By Five Boro Sports
When Eric Klingsberg was looking to transfer out of St. Mary’s (Manhasset) midway through his sophomore year, his mother, Joan, wanted him to follow her path and attend St. Francis Prep.
Eric, though, wanted to forge his own.
It took him down Francis Lewis Boulevard to Holy Cross High School. On Friday night, in front of 1,500 screaming spectators crammed into St. Francis Prep’s gymnasium, the Bayside native not only got his first taste of the Battle of the Boulevard, but he placed his stamp on one of the best rivalries in the CHSAA.
The senior guard scored a game−high 20 points, including 14 of his team’s first 17, to help lift the Knights to an emotional, 60−51 victory over the Terriers. It was the first league win for a hard working, yet inexperienced Holy Cross squad.
And what a place to get that first victory.
There is just 3.4 miles that separate the two schools, but on Friday night the divide was the St. Francis Prep basketball court.
Packed on one side of the bleachers were Holy Cross fans, including Joan Klingsberg, who clearly chose blood over her alma mater, and on the other were fans of St. Francis Prep. Included on both sides was a sizable student fan base, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of decades gone by in this heated rivalry.
“Coach [Tim] Leary and I both said the same thing before the game, that this kind of felt like the old days, years ago when we used to pack the place whether it was here or down at Holy Cross,” Holy Cross Coach Paul Gilvary said. “I think it’s great that the students get involved and support their school and their classmates.”
Because he had to sit out a season after transferring from St. Mary’s, Friday night was Klingsberg’s first chance to experience the intensity first hand and the 6−foot−3 guard made the most of it. He scored his team’s first 10 points and 14 of the Knights’ 17 in the opening quarter.
“I was so hyped because this is my first time playing against Prep,” he said. “I always heard about the rivalry and coming here and seeing all the kids from our school showing their support, it made me feel good, made me want to play good and I think it helped a lot.”
Klingsberg wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter. He scored six points in the final eight minutes, including his fourth three−pointer of the game to give Holy Cross (6−7, 1−3 CHSAA ‘AA’) a 53−48 lead with 1:32 remaining.
“I wasn’t frustrated because I saw everybody else was hitting shots,” Klingsberg said. “The game got a little close, but I have faith in [my teammates].”
While the first quarter was all Klingsberg, the fourth−quarter heroics were shared. Fellow senior Joe Monahan scored half of his 14 points in the fourth, including a massive three−pointer immediately following a trey from senior guard Roger Harris that got St. Francis Prep (7−7, 0−4) to within one with 4:38 remaining.
It was the ultimate response to the chants of “get a haircut” for the shaggy−haired guard from Floral Park.
“It got to me. I heard that,” Monahan said. “I was trying to keep a straight face. It didn’t work.”
And then there was Evan Conti, the sophomore guard who scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth.
“It felt like a Division I college game,” Conti said. “I watch them on TV all the time. This game feels just like it. We practice every day to play in games like this.”
With the exception of Harris (19 points) and sophomore George Hatzionannides (14 points), St. Francis Prep didn’t receive solid contributions from its most important, and veteran, players.
Forward Bobby Nacer was held to four points and senior guard Robert Blazicevic was scoreless, missing a critical open layup with 46 seconds left that would have cut the Terriers deficit to three.
The Terriers were also plagued by poor foul shooting. They made their first four free throws, but missed their final six, including all four in the second half, two of which were on the front ends of a one−and−one.
“We are what we are, we got muscled off the ball too much in key spots, we don’t get the big rebounds,” St. Francis Prep Coach Tim Leary said. “That’s what costs you games. We’re getting a little better. We play harder than we did a month ago, but it’s just very inconsistent. We don’t make shots on a consistent basis.”
