Almost three weeks ago, Holy Cross won their first city championship in 40 years, taking down Christ the King, 56-48, at Fordham University. The victory set off a lengthy celebration that, Holy Cross Coach Paul Gilvary said, in many ways has yet to end.
But there is still basketball to be played for the Flushing school. Sunday, March 30, 21 days from the city final, Holy Cross will meet the winner of the semifinal contest between Abraham Lincoln and Bishop Maginn (Albany) in the state Federation Class AA final at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
“My hope is we can stay in shape and stay as sharp as we can,” Gilvary said. “I’m sure once we get there the kids will be excited about playing and they’ll play as hard as they can play as well as they can.”
It will likely be a rematch against the Railsplitters (28-4), the defending state champions, and between Sylven Landesberg, the Knights’ All-American and all-time leading scorer, and Lance Stephenson, the top-rated junior in the country. When the two teams last met on January 27 in the Tom Crotty Classic at Hofstra University, the Knights lost, 81-60, as Stephenson scored 27 points.
“I would like to play Lincoln again,” said Landesberg, who was recently named Mr. New York Basketball – the award given to the state’s top senior – of the three-time PSAL champions. “I would like to get another shot at them. We did not play to our full potential; we did not play our best game against them. It would be fun to get back at them.”
“It would mean a lot,” he added. “If we win this game, too, it will be another mark in the history books.”
It will not, however, make a difference, win or lose, on how this season is remembered.
“This has been a wonderful experience for us,” Gilvary said. “Nothing that happens in Glens Falls will change that. That game at Fordham against Christ the King – that was forever.”
