After an opening loss to Jefferson on Friday, the Crusaders have a huge task on hand hosting the Lake Oswego Lakers in the home opener.
The Crusaders look to three-peat in the Metro League. Jesuit, being led by junior guard Patrick Kilfoil and senior wing Nico Rafalovich, are looking to reach Chiles Center at the University of Portland for the first time since 2019.
The Crusaders with an uncommonly young roster features 3 sophomores and 1 freshman.
For the first time in years there is a freshman on the varsity roster, Isaac Bongen. Bongen opened up the season with 25 points vs the Democrats, with 5 three pointers. Bongen led all scorers on the Crusader roster.
Kilfoil talked about what they have learned as a team since suffering the loss, “We gotta have better team defense, foul trouble got us in a deep hole. Knowing the personnel is very important in big games like that” (Kilfoil).
Last game Kilfoil fouled out in crucial minutes in the game which was a huge loss for the team. TJ Latu for the Democrats dropped 28 points vs the Crusaders in the opener.
Rafalovichwill open up his season Tuesday vs The Lakers which will create a huge spark for the Crusaders. Rafalovich is coming off a broken wrist that he suffered in tryouts weeks ago.
Kilfoil also shared the keys to tonight’s game vs the Lakers: “understanding each other’s roles and trusting one another. It is also huge Nico is returning tonight for us.”
As Kilfoil said, “take care of business” and all should go well.
The Lakers will have a new look this season, with the departure of longtime head coach Marshall Cho, it is time for a very experienced LO roster to step up and show their true talent. All eyes are on senior guard Aengus Sutherland and junior guard Carter Dietz to lead the team to victory. With 9 seniors on the roster for the Lakers they look to have a dominant season in the TRL known as the most competitive league in the state.
Lake Oswego quickly found their guy in hiring interim head coach Mark Swenson. Coach Swenson was previously an assistant at Linfield College.
If you cannot make the game at Jesuit, tune into JCTV on Tuesday December 5 at 7pm.
