By Dan Murphy
For many years, high school basketball in Westchester has been dominated by two dynastic schools. Mt. Vernon High School, which has won several state titles, and Ossining High school, whose girls’ teams have dominated, won titles and sent their superstars on to college and the WNBA.
But this year, another Westchester high school has broken through and won its first Federation state title in men’s basketball; Stepinac High School won the Class AA final with an 88-76 victory over South Shore last week to record its first state basketball title since xxxxx, and its first Federation title, which puts public and private schools against each other in the championship games and final four.
The Stepinac Crusaders featured senior guard Alan Griffin, who is headed to Illinois University on a scholarship next fall and was named the tournament MVP and in his last high school game scored 28 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and added three assists and three steals.
Congratulations to Stepinac, and Coach Pat Massaroni, a Stepinac alumnus who has now built the Crusader basketball program into something special. Returning staters include sophomore R.J. Davis, who was one of a few on this team that doesn’t miss free throws (in the last two games, Davis made 27 of 28), and juniors Ed Minaya and Ed Sanchez, who will be seniors next year. Stepinac also has two of New York City’s top 25 recruits coming to White Plains in the fall, and who knows if any new recruits might come to Stepinac now that the school has won the state title.
That’s the good news. The other headline out of Stepinac’s magical run last month was a controversy of sorts – not any fault of the school or any player or coach. Instead, a scorekeeper, the guy with the scorebook at the desk at the game, made a critical mistake.
All of this happened in the semi-final game between Stepinac and Long Island Lutheran. The two teams were tied 72-72, with less than 10 seconds left. LI Lutheran called a timeout, but was charged with a technical foul for calling an illegal timeout after the scorekeeper ruled that the team had zero timeouts left.
It turned out that the scorekeeper was wrong, and LI Lutheran had one timeout left, but nobody knew that until after the game. Griffin made the technical free throws and Stepinac also got the ball, and went on to a 76-72 win in a game that could have easily gone into overtime.
After the game, LI Lutheran coach John Buck reviewed the game on video several times and confirmed what he had thought all along – that he did, indeed, have one timeout left. He appealed the game and the decision but was denied.
Robert Zayas, executive director for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, tweeted: “Tough situation however the official book is the official book. The rules of high school BB do not allow video replay to be utilized. Replaying any game from the point of an error would result in a precedence that could not possibly be maintained in a fair and equitable manner.
“The Federation Tournament has failed our young men. First with a book error last night that cost us a chance at the title and now by not having courage to set a precedent by replaying the game from 8.3 seconds.”
Buck was asking tournament officials to do something that has never been done in basketball – replay the game’s last few seconds from the point where the scorekeeper made the error. It is a good argument to have with your sports buddies over a beer: Should high school basketball have instant replay, or in this case, game replay?
The controversy, in the long run, doesn’t take away from Stepinac’s 27-5 season and its state title, and what the team did. “I think it means so much to this school to get over the hump,” said Massaroni. “First time since 1960, first Federation title, the best team in the state for this season, it’s special.”
My prediction? Mark the 2018 Stepinac state title as the start of a dynasty for the school, the coach, and the athletic program.
