With 4:14 left in the second quarter at the Activity-Athletic Center, big man Jonathon Walsh stepped back and drilled a deep triple. The three –  a rare occurrence for the forward – got the Flyers bench on its feet, and from that point on, Chaminade dominated the St. Anthony’s Friars. 

The January 28 win, a 68-37 conquest, pushed Chaminade’s record to 17-3 on the season and vaulted the Flyers into first place with just a single regular-season game remaining.

The squad’s recent revenge tour began after a 54-46 loss to St. Anthony’s exactly one week earlier. Three days after that defeat, Chaminade had a date with the Cougars of St. John the Baptist.

Chaminade began the game with five different starters than usual, showcasing their depth. Jake Pratt led the way with eight first quarter points as Chaminade led at the horn, 15-9.

The Cougars were using a zone defense that was suffocating the Flyers inside the paint, but made open shots available along the perimeter.

St. John the Baptist stayed in contention as play began to pick up in the latter part of the first half, as they trailed by just seven points at halftime, 30-23.

Liam McNamara and Shane Stephen contributed key minutes off the bench for Chaminade, which had not yet played any of its regular starters. 

Coming out of halftime, Coach O’Connell wanted to put this game away, sending in Nicholas Collura, Jake Ellwood, Nicholas Sweeney, Sean Ambrosi, and Walsh to start the third quarter. 

Those five did just that, increasing the Flyers’ lead from seven  to 19 over the next eight minutes. Their press was too much for St. John’s to handle, as the pace of play overwhelmed the Cougars. Chaminade was now out in front, 53-34.

The final eight minutes of action saw the Flyers increase the margin of victory. Everyone on Chaminade’s roster saw the court in the win, as the Flyers returned to their winning ways, 70-40.

The team spent the weekend preparing for the rematch with St. Anthony’s.

In this second game, the Flyers would be playing with the crowd on their side, as the contest was part of a tripleheader in Mineola, with matchups against the Friars at the freshman and varsity levels, as well.

During shootaround, when asked about the January 21 loss to St. Anthony’s, Coach O’Connell noted that his team had come out flat-footed:

“We didn’t match their energy from the beginning, and we didn’t share the ball enough,” he reflected. “Today, we need to get back to what has been working for us and play our style of basketball.”

From the jump, Chaminade’s bench was the loudest group in the building, fueling the Flyers each and every trip down the floor. Despite this, Chaminade was susceptible to turnovers early on, but rallied to a narrow 11-9 lead by the end of the first.

The second quarter was all Chaminade, as they outscored the Friars, 18-6. The Flyers began to blitz the ballhandlers in the backcourt, effectively doubling and forcing turnovers. Shots from Ellwood and Collura began to fall, while Sweeney and Walsh were cleaning up in front of the rim.

The Friars were flustered and went into half down 29-15.

Before the contest, St. Anthony’s head coach, Mike Mohr, had made note of Chaminade’s offense, which has been dominant since league play began. St. Anthony’s did a solid job of containing the Flyers in the game’s first eight minutes, but struggled once the second quarter arrived.

Sweeney opened the second half with three layups and a drawn charge, essentially putting the game on ice with 5:42 to go in the third. Now down 18, the Friars were forced to call timeout.

The turnovers piled up, and St. Anthony’s could not muster a response. The AAC had been rocking since 4 p.m. and showed no signs of quieting down, as the Flyers ran away with a 31-point victory. 

Ellwood, Sweeney, and Walsh all finished in double digits, while Michael Petrizzo sank three shots from beyond the arc. 

The massive win put Chaminade back atop the league standings as the number-one seed with one regular-season game remaining – Friday’s matchup with the Firebirds of Kellenberg. Tip-off in the Activity-Athletic Center is set for 5:45 p.m.