NY Hoops: 2025 City Championships Recap

March 25, 2025 by Brian Reichert

LIU Brooklyn hosted the girls triple header on Saturday but Sunday was set up for the boys. These three games were for serious bragging rights in the city and definitely meant something to all of the programs involved. In the article the first two matchups will be broken down with an additional recap of the game everyone in the state has been waiting for. 

Sacred Heart vs Summit Academy 

The first game of the day featured the “B” State champions against one of the hottest teams in the PSAL Summit Academy. Sacred Heart got buckets early from Junior SG Kamryn Boyd and Senior PG Jayden Mercado then their star Senior F Marcus Henry started to take over the game. He put the Irish ahead but a few late hoops by Summit including multiple from Sophomore SG Justin Rodriguez gave them a slight 14-13 lead after the first quarter. 

The Irish locked down Summit in the second only giving up one bucket to Rodriguez and a few inside scores to Senior F Dimarco Dixon. Mercado hit two threes and Henry added 11 points in the quarter to give them a 34-24 lead at halftime. Henry continued to score at will, Mercado was answering any Rodriguez bucket plus Boyd hit a massive three for Sacred Heart. They kept their foot on the gas, controlled the pace, dominated the glass and took a 20 point lead into the fourth. Boyd hit free throws, Irish hit a three, Rodriguez went on a quick 7-0 run, Henry scored then Rodriguez was fouled. 

He missed the freebie, Henry converted an and-1, Dixon and Rodriguez scrambled together a late run but they ran out of gas. The Irish captured the B State title and now have bragging rights over the city as the champs. Henry was clearly the MVP with 35 points, several blocks and double digit rebounds. He was fantastic, Mercado added a big 13 while Boyd chipped in 10 along with great defense. Rodriguez battled for his 24 points and Dixon added 14 in his final game. 

St. John’s Prep vs Achievement First 

The second game featured St. John’s Prep won the A in their first season while Achievement First, a pretty young program itself, won the PSAL 3A. This was a highly anticipated matchup featuring two terrific young coaches and a lot of talent prospects. Junior G Ryan Edwards scored first for SJP, Senior G Jacob Gomez added a three, Senior F Jayden Linton answered for Achievement First but Edwards scored again. Panthers went on a nice run featuring Senior SG Xavier Beckford but Edwards scored 7 straight points. 

AF scored, Gomez hit a late three and Junior PG Daquan Bryant made two free throws to give them a 19-14 lead after the first. Edwards and Linton traded hoops, Panthers hit a three, Edwards scored on back to back plays then found a teammate for an easy two. Bryant had back to back scores, Panthers were missing a ton of threes, Edwards got another bucket then Bryant added two more free throws. SJP got another tough hoop from Edwards, they allowed back to back threes but still took a big 37-25 lead into halftime. 

Beckford converted an and-1, Panthers hit a three, SJP scored, Beckford split a pair and then Linton got free for two on back to back plays. Bryant for a teammate for two, Edwards converted an and-1, Linton scored inside, Bryant split at the line, found another teammate for a score before Beckford converted another and-1. They traded free throws, Gomez converted an and1, Beckford buried a three, Edwards and the Panthers traded hoops but Gomez added two late free throws to push the lead back to eight. 

Edwards opened the fourth with a lay up, Panthers went on a 11-0 run featuring some big shots and plays from Beckford. Bryant hit a floater, SJP got a stop, Gomez then scored forcing a Panther timeout with under 3 minutes to go. Achievement missed a triple, Bryant scored, Beckford got a three to fall, SJP threw it away but the Panthers missed some rushed deep threes. Gomez finally secured the late rebound over the Panthers, he got fouled, made both and helped his team get the last stop. St. John’s Prep secured a very solid 66-62 victory over Achievement First. Edwards easily the MVP finishing with a game high 26 points, Bryant and Gomez were both excellent with 15. Beckford is the Panthers all time leading scorer and finished with a team high 21 while Linton added a tough 12. 

Archbishop Stepinac vs Thomas Jefferson

The entire season both Archbishop Stepinac and Thomas Jefferson have dominated their league and schedule. Jefferson has had a choke hold on the PSAL suffocating teams with their pressure defense while Stepinac just captured their third straight CHSAA AA title. While these teams did officially scrimmage everyone has been waiting for these two titans to face off and they did Sunday at LIU Brooklyn. 

 Jefferson struck first with a lay up, Senior UMass commit Danny Carbuccia had back to back lay ups, Junior F Dylan Perry added two free throws for Stepinac but Junior PSAL Player of the Year Jahda Swann answered for Jeff. Carbuccia scored, Senior PG Malachi Wilson buried a three for TJ, Swann added two after a Step miss but the Crusaders made two free throws. Carbuccia had two more late buckets to give Stepinac a 14-9 lead after 1.

Swann scored first, Carbuccia responded with a bucket, Jeff scored, Perry answered then got fouled on the next possession. He went 1/2, Carbuccia got a steal, found Perry for a slam, Swann scored again then after a Step miss, Junior G Trevor Lewis got a triple to fall for the Orange. Sophomore SG Josh Rivera answered with a three for the Crusaders, Senior PG Connor Sprattley finally got on the board for two then found a teammate for two. The lead was down to just two, Stepinac buried a three, Wilson hit a floater, Rivera scored and Step added a free throw to take a 30-24 lead into halftime. 

Perry struck first after some misses, Sprattley went 1/2 at the line, Step scored, Swann answered but Perry finished a tough lay up plus got fouled. He missed, Jeff threw it away, Stepinac scored, Swann made two free throws, Crusaders missed, then fouled Thomas Jefferson. They went 1/2, Sprattley got a three to fall, Step missed and Wilson scored forcing a Crusader timeout with 2:48 left in the third. Junior G Hassan Koureissi converted an and1, Jeff missed, Rivera canned a three, Jeff threw it away, Step split at the line, Lewis converted an and1 but Step added another free throw. 

Jefferson cut the lead down in the third but a huge fourth foul on Swann allowed Step to make a run. The staff put Swann back in early in the fourth and after a few misses Swann quickly picked up his fifth foul disqualifying him. Lewis hit two free throws, Jefferson’s bench was called for a technical foul, Koureissi made both then found Carbuccia for a huge three. TJ turned it over, Koureissi added two more free throws, Jeff missed, Perry scored, Jeff missed again and Koureissi added two more. The Wave started to fall apart when Lewis added two free throws and Wilson knocked down a big three.

Rivera drilled a three for Stepinac, Jeff scored, Sprattley got a steal, buried a three then found a cutting Lewis for two plus he got fouled. Stepinac missed, Jeff did too but a turnover in the Crusaders back court lead to a three from Wilson to cut it 62-56 with 2:39 left. Koureissi continued a strong second half with a big score, Jeff missed but Sprattley stole the ball for two then Wilson got fouled shooting a three. He made all three, Koureissi made two, Jeff missed, Perry went 1/2 then Sprattley hit a bomb to cut it to 3 with 10 seconds left. 

Kouressi secured the inbound, got fouled, made both and Sprattley rolled the ball in. He hit another three but the time had run out as Stepinac won 69-67. Head Coach Pat Massaroni had all of the right adjustments and just continues to make history. Koureissi was named MVP after a superb second half where he finished with 15 points. Carbuccia was huge with 15 as well, Perry was big adding 14 and Rivera chipped in 11. Sprattley and Swann were held to their lowest combined total all year with 29 points. Wilson was tough with 16 while Lewis added 13. While the result isn’t what Jeff wanted they still had an unbelievable season and their staff should definitely be recognized for that.