St. Anthony's boys in CHSAA final for second time in three years after beating Holy Trinity

For the second time in three years, St. Anthony’s boys basketball will play for the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA title.

Behind standout performances from senior forward Connor Mannix, freshman forward Ouse Ninche and junior guard Kevin Moore, second-seeded St. Anthony’s won, 65-54, over No. 3 Holy Trinity on Friday night at Hofstra to advance to the championship game.

After falling behind 8-0 to start the game, the Friars (22-3) went on a 17-4 extended run to take a five-point lead two minutes into the second quarter. However, Holy Trinity (14-12) hung with them, as that margin only shrunk from there. Now trailing 31-29 with 6:35 left in the third quarter, Mannix came to life in the paint and took over the game.

Mannix scored all 10 of his points and grabbed four of his eight rebounds in the third quarter. He tied the score at 31 when he hit a layup off an inbound pass from Moore, then two minutes later, he knocked down a pull-up jumper in the low post to give the Friars the lead. With just 2:45 left in the period, Mannix hit a haphazard layup with his back to the basket as he was fouled aggressively before converting the free throw to complete the three-point play.

A minute later, he cut through the backdoor and caught a no-look pass from Ninche to give himself an easy layup, capping a 13-3 run that put St. Anthony’s up 42-34.

“At halftime I got my mind right, and I said I was going to come out different, and that’s what I did,” Mannix said. “It feels good. I’m hoping to do that again next time out and keep it going. I can’t sleep some nights because I want to win so bad.”

Ninche did everything, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. With just 5:10 left in the game and St. Anthony’s leading 49-40, Ninche spun between two big defenders and hit a tough hook shot with both men draped all over him to go up by four possessions and ignite the crowd. The Friars rode that energy high for the rest of the game, as they maintained their double-digit lead and ultimately secured the win.

“I just felt the momentum change from there,” Ninche said. “After that, we went on a run, and it was just game from there.”

Moore had 16 points, three rebounds, six assists and four steals on the night. He used his athleticism all night to create momentum swings, such as an assist on a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the first quarter, a full-court assist on a dunk by Ninche in the game’s final minute and three fast-break dunks off his own steals.

He credited his assists to the talent of his teammates. As for his play on defense, he attributed those plays to his experience as a football player.

“I’ve been playing with these guys since freshman year, so I trust them to make these shots,” Moore said. “I’m a defensive back in football, so on defense, the instincts take over and it translates.”

St. Anthony’s will take on No. 1 St. Dominic, a 48-40 winner over No. 5 Kellenberg, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.