Hayes advances to CHSAA semis

Cardinal Hayes, the top seed from the NY Archdiocese Division, advanced to the CHSAA intersectional semifinals with a 57-42 win over Bronx rival Mount Saint Michael Academy at Fordham University on Sunday. Joe Toussaint scored 15 points and Jaylen Murray had 13 for Hayes. The Cardinals will take on Archbishop Stepinac at 8:00 pm on Thursday night at Fordham.

Mount went punch for punch with Hayes throughout much of the first half, challenging the Cardinals on the perimeter and forcing them into the paint. Hayes still managed to connect on five 3-pointers during the first two quarters, but Mount, led by point guard Mike Green, knocked down enough shots to stay close, going 8-19 from the field and 3-7 from 3-point range over the first 16 minutes. Malik Pringle's jumper tied the score at 20 with 3:05 left in the half, but Hayes closed the second quarter on a 10-2 run, capped with an alley-oop dunk from Toussaint to Shemani Fuller, giving the Cardinals a 30-22 lead at the break.

Mount continued to defend on the perimeter, holding Hayes to 1-10 shooting from the beyond the arc in the third quarter, but the Cardinals started scoring in the paint and on the glass, with Toussaint penetrating into the lane to create easy looks for Fuller and Adam Cisse around the rim. Green kept the Mountaineers within striking distance for much of the second half, but Mount was unable to get closer than six in the final quarter, and Fuller's dunk off a lob pass from Toussaint put Hayes ahead 50-42 with just 2:10 to play.

Mount shot just 6-20 from the field in the second half, going 0-8 from 3-point range. Green had a game-high 21 points and went 5-10 from the field (2-6 on 3 FGs), going a near-perfect 9-10 from the free throw line.    

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