By Zach Smart
White Plains, NY–With Stepinac holding an insurmountable 25-point second half lead, Class of 2024 guard Boogie Fland buried a transition 3-pointer, as the undermanned and overwhelmed Christ The King Royals’ collective exasperation was on overload.
On the ensuing possession, Fland dribbled through and around a defender and got loose, splashing an 18-foot step-back jumper.
This sequence, as Stepinac piled on what was projected to be a sheer slugfest, was emblematic of the entire Friday evening.
Fland didn’t need a recent McDonald’s All-American selection to prove himself as one of the country’s elite. His performance did that on its own.
.The 6-foot-4 Bronx native and Kentucky-commit scored 25 points, grabbed eight boards, and doled out four assists, catapulting Stepinac to a wire to wire 99-64 home bludgeoning of Christ The King Friday night.
Before a crowd which included famed actor/director Chaz Palminteri, former St. John’s assistant coach Shoes Vetrone, Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway and former Manhattan coach Barry “Slice” Rohrssen, Stepinac thrived. Relative scoring balance and a hailstorm of 3-pointers were the overwhelming factors.
After the two teams exchanged jabs early in the first, the Crusaders seized a momentum surge. Stepinac withstood a 9-2 Christ The King run, fueled by a 3-pointer from 6-foot-10 Class of 2024 Qin Pang and consecutive long range shots from 2025 guard Jayden Ramirez (who finished with 19 points).
Class of 2026 guard Jasiah Jervis (16 points) buried a corner 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining in the quarter. To start the second, Class of 2025 point guard Danny Carbuccia blurred into the open court and floated up a lob pass that Braylan Ritvo finished at the rim.
Stepinac kept its foot on the Royals’ necks with a sizzling 10-0 run. Carbuccia again attacked the run for a transition bucket. Jervis buried another 3-pointer. Hassan Kouriessi scored at point-blank. And, the 6-foot-8 Class of 2024 wing Ritvo turned in a traditional 3-point play.
Just like that, Stepinac fattened up the lead thoroughly, 39-18. While Fland stuck four first half 3-pointers, it was Carbuccia who helped put CTK in an offensive fetal position they were never able to break out of.
“Obviously Boogie got us going a bit, but I thought it was Danny (in that first half),” Stepinac head coach Pat Massaroni said.
“He went ahead and got a layup to start the game. Then, he got an assist. He started to turn up defensively. And when he did that–the whole team followed suit. When our two really, really good guards go ahead and do that, it sets a tone for the game.”
Carbuccia scored 12 points to go with eight assists and four rebounds. Ritvo scored 10 points and chimed in seven boards.
It wasn’t an ideal situation for Christ The King. The Royals were without its best player, 6-foot-6 Iowa State-bound 2024 guard Dwayne Pierce, who has been hampered by a shoulder injury.
CTK was also without its highly decorated and experienced head coach, Joe Arbitiello.
Arbitiello, he of the 300+ career wins, was ejected during a recent loss to Nazareth and subsequently received a multiple-game suspension.
The Royals were catalyzed by Ramirez, as the Class of 2025 guard has come on as a three-level scoring threat and dogged defensive presence.
The offensive uniqueness of Pang, who stepped out and hit 3-pointers and had a soaring, extravagant dunk through traffic during the third quarter, is certainly high majorly intriguing.
Jervis, just a 15-year-old sophomore, felt the coming out like gangbusters mentality stoked a flame, collectively spread throughout a deep Crusaders rotation.
“That was probably the best first half we’ve had all season,” Jervis said. “We have an offense where everyone can get a bucket. We hit a lot of threes. I think we made the first five. Guys were just feeling it tonight and we just kept shooting.”
While Hassan Kouriessi has blossomed as of late, Jervis is another future foundational piece in Massaroni’s sophomore fleet.
“Jasiah continues to get better and better, day in and day out,” Massaroni explained.
“His growth from even last year to this year, when we started the season and even from October to now, has been huge for us. He loves to work, he loves to be in the gym. Credit to my staff. Credit to coach (Rodney) Swain and his parents. His Dad, the drive that he has to make each day. He’s a gym rat. He’s severely under-ranked and under-recruited at the moment. I think he’s going to be another Top-25 guy in that class.”
Jervis said his team never takes any opponent lightly, a mindset which resonates within the locker room.
Still, the 6-foot-5 guard envisioned the lopsided win as taking advantage of a man-up situation. At the same time, as Jervis explained, Stepinac took pride in honoring the tradition of a true Catholic League rivalry game.
“Christ The King, they are a great team,” Jervis said. “Everyone went to work for us. Everyone was feeling hot. As a team, I think we do everything. We can score. We can defend. We feel like the best team in the league right now. Defense, really, won that game.”
Selflessness, unwavering devotion to team concepts, and the thrill factor of playing for each other has won a lot of games for Stepinac this season. The Crusaders have compiled a 16-3 overall record and have sustained an 11-0 streak in the CHSAA “AA.”
“It is night in and night out, these guys continue to care about each other,” Massaroni said.
“They don’t care about ‘me,’ they care about ‘we.’ When you have that, it’s a joy to coach. I’m still waiting for the hiccup, one day. We’ve been fortunate enough to keep it going. We want to continue that momentum into March.”
Stepinac is slated for a marquee matchup against Eagle II of Brooklyn in tomorrow night’s Public vs. Catholic Schools Showdown at the Westchester County Center. Tip off is at 7PM.
