STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— Susan Wagner’s Chris Albano has already inserted himself into the 2026 Jaques Award conversation, and after pouring in 27 points to guide the Falcons to a Borough President Vito Fossella SIHSL Tournament semifinal berth, the star guard has only strengthened his case for the honor.
Accounting for nearly half of the team’s offense, Albano’s polished scoring ability powered Wagner to a hard-fought 56–48 win over PSAL rival Curtis, a victory also fueled by a strong defensive effort.
Despite being undersized—and facing Curtis’ dynamic big man Jayden Faulkner—the Falcons controlled the defensive glass, consistently crashing the boards to eliminate second-chance opportunities for the Warriors.
Susan Wagner also held Curtis’ point guard scoreless, repeatedly disrupting the Warriors’ ball movement and entry into their half-court offense to complement their Albano’s efficient scoring and secure the win.
Player of the game: Chris Albano
The guard’s performance made him a no-brainer for Player of the Game honors, and he said his mindset of “trying to get downhill every chance I got and finish through contact” was the key to his near 30-point outing.
He’s also clearly got his priorities straight. When asked what the performance meant for his Jaques Award candidacy, he brushed it aside, saying, “I don’t really care about that. All I care about is winning a championship.”
That same focus showed when asked whether it felt sweeter to punch a ticket to the semifinals by beating a PSAL rival. “It feels good,” he said, “but the job’s not done. On to the next.”
Turning point
While neither team was able to pull away for most of the game, a key stretch came at the start of the second half.
Holding a slim 25–20 halftime lead, the Falcons opened the third quarter with great energy, building a 33–24 advantage that appeared to give them the confidence to stay the course while planting a seed of doubt in the Warriors’ minds—prompting a timeout from Curtis.
HighlightsCoach Lanigan’s take
Speaking with Falcons head coach Danny Lanigan after the contest about how his team—despite lacking a true dominant big—rebounded so well, he said that “we don’t really have a choice.”
“Curtis is just like every other opponent—bigger than us. It takes everybody on the roster to rebound because we can’t rely on one or two guys, and we did a pretty good job as a team rebounding today.”
As for how well his defense did in stopping the Warriors’ floor general from scoring, Lanigan said that “we knew it was going to be really difficult, but the point guard is really more of a distributor anyway. So it wasn’t so much being focused on stopping him from scoring compared to the other guys, but we’re happy to survive.”
Lastly, when asked how his No. 1-seeded Falcons will prepare to earn a trip to the championship game, Lanigan said that “we’ll make adjustments internally; we weren’t thinking about anything past today, just trying to survive and advance.”
“We knew this game was going to be a war with so much riding on it; fortunately we were able to win, and this will be a different Super Bowl Sunday for us with the quick turnaround, but we’re looking forward to watching the film and getting ready for Monday.”
Susan Wagner’s Darin Humes-James dictates the Falcons’ offense during a SIHSL quarterfinal game vs. Curtis on Feb. 7, 2026.Michael O’BrienNext up
With the victory, the Falcons will now face the No. 4-seeded St. Joseph by-the-Sea Vikings with a trip to the title game on the line, tipping off Monday at Petrides at either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m.
Stats corner
In addition to Albano’s standout performance, Darin Humes-James also chipped in offensively for the Falcons with 13 points, the only other Wagner player to score in double figures.
Despite the loss, Makhiye Washington delivered a strong showing for the Warriors, finishing with 23 points after being held scoreless in the first quarter.
Staten Island Advance