In one of the most exciting games of the year, St. Mel’s defeated Holy Trinity at Holy Cross High School, 33-32. Holy Trinity won the previous two meetings between the clubs.
Baskets by Kenny Lehr, Derek Capponi and Patrick Berndt staked Holy Trinity to a 17-9 halftime lead. But St. Mel’s swarming defense finally wore down the high-powered Holy Trinity offense, as it took its first lead with 55 seconds left in the game on a three-pointer and a steal by Nick Lamonaca and a backdoor layup by Ben Tockarshewsky. Terry Tarpey’s basket with 21 seconds left accounted for the margin of victory.
Ben Tockarshewsky led all scorers with 12 points (10 in the second half), and Terry Tarpey had nine and Nick Lamonaca finished with six (on two three-pointers) and five assists. John Dreyhaupt had a basket and four rebounds, and Anthony Yacavone chipped in with four points, three rebounds and two steals.
Charles Bordenca and Anthony Andreani had two rebounds each, and Shervin Mobasheri made key defensive contributions on the St. Mel’s press.
Holy Trinity was led in scoring by Kenny Lehr, who played a solid game at the point and scored eight points. Derek Capponi scored eight, Dennis Brennan had six and Louis Kabatnik chipped in four. Patrick Berndt finished with three points, four rebounds and three assists, and Steven Foley added three points. Alessio Santoro played an all-around solid game in the back of Holy Trinity’s zone.
Both teams played hard and exhibited good sportsmanship in this battle of two strong Whitestone teams.
Holy Trinity finished its inaugural CYO season with an 8-4 record. St. Mel’s finished its league season at 7-6. Both teams will compete in the Queens CYO Diocesan playoffs later in the month.
