By Roger Rubin
Photo by Jame Escher

St. Anthony’s will have none of this ‘rebuilding’ talk.

Yes, the Friars’ boys team is the defending CHSAA Diocese of Rockville Center champion. And yes, they lost all five starters from that team. But as junior standout Andre Snoddy said “there’s no reason we can’t compete for another championship. We may have to rely on each other more because we’re very young, but no one thinks we’re not good enough.”

St. Anthony’s looked very good on Monday afternoon in taking down Scarsdale — a first-tier public school — in a 49-44 non-conference victory that extends its win streak to five. Luke Rossi’s three-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter broke a tie at 38 and Snoddy scored the Friars’ final eight points to finish with 22 and get them through a tenuous final minute.

Snoddy added 10 rebounds, Rossi had six points and five assists, and 6-7 center Louis Stallone had 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for St. Anthony’s (12-5).

Jayshen Saigal’s three-pointer pulled the Raiders (10-4) within 47-44 with 55 seconds left when it became a chess match. Friars coach Sal Lagano had his club run 24 seconds off the clock, and after a play that resulted in a missed trey, had them use two extra fouls to shorten Scarsdale’s last possession to 11 seconds. Saigal (17 points), missed a game-tying three and Stallone hit Snoddy for a dunk before the final buzzer.

“We love defending and grinding the games out,” Snoddy said.

Rossi, one of three sophomores in St. Anthony’s eight-man rotation, might have been the team’s top playmaker but his defense turned the tide. The Raiders’ Cole Kattan had 12 points in the first half before Lagano acted on an assistant coach’s suggestion to put Rossi on him. He was a nuisance, holding Kattan (16 points) to one basket over a nine-minute stretch when the Friars’ built a 46-38 lead in the fourth-quarter.

“I live for assignments like that,” Rossi said. “I give those my all.”

“He can be very disruptive,” Lagano said. “That was our best switch. He did a great job. It was the right choice.”

Chaminade and Holy Trinity are the more-seasoned teams in the Diocese, but St. Anthony’s took a step with a road victory at Trinity to start the win streak. Lagano said this young team with sophomores Rossi, Angelo Andino and Christian Daley showed him something in that one: “You can tell a lot about players when they face a good team in a [tough] environment and they found a way to get comfortable.”

“This team works too hard to think ‘rebuilding.’ We have a natural confidence,” Rossi said. “We should be worrying about competing for championships, not rebuilding.”

2018-19 Boys Basketball Tryouts CHANGES as of 10/30

Saturday Nov. 10th
Varsity 12-2 pm 
JV 7-8:30 am 
Frosh 2:30-4:30 pm

Sunday Nov. 11th
Varsity 12-2 pm 
JV 2-4 pm
Frosh 4-6 pm

Monday Nov. 12th
Varsity 6:30-8:30 pm
Frosh Switched
JV Switched

Tuesday Nov. 13th
JV 3-5 pm
Frosh 3-5 pm

On December 6^th, The St Anthony’s Boys varsity basketball team had its home opener against Greenport and put on a show with a 74-45 victory.

The Friars came into the game ranked 5^th on Long Island with a record of 1-0 and as defending

Catholic champs. Greenport returned their 3 top scorers from a year ago in an offense that averaged 80 points per game, but on this night, the Friars defense stole the show defensively holding Greenport to 45 points. The Friars defense was anchored inside by junior forward Louis

Stallone. Early on, St. Anthony’s took a quick lead and went up 17-9 after the 1^st quarter.  

St.Anthony’s took a 34-21 lead into halftime before the Friars erupted in the third quarter for 28 points. They outscored Greenport in the 3^rd frame 28-11. St.Anthony’s took a 62-32 lead after 3 quarters before closing out the win. The offense was sparked by 12 three pointers on the night. Sharpshooter Christian Daley dropped 15 points on 5 threes. The sophomore trio of Christian Daley, Angelo Andino and Luke Rossi combined for 9 three pointers and 35 total points.  

Returning All State guard Ahkee Anderson of Greenport who averaged 23 points per game and 9 assists last year was held to just 14 points. The defense made the whole Porters team uncomfortable all night long from the field. On the offensive side of things, it was a balanced attack with Juniors Tristian Correa, Jack Garvey and Louis Stallone combining for 20 points and senior Makhai Murphy contributed 5 points. Luke Rossi also added 5 assists.  

St Anthony’s may have lost the entire starting lineup from the 2017-2018 championship team, but the Friars have reloaded with some great young talent and a solid senior class. They look to be contenders yet again for the NSCHSAA title.

The Friars now get their 2^nd win of the year moving to 2-0 on the campaign. They continue their Non-League schedule when they face Malverne on Saturday December 8^th at Elmont High School in the public vs private challenge. Then on December 15^th they face New York city power Boys and Girls high school taking place at Amityville High school.

By: Jared Valluzzi is a Sophomore at St. Anthony’s; this is his second year writing for Friar news. He has earned his certificate from Hofstra’s program of Sports broadcasting and Journalism. Jared also plays hockey and lacrosse for St. Anthony’s.

By Laura Amato 
Photo Credit: James Escher

The St. Anthony’s boys basketball team used Saturday’s game as an experiment.

The Friars, who graduated five seniors from last year’s CHSAA championship team, fell 58-55 to St. Joseph’s of Metuchen, New Jersey in the New York Holiday Invitational at St. Anthony's, but the team wasn’t disappointed. It was a close game and a challenging one and, most importantly, a chance for St. Anthony’s to see how it fared against an experienced squad.

“I think it was a good litmus test,” coach Sal Lagano said. “When you play teams that know how to win in the last five minutes, it really helps your own team.”

St. Anthony’s (2-3) jumped to a 13-12 lead after the first quarter, but the Friars struggled to pull away. St. Joseph’s answered every bucket with one of its own, wrapping up the second quarter on a 14-6 run.

Still, the Friars were confident heading into the second half and Logano said the team was focused on grabbing some early offense.

“We wanted to get out a little faster,” he said. “I think we created some steals and we were trying to get out and go.”

St. Anthony’s did its best to push tempo, bringing defensive pressure in the half court to try and spark its transitional game. Andre Snoddy led the charge, working on both sides of the ball and dishing an assist to Jevon Burke with 2:07 in the third to give the Friars a 38-37 lead.

“I was trying my hardest to irritate the ball handler,” Snoddy, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, said. “I wanted to get in his head, make him work. Nothing could come easy.”

St. Anthony’s held a two-point lead with 6:42 left, but St. Joseph’s experience proved the difference down the stretch.

Howard McBurnie scored six straight points midway through the fourth quarter to give the Falcons a 56-50 lead and effectively set St. Anthony’s back. The Friars did their best to recover as Burke made it a 56-55 game with 27.1 seconds left, but came up short on their final two posessions.

It would have been easy for St. Anthony’s to walk off the court frustrated, but with Newburgh Free Academy on the schedule today, Logano said he simply hoped his team learned something.

“Teams like St. Joe’s teach you how to play and how to win,” Logano said. “I think their experience took over, but I think it was a good game that hopefully made us better.”

2018-19 Boys Basketball Tryouts CHANGES as of 10/30

Saturday Nov. 10th
Varsity 12-2 pm 
JV 7-8:30 am 
Frosh 2:30-4:30 pm

Sunday Nov. 11th
Varsity 12-2 pm 
JV 2-4 pm
Frosh 4-6 pm

Monday Nov. 12th
Varsity 6:30-8:30 pm
Frosh Switched
JV Switched

Tuesday Nov. 13th
JV 3-5 pm
Frosh 3-5 pm