Corpus Christi's fifth grade basketball team had reached a critical juncture. Playing consecutive games on back to back days, the team faced must win situations against the top and bottom divisional rivals to maintain a playoff spot in the Nassau Suffolk CYO March Madness extravaganza. The Jekyll - Hyde nature of this squad led to a pair of wins from strange circumstances.

The Saturday matchup pit the Corpi against a winless but snakebit group from St. Thomas in West Hempstead. The boys knew a tussle would ensue as they fell behind 0-6 before finding their shot. Guards Alex Ward and Michael Fox led the team on a 7-0 run to end the quarter which also became a meager one point halftime lead. St. Thomas proved a worthy defensive opponent despite their record. The Doubting Thomases' failed to fold and if not for clutch foul shooting by Corpus Christi (9 for 17 at the charity stripe) could have pulled off the upset.

Joe Purcell rallied the locals in the second half with four points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block and steal. Camby Cooper came alive on the glass with eleven boards while namesake Endre Cooper snatched eight. Ward (10 points) and Fox (8 points) shared the offense while Dan Gouveia chipped in a bucket. Nick Conte came through with pressure rebounds off the bench and Tim Goncalves strong armed a pair of rebounds with an assist and steal. Tom McKeever did not make the stat sheet but his presence was felt throughout the contest. At the buzzer, Corpus Christi was fortunate to steal a 27-24 victory from the throes of defeat. This game may be the season's turning point.

Returning on less than twenty four hours notice, the White and Red traveled to Port Washington for their most anticipated game of the year against St. Peter's. Tainted by a weak effort on opening day, the boys were out to avenge their worst defeat. The game played as advertised and Coach Mike Falotico would decide the fate with an early timeout. Falotico challenged TJ Winters with the defensive assignment of covering Peter's Dylan Sinnickson who had tallied all nine first period tying points. Winters shut out Sinnickson for the remainder of the game providing the impetus for Corpus Christi to establish an offense. Mike Fox took charge on the scoreboard with continual drives to the hoop leading to 14 points via nine trips to the foul line. The first half lead was 16-13 despite the loss of two points to foul line violations in a physical game.

The lead grew to five as the second half began when the shooting of Joe Purcell blossomed. Purcell had ten points and five rebounds while netting another trio of distributions to teammates during the surge that established Corpus Christi's dominance. Endre Cooper had four points with both coming on offensive rebounding putbacks at timely situations to keep the momentum intact. Alex Ward contributed from the point on both offense and defense with four points, two steals, an assists and another of his team leading blocked shots.

Winters was rested for the third period when Sinnickson found foul trouble but broke out in the final stanza with a pair of baskets to complement his five boards and three steals. Nick Conte spelled the starters with two aggressive rebounds along with Dan Gouveia's two steals in a similar role. Keith Medina filled precious minutes when Camby Cooper and Mike Fox had only a foul to give before disqualification. In the end, Christi would persevere to a 36-28 win and virtually guarantee a playoff spot with two weeks of rest on the docket.

Hoop Notes: Corpus Christi returns to action for the final regular season game at Our Lady of Victory on February 24 at 1:15 p.m... Mike Fox was the winner of the 10- year-old bracket of the local Knights of Columbus Council Free Throw Contest sinking 10 of 15 chances.. Mike advances to regional competition in hopes of reaching the state final at West Point... Winters returns to the active roster after twelve weeks on the disabled list with a fractured elbow just in time to see Forward Bryan Vesley deactivated due to a foot injury...Ward, Fox and Purcell are tied for the team scoring lead averaging seven points each.. Camby Cooper has a league-high rebounding average of twelve per contest...Endre Cooper continues to be the secret weapon with points and rebounds increasing in magnitude and importance each game... Falotico employs one of the deepest rotations in the division - all players seem to contribute in some way, shape or form - no second unit attitude exists on this team... Rumors continue to surface that St. John's Mike Jarvis and Hofstra's Tom Pecora are recruiting Falotico as an unpaid assistant.. Falotico denies the assertion but is believed to be seeking the Adelphi Head Coaching position when Jim Perry (52-2 over past two years) bolts for greener Division I pastures... League sources report that Corpus Christi travels with the biggest crowd contingent of any team ... Team parents are amongst the most respectful seen at any opposing arena providing huge advantage to players and adding to nervousness of home teams.