Although they were once down by as many as 16 points, the St. Anthony’s Friars worked hard to come all the way back and take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
The game’s outcome still hung in the balance, however, when James Taylor Jr. tossed up a perfect lob in transition to his teammate Kevin Moore, who slammed it down with two hands to electrify the Friars’ fans and stun the Flyers’ faithful. The sequence capped off an outrageous comeback and propelled St. Anthony’s to a remarkable 66-61 victory.
The Flyers soared into this rivalry matchup after two dominant weekend wins: 81-65 over St. John the Baptist and 80-47 over the Knox School, a game in which 12 Flyers registered points. This improved their record at 11-5 overall and 4-1 in the league, one game back of the first-place St. Dominic’s Bayhawks, the team that handed Chaminade its lone league loss earlier in the month.
The visiting Friars also entered the battle in the AAC riding high, which was evident in their 15-2 overall mark. Like the Flyers, they owned a 4-1 league record, with St. Dom’s also being the only team to take them down. Outside of this loss to the Bayhawks, the Friars had not been defeated in 2025, with their most recent victory a 71-53 drubbing of Portledge.
A clear three teams have risen to the top of the NSCHSAA: the Flyers, Friars, and Bayhawks. With the former two teams entering the Tuesday night tilt with the same league record, this game was likely to be imperative in terms of future playoff seeding.
The showdown featured a blistering start from beyond the arc for St. Anthony’s, as Steven Aulicino, Jr. and Taylor cashed a trifecta of threes to provide the visitors with an immediate seven-point lead. However, Chaminade bounced back right away with an 11-0 burst, punctuated by a three from Peter Tagios III and an exciting Ricky Gunther “and-one.”
At the end of a high-octane first quarter, Chaminade led, 19-14. Gunther, who had 23 points in the previous game, was already packing the stat sheet with nine to lead the way for the Crimson and Gold.
The Flyers kept their momentum from the opening frame and opened up a double-digit lead halfway through the second quarter thanks to the dynamic duo of Gunther and Kyle Dillon. Gunther continued to pour on the points, with a deep trey pushing his total to 16, while Dillon tallied seven of his own. On the night, Gunther dropped 24, his eighth 20-point performance of the season, while Dillon supplemented the scoring with 17.
Much like his teammate, Dillon has also been incredibly consistent on the offensive side of the ball this season, totaling double digits in all but one game. (This lone exception came in the second game of the season against Port Washington.)
On the other side of the ball, the Flyers’ defense was on its game, keeping the top Friars scorers in check. Connor Mannix, who entered the game averaging just over 16 points per game to lead his team, was held scoreless in the first half. Nick Vieux, the main ball handler for St. Anthony’s, was also without a point until he hit a miraculous fadeaway three as time expired in the opening half.
When intermission arrived, Chaminade held a 33-23 lead.
It was much of the same as the third quarter opened with Chaminade controlling both sides of the ball. Gunther scored five points in the span of about 10 seconds, and James Prendergast drilled a corner three right in front of the Chaminade student section to send his fellow classmates into a frenzy.
The Flyers were able to stretch their lead to as much as 16 during the third, and it looked as if they were well on their way to a statement victory. But the Friars would not go quietly, as a 16-3 run to end the quarter cut their deficit to a mere three points, 44-41.
In this critical stretch, St. Anthony’s benefitted from a balanced offensive attack led by Mannix, who finally broke into the scoring column with seven to put the pressure on the Flyers. The run was highlighted by a tough “and-one” layup by Vieux, sparking those members of the visiting crowd who had made the trip from South Huntington.
Although he was pleased with his squad’s improved offensive efficiency, Friars’ head coach Sal Lagano credited the defense for getting them back in the game:
“I think we just started getting better defensively,” he reflected after the final horn had sounded. “We started giving up a little tougher shots, we weren’t giving up the rim as much, and I thought we did a little better on the rebounding…, so I just think we got better defensively, which helped the other parts of the game.”
The Flyers now had to protect a slim lead against a hungry rival. The final quarter began as a back-and-forth affair, with Dillon executing a pretty Euro-step layup on one end before Aulicino responded with a corner triple on the other. With 5:37 to go, Ouse Ninche converted on an old-fashioned three-point play for St. Anthony’s to knot the game up at 50.
This jab-for-jab action continued as the quarter wore on, the two teams trading buckets. Taylor had five key points for the Friars, including a clutch three right in front of his team’s bench, while the Flyers stayed at their heels thanks to buckets by Gunther and Gregory Wyckoff.
The score was 57-55 in favor of the Friars with just under four to play when Moore took flight to accentuate the Friars’ night.
The Flyers attempted a last-ditch effort to save the game, but it was to no avail. A Joseph Leyden three with 13 seconds remaining made things interesting, but Aulicino sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory for St. Anthony’s.
Aulicino was the top scorer for the Friars with 14, but three others also reached double digits: Mannix had 13, all coming in the second half, and the duo of Taylor and Moore each added 12.
Countless moments could be considered the game’s turning point.
“I don’t think it was one specific play. They stuck to their game plan and started scoring around the rim,” explained Chaminade’s head coach Dan Feeney. “Mannix had all 13 in the second half, with nearly everything coming right around the rim. We did a poor job of letting him catch it where he wanted instead of where we wanted.”
St. Anthony’s moved to 16-2 (5-1) with the victory, securing sole possession of second place in the league. They next visit St. Mary’s on Friday night at 7:30. Chaminade dropped to third place in the standings, now owning an 11-6 (4-2) record.
“Our approach has to be better in practice for the next two games,” admitted Feeney. “We have to do better in how we approach things in practice, in our attention to detail, and in our professionalism.”
The next two matchups are important ones for the Flyers. They play host to a well-rounded Iona Prep team in a non-league showdown on Thursday evening before welcoming Marianist foe Kellenberg on Friday night with the hopes of sweeping the season series. Tip times are 6:00 and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
