Pittsburgh-bound Mustapha Heron guides Sacred Heart past Christ The King at Hoophall Classic

SPRINGFIELD – Sacred Heart junior Mustapha Heron certainly looked forward to showing what his team could do on a national stage. The Hearts answered the call on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh-committed Heron scored 18 points as the Waterbury, Conn. school looked more than comfortable in dispatching Christ The King, 64-51, in the Hoophall Classic at Blake Arena.

“We’ve been looking at it since the beginning of the season. Everybody marked this game on their calendars,” said Heron, the No. 25 ranked player in ESPN’s Junior Class ratings. “We knew this was going to be a big test.”

The defending Connecticut Class S state champion (8-0) was in control for the majority of the game, though Christ The King of Middle Village, New York made things a bit interesting late. The Royals, led by junior Rawle Alkins, the No. 35 ranked junior by ESPN, pulled within 56-50 with under two minutes remaining.

But Raheem Solomon and Malik Petteway scored back to back hoops for Sacred Heart, and the squad pulled away for the 13-point victory.

“It was a good game. We came out, played hard and they tested us,” Heron said. “We stuck through some rough patches in the game and were able to get over that hump.”

Sacred Heart head coach Jon Carroll said that while the school played at the Hoophall five years ago, this environment is still very new to his current crop of players.

“We were fortunate enough to come here and play in 2010. Our coaching staff is still the same so we kind of knew what to expect and prepped them on that,” Carroll said. “But once you get out there and see the jersey and the tradition (of Christ The King), there’s a lot of pressure. The whole thing for this group of kids is brand new. And they really responded.”

Heron chose Pittsburgh just over a year ago, making the decision early during his sophomore season. He said that early commitment has been a big help in his ability to concentrate on the task at hand at Sacred Heart.

“I can just go out and worry about playing,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about who is calling or who is writing.”

Things started quickly for Sacred Heart. Behind a vocal student section making the trek up from Waterbury for the tilt, the Hearts led 16-8 after one quarter and 28-20 at halftime.

“They support us in everything that we do,” Heron said of the student section. “Obviously in the state championship (last year) they were there and they were loud but even sometimes in like scrimmages and things like that, they’re at those games watching and supporting us. Being a small community, everyone sticks together.”

Alkins picked up three fouls in the first half and sat for the final few minutes for Christ The King, though he came out firing in the third quarter. Back to back hoops from the junior forward, who was guarded by Heron for large chunks of the first half, pulled Christ The King within 34-26.

Jose Alvarado’s three-pointer kept the Royals within striking distance, as his triple pulled Christ The King to within 40-36 with 53 seconds left in the third. But Petteway answered on the other end, hitting a basket and drawing contact for a three-point play, and his team added another hoop to reestablish the lead at 45-36 entering the fourth quarter.

Christ The King pulled within 56-50 late after back to back Tyrone Cohen (team-high 17 points) layups, but Solomon and Petteway ultimately delivered the sealing hoops en route to the win.

Sacred Heart’s Tyrn Flowers used his length to finish around the hoop, benefiting from several nice feed from Heron in the paint. The 6-foot-7 junior forward finished his outing with 15 points and five rebounds, while Petteway had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Alkins, who is uncommitted, had a double-double for Christ The King with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Heron said the trip to Springfield made for a memorable experience.

“It’s a great environment and a great opportunity for our team and also individual players being able to raise their stocks,” he said. “This game today was a huge step for us as far as momentum going forward. We have another huge test on Monday (against Notre Dame-Fairfield) and we’ll be ready for it.”

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