STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It doesn’t matter the sport, but any time Island and Catholic school rivals Monsignor Farrell and St. Peter’s square off on a field or court, it’s a big deal.

Not quite as big as Monday night’s varsity semifinal pitting the two schools against each other, but the Lions and Eagles will face-off for the Borough President Vito Fossella SIHSL Freshman Tournament title on Tuesday after both schools registered semifinal wins on Sunday at McKee/Staten Island Tech’s New Dorp gym.

The rivals will square off for all the marbles on Tuesday at MSIT (5 p.m.).

The top-seeded Eagles advanced via an easy 67-37 win over CHSAA foe St. Joseph by-the-Sea, while No. 2 Farrell got past Moore Catholic 51-47.

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2026 SIHSL Freshmen Tournament: St. Peters vs. St. Joseph Sea and Moore vs. Farrell

St. Peter’s 67, Sea 37

It was a rout from the opening-tip as the Eagles held a comfortable 35-7 halftime edge in cruising to victory, its third in three tries over the Vikings in 2025-26.

The New Brighton school (16-8 overall) was cooking from deep as they hit on a whopping 11 threes in the contest.

Leading the way was Jake Smith (five triples), who totaled a game-high 17 markers for coach Jake DeForest’s team. Frank DiMatteo (three treys) netted 16 and Leo Cabrerra and Kiyan Edwards contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively for STP.

“We’re just a super resilient team; our defensive intensity was stifling,” said DeForest, who has led STP to a pair of title game appearances in his two seasons as head coach, winning it all a year ago. “Our guys have done a great job of buying into what we are selling and our assistant coaches have been great; I give them all the credit.”

“We feel like we are playing our best basketball at the most important time of the year,” quipped DeForest. “It’s been a great season so far and we’re looking forward to the championship game and the rest of the year.”

Alex Esposito and Dom Trombetta teamed for 17 for the Vikings.

Farrell 51, Moore 47

The Lions (13-8) trailed 21-19 at the break and were down eight with 5:30 to go before a huge closing spurt changed the momentum of the game as the Oakwood school avoided the Mavs’ upset bid.

Jayden Daigneau (14 points, five boards) scored six unanswered points and the Lions’ defense stiffened to cut the deficit to two with four minutes left in the contest.

Following a Moore bucket, Gavin Silva’s steal and assist on an Anthony Abreu layup got the Lions to within two at 44-42 and another Farrell stop and rebound by Xavier Sher (15 points, 13 rebounds) gave the winners possession with a chance to tie the game.

Matt Abreu drained a huge three to give Farrell a 45-44 lead they would never relinquish. Kevin Foy (nine points, four boards, three steals) gave the Lions a three-point bulge and Anthony Abreu (eight points, six assists) calmly canned 4 of 4 from the line in the closing minutes to seal the deal.

“Moore and head coach Chris Cordes had a great game,” said Lions mentor Richie Gomez. “They’re always prepared especially since we played each other just a week ago in the regular-season finale.”

“We prepared knowing Moore was a very good opponent and we were physically and mentally ready to play,” added Gomez. “We made several mistakes throughout the game, but we were mentally tough down the stretch and were able to close it out. Our defense was great, highlighted by the play of Joe Sheehan.”

DJ Santiago and Luca Fanelli led the Mavs with 16 and 15 points, respectively.