By Dylan Butler
But in the third quarter, the answer to their quandary was simple: It doesn't matter.That's because it was Kayvon Roberts and Blaise Ffrench who ignited a key 18-0 third-quarter run en route to a 79-61 pasting of rival St. Francis Prep at a sold out William J. O'Meara Memorial Gym at Holy Cross Friday night.”We're much more than a one-man team. I think everyone who comes to see us play, the first time they see us expects to see Sylven and four guys standing around watching,” Holy Cross coach Paul Gilvary said. “But we're far from it. There's no way we could be 16-4 with the schedule we play with just one guy.”Roberts scored all 12 of his points in the pivotal third quarter that saw Holy Cross (16-4, 6-3 CHSAA 'AA') erase a 32-30 halftime deficit and take a 53-36 lead on a Ffrench three-pointer with 2:16 left in the third, whipping the Knights' fans into a frenzy.It's not the first time Roberts has come up big in the third quarter. He did the same thing in a 74-70 win over Christ the King, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the third Jan. 7, while Landesberg was held scoreless.”Just like the King game, I hit the first shot and just kept on going,” Roberts said. “I felt it.”Added Landesberg: “A lot of people sleep on him, but he's like a loose cannon, he can go off at any time.”Ffrench scored 19 points and ran the point brilliantly for Holy Cross, which avenged a 70-65 loss at St. Francis Prep Jan. 12.”Every player wants to play in a packed gym like this and we get the chance to do it twice with Prep,” Ffrench said. “This game was real important, it was revenge.”As for the question of where Sylven was, he was more often than not found at the foul line, going 16-of-17 and scoring a game-high 26 points. The highly touted junior said beating St. Francis Prep in the latest Battle of the Boulevard was on his mind since the Terriers' come-from-behind win at home.”This is the first time I've been heckled in my own gym,” Landesberg said. “Those Prep fans are real rowdy, saying a lot of stuff. I'm taking the ball out and they're surrounding me, all up in my ear. It was real fun though. It motivated me to play better.”For much of the game he and Prep star Mike Cavataio – the top two scorers in the league – went head to head. But Cavataio, who came into the game averaging 23.3 points per game, fouled out with 6:14 left in the fourth quarter on a controversial call on a Landesberg three-point attempt.”Sylven is a great actor, because I barely touched him,” Cavataio said. “It's all part of the game and the refs are part of the game, too.”Cavataio, the St. John's-bound senior swingman, picked up his third foul on a questionable charge midway through the third quarter and then was tagged with his fourth one minute later on a push off.Cavataio led St. Francis Prep (14-5, 4-5) with 21 points, but scored just 5 in the second half as he was saddled with foul trouble. Bobby Nacer added 12 points for the Terriers.”They were red hot in the second half,” St. Francis Prep coach Tim Leary said. “It's hard for us to play catch up to begin with and with all the foul trouble we had, it didn't help having Michael on the bench.”Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
