Leave it to Holy Cross boys basketball to provide Sacred Heart with another big-time challenge. The Crusaders hung in until the fourth quarter on Friday night inside the Tim McDonald Gymnasium, but the Hearts held them without a field goal for a majority of those final eight minutes on the way to a 60-46 victory.
Sacred Heart won its 101st straight NVL game, and it did so without Nate Tabor, who was serving a one-game, in-school suspension, according to the story from Joe Palladino of The Hoop Zone. The Hearts got a big 11 points from Lorenzo Washington, all in the fourth quarter. Connor Tierney led Sacred Heart with 14 points, followed by Jamaal Waters with 13 and Omar Rowe with 12.
Kyle Lombardi led a balanced Holy Cross attack with 12 points. Jack Greene had eight points, Gaely Etienne scored six and Kyle Moser added five for the Crusaders. Of course no Tabor helped make this game closer, but credit the home team for putting up a challenge against their rivals.
Back to Holy Cross and close games against Sacred Heart. On Feb. 28, 2018, it took an Isiah Gaiter floater in the final minute for the Hearts to outlast the Crusaders, 52-50, in the NVL Tournament final.
In 2017, there were two close calls against Holy Cross. The first nail-biter was at Alumni Hall on Feb. 6, 2017. The Crusaders led the undefeated Hearts by 17 points in the fourth quarter, but the home team came back for a 65-63 victory. Fast forward to the NVL title game on March 1, and it was more of the same. Holy Cross led Sacred Heart entering the fourth quarter, but the Hearts found their championship stride and beat the Crusaders 60-51.
There have been other close games during Sacred Heart’s 101-game NVL win streak. There was the Mustapha Heron buzzer-beater against Crosby in the 2015 NVL final, an overtime win at Wilby in 2017, and a three-point home win over Waterbury Career Academy in 2018. There were also some single-digit wins over the Bulldogs, including a 64-58 victory at The Palace on Jan. 25. You don’t get to 101 wins in a row over league foes without some close calls.
When it comes to close calls in the NVL, it’s been Holy Cross who has given Sacred Heart the most fits recently. The teams could meet again in the NVL final, though other league foes plan on having something to say about that. The NVL Tournament begins next Saturday at Wilby High School.
