STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— As Jaques Award candidate Nick Rebracca poured in 23 points to post back-to-back 20-plus performances in a 64–40 President Vito Fossella SIHSL Tournament semifinal win over Susan Wagner, teammate John Paturzo was equally impactful on the defensive end.
Paturzo, who added 14 points of his own, held fellow Jaques frontrunner Chris Albano to just seven points while serving as his primary defender, powering Sea to a comprehensive victory and sending the Vikings to the final.
“I was just comfortable. I knew I also had guys behind me in help defense which made it a whole lot easier,” Paturzo said of his lockdown night after the game.
Head coach Mike Cortese echoed that praise, saying there were “no surprises” in Paturzo’s stellar defensive performance.
“What he does on the court is unbelievable; he does it all, and obviously with the loss of Nicky Lee we’ve asked him to do even more and he hasn’t batted an eye,” Cortese said.
“He defends the other team’s best player, he gets into the paint, he rebounds. He was up to the task; he wanted to guard him and did a great job of it.”
Cortese added that the Vikings’ intensity on the defensive end is “something we pride ourselves on; I always say we need to defend, rebound and run.”
That sentiment was reflected throughout the lineup, including junior Joey Moran’s performance. While the power forward scored just six points on the night, he controlled the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds to help Sea dictate the flow of the contest.
A more understated performance also came from Sea’s Peter Cruciata off the bench. In limited minutes, Cruciata provided a spark whenever he was on the floor; his two points may not jump off the stat sheet, but he matched Paturzo’s defensive intensity, recording a team-high two steals (shared) along with a rebound while helping Sea maintain its defensive dominance.
The Vikings also set the tone early once again. Coming off a fast 14–1 start against Staten Island Academy in the quarterfinals, Sea came out firing against the Falcons, jumping out to 13–3 and 16–7 leads by the end of the first quarter and continuing their trend of fast starts.
“We wanted to set that tone and hoped that it was something they weren’t used to,” Cortese said of another quick opening.
Rebracca’s scoring touch played a major role in that offensive surge. Along with his five total triples, the Vikings caught fire from beyond the arc as a team, as Luca Mineo (three 3-pointers) and Jack Boyle (two) helped fuel an attack that saw nearly half of Sea’s points come from downtown.
Paturzo also made sure to credit Rebracca for his continued offensive dominance.
“He played amazing. He hit a bunch of shots and kept us going; we couldn’t have won it without him,” Paturzo said.
Rounding out the Vikings’ night included 11 total points from Mineo, joining Rebracca and Paturzo as Sea’s double-digit scorers on the evening.
Now, with a championship game set against CHSAA foe and the seven-time defending SIHSL champion St. Peter’s, Cortese said, “it’s going to be a great game. We’re just going to sit back and do our homework for now.”
Sea’s Nick Rebracca had another big night against Susan Wagner in the SIHSL semifinals.Michael O’Brien
Paturzo shared a similar mindset.
“It feels great; we put in a lot of work to get here,” he said. “But we’ve got one more. Job’s not finished.”
The SIHSL tournament championship game is set for Wednesday evening at Petrides, with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
Staten Island Advance