guard, is 14th in the same list of top sophomores.

In this week’s girls basketball state poll, The Ursuline School is third in the Class AA poll. Msgr. Scanlan and Our Lady of Lourdes are 18th and 29th, respectively.

St. Joseph by-the-Sea is No. 1 in the Class A poll.

Suarez Leading Dominican

Alexis Suarez is having a strong season for the Dominican College women’s basketball team.

The John F. Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School graduate is averaging 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

In November, the red-shirt sophomore guard from Poughquag averaged 18.7 points, 4.3 steals, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in three Dominican victories to earn Central Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. She scored 25 points against Southern Connecticut State, 18 points against Franklin Pierce and 13 points versus St. Anselm.

The Poughquag resident, who scored 1,900 points at Kennedy Catholic, earned a spot on the 2021 CAAC all-tournament team.

Dominican (6-7 overall), an NCAA Division II program located in Rockland County, will look to break a five-game losing streak when it plays Thursday at Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, N.J.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMINICAN COLLEGE

CYO Planning Basketball Season

CYO New York is planning to begin its basketball season Feb. 5, and the start date may change, if needed, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Click here to read the story in the current issue of Catholic New York.

Toussaint Assists Iowa

Cardinal Hayes High School graduate Joe Toussaint had six points and four assists for the University of Iowa in an 87-78 Big Ten men’s basketball loss to No. 23 Wisconsin last week.

In an 80-75 victory over Maryland, the junior guard had 10 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Toussaint is averaging 5.2 points per game this season.

Cardinal Hayes Remains No. 1

Cardinal Hayes High School remains ranked first in the state boys basketball poll released Tuesday by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

Cardinal Hayes, which is ranked 10th in Max Preps national poll, is No. 1 in the Class AA poll. Archbishop Stepinac, which is 19th in the Max Preps national poll, and Mount St. Michael Academy are third and seventh, respectively, in the state poll.

Msgr. Farrell is second in the Class A poll.

In the girls basketball polls, The Ursuline School is fourth, followed by Msgr. Scanlan at 15 and Albertus Magnus at 25 in Class AA.

In Class A, St. Joseph by-the-Sea is No. 1.

Siegrist Earns Big East Honor

Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate Maddy Siegrist led Villanova University to Big East Conference women’s basketball victories over St. John’s University and Seton Hall University, and was named the conference’s player of the week.

The Wildcats (8-5 overall, 2-2 Big East) will bring a five-game winning streak into Sunday’s 2 p.m. at Georgetown.

Siegrist finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in a 70-68 victory over St. John’s University on Jan. 2. On New Year’s Eve, the junior forward had 23 points, nine rebounds an four assists in a 76-73 win over Seton Hall University.

Siegrist is averaging 22.9 points and 9.4 rebounds in her seven games this season. She is shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line, 32 for 40. Her 22.9 points would lead the Big East if she played 75 percent of her team’s games.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

VIllanova is 5-0 since Siegrist returned from injury.

Davis Assists UNC

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate RJ Davis collected 17 points, three rebounds and three assists as the University of North Carolina defeated Boston College, 91-65, in an Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball game on Sunday.

Davis, a sophomore guard who started and played 28 minutes on Sunday, is averaging 13.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 49 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line.

North Carolina (10-3 overall) has won two ACC games since losing a nationally televised, non-conference game to the University of Kentucky in Las Vegas. The Tar Heels, winners in seven of their last eight games, will play the University of Notre Dame at 9 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

Jerome Igniting Thunder

Iona Prep graduate Ty Jerome is averaging 16 points and four assists over his last three games for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

In Friday’s victory over the visiting Knicks, the first round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 NBA Draft had 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Jerome, 24, is averaging 7.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this season.

Jerome was a starting guard for the 2019 University of Virginia Cavaliers, who won the national championship. The 24th overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft was dealt to the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns before the start of the 2019-2020 NBA season.

Citron Shines in Notre Dame Defeat

Sonia Citron finished with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team in a 72-70 loss at Duke University.

Notre Dame, ranked 17th in the AP Top 25 poll, dropped to 11-3 overall, 2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Duke, ranked 15th in the same poll, improved to 10-2 overall, 1-1 ACC.

Citron, a freshman guard and graduate of The Ursuline School, is averaging 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 27.5 minutes in 14 games this season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF USA BASKETBALL

Iona Hosts Siena on New Year’s Eve

The Iona College men’s basketball team will close out 2021 with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matinee against Siena College on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. in New Rochelle.

ESPN3 will televise the game.

The Gaels, coached by Rick Pitino, have won four in a row and are 10-2 overall, 2-0 MAAC. Iona is coming off an 11-point victory over the University of Delaware and last lost to No. 4 Kansas at Walt Disney World on Nov. 28. The Gaels upset No. 10 Alabama at Disney World, but had its game with No. 16 Seton Hall and former Iona coach Kevin Willard in the Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden postponed on Dec. 16.

Guard Tyson Jolly and forward Nelly Joseph are the team’s leading scorers at 14.4 and 14.3 points per game, respectively.