STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The top two seeds held form in the semifinal round of the Borough President Vito Fossella SIHSL JV Tournament Friday as No. 1 seed Curtis HS took care of Susan Wagner 64-38, while second-seeded Monsignor Farrell held on for a thrilling 48-44 triumph over CHSAA rival and three-time defending champion St. Peter’s in a Friday night doubleheader at Curtis’ gym, St. George.

The latter game was decided when Vincent Kraker buried an NBA-range, three-pointer with just two seconds left in the contest.

The Warriors and Lions, with their contrasting styles of play, will meet for all the marbles, Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Petrides HS, Sunnyside.

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2026 SIHSL JV Tournament: St. Peters vs. Monsignor Farrell (more photos to come)

Farrell 48, St. Peter’s 44

When these two long-time rivals meet on any level, any time of year, all bets are off.

The Lions swept the season series from the Eagles and the old adage says “it’s tough to beat any team three times in one season.”

The first two quarters were played very close to the vest by both teams and the Lions held a slim 8-7 lead after one and led 17-16 at the intermission.

The Oakwood school got things clicking a bit in the third period and entered the final eight minutes with a 12-point bulge at 34-22.

But, even Farrell head coach Peter Tutrone, who has been a part of this rivalry for almost two decades in some capacity, knew the Eagles had a run in them.

And just like that the New Brighton school burst out to an 18-7 run over the first six minutes of the fourth to creep back to 41-40 highlighted by the play of Mikki Lopez, Ryan Tuite and big man John Greenwald.

Mikey Olson canned a soft runner in the lane to halt the spurt and get Farrell a three-point lead (43-40), but Tuite banged down a top of the key trey with just 25 seconds left to knot things at 43.

Tutrone called for time and set up a potential game-winning play in the huddle.

“We wanted to take the last shot and we wanted it in Kraker’s hands and that was the way we designed the play,” explained Kraker. “We wanted the ball in Moye’s (Bryce) hands – he’s the quarterback – and we wanted him to get it to Vin and he did just what we asked.”

The Eagles man-to-man D didn’t make things easy, but Kraker, who knocked down a game-winning triple earlier in the season against St. Edmund’s in December came up clutch when his team needed it most.

He took the ball on the right wing with a defender in his face and the shot clock winding down the rangy guard canned the gamer with 1.5 on the shot and two seconds on the game clock to send the Lions into the championship and their faithful fans into a frenzy.

“Coach drew up the play and the team did a great job of executing it and I’m just glad my teammates trusted me to take that shot,” said the sophomore. We wanted to take it down to the end and have the last shot and I knew I could make it. We didn’t panic at all when they came back – we’re a good fourth quarter team.”

“This game was very reminiscent of the last game we played with them (a 67-64 win in Oakwood),” said Tutrone. “We were up, but they have shooters and they made shots like tonight. We didn’t really turn it over much, but their half-court defense was tough. Matt (Genovese, STP head coach) always has a game plan.”

“But our guys are resilient. They have been through a lot and I’m proud of them. Bryce had a strong game and Mikey Olson made a huge shot late in the game. I’m proud of him. And that’s Kraker. He is that kind of player, he has amazing confidence with a knack for the big shot.”

Kraker finished with 16 points to lead Farrell, while Moye had 10 and Jamie Cruz and Jacob Razefsky split 12.

For the Eagles, whose stellar run of three straight titles came to an end, were led by Greenwald’s 16 markers. Lopez had 15, while Tuite had 12 (nine in the fourth).

Curtis 64, Wagner 38

The top-seeded Warriors showed why they are just that with a wire-to-wire takedown of the upstart Falcons, who won an overtime decision over Moore Catholic in the quarters to advance.

Reserve Jeremy King led a well-balanced attack with 18 points, mostly coming from in close off good feeds, while Kayden King tallied 17 and Colin Reinhold had 13. Rich Raniero had a strong game at both ends of the floor for the winners.

The Warriors fast-paced, end-to-end attack was sparked by their defense as they held the Falcons without a point from the 2:35 mark of the first period until the 4:57 mark of the third.

Head coach Ryan McKay’s team rolled to an 18-0 shutout in the second quarter to wash away any thought’s of an upset.

“The fast-paced style is mine and my teams DNA,” stated McKay, who has led the Warriors to a 15-1 record thus far. “We’re a PSAL team and the Catholic schools have taken the championship in this division for a bunch of year’s now and I told the team if you want to win these games you have to play hard and put in the work. We have been together as a team working since the summer, we have a great bunch of kids and coaches and I’m just so proud of them.”

While the tourney is guaranteed to have a new champion this year, the Curtis-Farrell matchup is a rematch of the 2020 title tilt, won by the Lions.

“That was my first year and we’re very excited to get back. Farrell is a strong program and we look forward to a great game. It’s always a goal to win the Island championship,” added McKay.

Jayden Acea and Kyle Kyee had 15 and 13, respectively, for SW.