Chaminade basketball edges Holy Trinity at UBS Arena thanks to Peter Tagios' double-double
Chaminade’s Peter Tagios, who had 12 points and 14 boards, gets double teamed by Holy Trinity at UBS Arena on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Energy and effort are what Peter Tagios brings to Chaminade, and those qualities are invaluable for the Flyers.
Tagios had 12 points and 14 rebounds as Chaminade defeated Holy Trinity, 57-53, in overtime in a CHSAA basketball matchup at the LuHi Holiday Invitational at UBS Arena on Friday night.
Tagios made the defensive play of the game, stealing a pass with seven seconds remaining in overtime and Chaminade up three. The junior forward hit one of two free throws to put the Flyers ahead 57-53.
Holy Trinity’s Baron Pinsky sank a three-pointer earlier in overtime to tie it at 53. Tagios was able to draw contact at the other end and make one free throw, and junior guard Kyle Dillon sank two more to give the Flyers a 56-53 lead.
“This team was down in regulation in the state championship last year, down in overtime,” Chaminade coach Dan Feeney said. “They still walked away with a state CHSAA championship, so they understand how to win.”
Dillon finished with 17 points and Michael Wede and Ricky Gunther each had 12 for the Flyers (1-2). Tristan Thomas scored 18 points and Pinsky had 13 for Holy Trinity (3-2).
“We wanted this to be more about us and we talked about that throughout the week,” Dillon said. “Playing in this event is cool, but getting the win was the most important thing here for us.”
Holy Trinity took a 38-37 lead early in the fourth quarter on baskets by Thomas and Jaden Shields. Thomas scored 10 points in the quarter, including a putback on an offensive rebound that put the Titans ahead 47-43 with less than two minutes left.
Tagios made a layup and Dillon connected on a three-pointer to put Chaminade ahead 48-47 with less than a minute left in regulation. Thomas drove to the basket and drew contact with 19 seconds remaining, and his free throw tied it at 48 and sent the game to overtime.
Chaminade took an 8-3 lead on back-to-back baskets by Tagios in the first quarter. Holy Trinity grabbed its first lead at 13-11 when Ryan Reid found Pinsky for a three-pointer.
Manny Ayeye scored the first basket of the second quarter, extending the Titans’ lead to 20-16. Back-to-back baskets by Dillon put Chaminade ahead 24-22. The Flyers closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 32-27 lead into the half.
Holy Trinity tightened its defense in the third quarter, allowing only five points. The Titans cut their deficit to 37-34 on a layup by Thomas, but both teams failed to score for the final three minutes of the quarter.
“I think in the first half we were letting the play before affect the next one,” Tagios said. “In the second half, we dug in on defense, and bringing up the intensity was a big reason why.”
“We preached physicality all week at practice,” Dillon said. “We executed that physicality at practice and that helped us get clutch stops.”
Chaminade dominated on the boards, outrebounding Holy Trinity 40-24. The Flyers have defeated the Titans in six of the last eight matchups.
“Trinity is known for being a tough team, and we had to match that,” the 6-1 Tagios said. “I’m one of the bigger kids on this team, but everyone is trying to push me in practice, and that gets us ready for the game.’’
“Pete learned how to be tough from last year’s players,” Feeney said. “His toughness has stood out, and I think that’s probably the reason we won this game today.’’
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.