The 1987-88 Holy Cross basketball team made history by defeating Norwalk in the Class LL title game, becoming the first state champion in any sport in the school’s history.
Coming in Coach Tim McDonald’s final year at the helm of the Crusaders’ hoop program, the accomplishment was that much more satisfying for a team that persevered through some adversity – and a 10-10 regular season one year earlier – to produce the storybook ending.
“Going into our senior year, we believed we had a chance to be good, but there was definitely pressure as we hadn’t had success to that point,” says Dewey Stinson, one of the team captains in 1987-88. “The prior year we struggled and underachieved, I think, in most folks’ eyes … in a very good league with quality teams throughout.”
During the summer between his junior and senior seasons, the Crusaders participated in a team camp at Wake Forest University. “That experience was huge for us, as we got a chance to compete against some very tough teams and we had a very good showing,” recalls Stinson.
The trip provided a confidence boost for the Crusader players, who “then had an added all-or-nothing mentality once Coach Mac announced (during the preseason) that it would be his final year,” believes Stinson. “Being one of the most selfless men ever, Coach never made it about him. But it was hard not to feel that need to send him off in a successful way.”
Led by a solid group of seniors – Stinson, 6-7 center Doug Leichner, point guard Tony Santos and versatile Dyran Henderson – Holy Cross started the league season well, with early wins over main rivals Wilby and Crosby.
A February defeat to Wilby and its star Phil Lott was the Crusaders’ lone loss in the NVL. A one-game playoff between the two city teams was needed to determine the NVL champion. Stinson scored six straight points in the closing minutes of a tight contest to lead Holy Cross to a 75-66 victory and give McDonald an NVL crown in his final year as coach.
The Crusaders then rode their momentum into the state tournament, winning their next five game to claim the CIAC Class LL crown. The 6-3 Stinson collected 21 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game win over Norwalk, to earn most valuable players honors in the title game.
Stinson went on to play college basketball at Fordham University, and happened to face another Waterburian in the NCAA tournament when the Rams qualified for the Big Dance in his senior season.
“Fordham was in the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) my freshman and sophomore seasons, and we faced some tough LaSalle teams that had a number of future NBA players (Lionel Simmons, Randy Woods, Tim Legler), and we ended up in the NIT.”
The Rams then joined a new conference, the Patriot League, for Stinson’s junior season. “We had the second longest win streak (to UNLV) that year, and beat several teams that made the tournament. But we were snubbed by the NCAA for at at-large bid, and lost in a play-in game for the tourney (being in a brand new conference).”
Fordham finally made the tournament in Stinson’s senior season, but lost to a UMass team that included Jerome Malloy, who starred at Kennedy and was the Billy Finn Award winner in 1991.
Thirty year on from that game, Stinson lives in the New York City area with his two daughters, ages 12 and 13. “And I have had the good fortune of working in the sports media industry over the last 20-plus years,” adds Stinson, who has fond memories of his final year of high school basketball.
Besides the state championship game, the most memorable games that senior year for Stinson were the matchups with Wilby and an early-season encounter with state power Warren Harding of Bridgeport.
“Any time you get to play against arguably the city’s greatest player ever in Phil Lott, it was special, and – with the league playoff– we got to face Wilby three times my senior season,” notes Stinson. “Phil was like LeBron – on the court, he was smarter, stronger, more skilled and athletic than anyone out there.”
Games between Holy Cross and Wilby during Stinson’s years “were always tight, yet that senior year we were on a mission and able to take two out of the three and win the league.”
Another highlight came in the Crusaders’ second game of the season, in the Pearl Street Holiday Festival at Kennedy’s gym, against Warren Harding of Bridgeport – which was ranked number one in the state, and also included in USA Today’s Top 20 national ranking of teams.
“We had a lead for most of the game. At some point in the fourth quarter we were up a few baskets, before we literally threw the game away with three back-to-back turnovers,” says Stinson. “And to my amazement I remember them going into a stall. I guess it was a smart tactic, but unexpected when you have this uber-talented team trying to survive in that manner. I also remember this game as I missed key free throws late in the game… Ughhh!”
That game may have ended in defeat but did help to show the Crusaders they could compete with the best teams in the state. By season’s end, the confidence and experience gained over the years paid off, along with the guidance of McDonald, who was “super-prepared, disciplined and knowledgeable,” remembers Stinson.
“He was more than a coach, educator, and teacher … he was father figure to so many, to many that sorely lacked that type of influence in their life,” says Stinson. “He was an authoritarian, with a golden heart.”
McDonald’s “announcement (to retire) was hard to believe at the time, recalls Stinson, “but it gave us some additional motivation, if we needed it. It obviously made the whole year that much more special; it was a fairy tale.”