On Monday night, I covered the final Sacred Heart-Holy Cross basketball doubleheader in the history of the storied rivalry between the two schools.
I was covering the doubleheader for my full-time job, and it was a surreal experience. Surreal is the best word I can use to describe the last games to be contested during the regular season between two schools synonymous with basketball success in the city. The boys teams first met in December 1970 and have often met in high-pressure situations, be it a regular season matchup of top 10 teams or an NVL tournament final up at Wilby High School.
Again, the circumstances of the final meetings were surreal. There will be an NVL tournament, but there will be double the amount of teams as all 16 NVL teams will be invited to play. There is no state tournament due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. When the Sacred Heart boys and girls basketball teams finish play in their respective NVL tournaments, they will be done for good. Again, it’s surreal.
The parents of juniors and seniors were let into Sacred Heart’s Alumni Hall, along with 12 Sacred Heart students via a lottery, so there was some crowd noise. Still, it’s not the same without a full venue of maroon and green.
In the first game, the Sacred Heart girls battled undefeated Holy Cross and led at halftime, 32-27. Anyone who knows Holy Cross girls basketball is aware that a Crusader team that is trailing at halftime will come out on fire to begin the second half. Holy Cross did to the tune of an 18-8 third quarter that turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead. The Hearts closed to within a point in the fourth quarter, but the Crusaders ran away with a 70-56 win. Holy Cross’ defense can be absolutely relentless, and it was at times Monday. The Sacred Heart girls play their final regular season home game this evening against Ansonia at 6:15.
GIRLS GAME: Here are my photos from the first game.
In the second game, the undefeated Sacred Heart boys were just too much for Holy Cross to handle and rolled to a 94-66 win. The Duncan brothers, senior Trevahn and freshman Quentin, can be a lot to deal with, and each had 18 points. Jordan Elliott added 14 points for the Hearts, who quickly turned a 13-point halftime lead into a second half blowout. Steve Alseph is back and running the point for Sacred Heart, which takes some ball-handling responsibilities away from others and makes them threats off the ball.
When the boys game ended, the Holy Cross coaches walked over to Sacred Heart’s and offered fist bumps and some hugs. It’s the end of an era. Maybe the teams will meet again in their respective NVL tournaments, but there will be no more games in the regular season.
BOYS GAME: Here are my photos from the second game.
CAPTIONS
Girls game: Holy Cross’ Mya Zaccagnini, left, and Maeve Perrone bring a strong double team against Sacred Heart’s Jada Graves. Zaccagnini wound up with 21 points while teammate Cayla Howard (not pictured) tallied a game-high 26.
Boys game: After a slick hesitation move, Sacred Heart’s Peyton Mullins gets past the Holy Cross defender for two points.
