Crusaders claim first win of season and find momentum to carry against Central Catholic.

In Tuesday’s battle against Lake Oswego, junior Patrick Kilfoil scored the most points for the Crusaders, tallying 15 and led the effort to claim their first win of the season, 62-48 in the Knight Gym.

Kilfoil, point guard and team captain, led the Crusader’s scoring , and was responsible for directing the Crusader’s offense. He relentlessly attacked the paint, drawing three fouls, and creating more scoring opportunities for Jesuit.

Significant contributions were also made by freshman Isaac Bongen in his Knight Gym debut game. Not only is he one of the first freshmen to make the varsity basketball team in many years, he is also starting for the Crusaders—and rightfully so. Bongen racked up 14 points, 12 of which were three pointers—giving him a 57% performance from beyond the arc.

However, Lake Oswego was no slouch. Their fast-paced offensive play allowed them to outscore Jesuit 16-13 in the first quarter, and they continued to be a worthy competitor throughout the whole game.

After an unfortunate loss to the Jefferson Democrats on the advent of December, the Crusaders made some necessary improvements to their defense that came to life in the remaining three quarters and prevented the Lakers from scoring more than 12 points per quarter.

Senior Nico Rafalovich took the floor against Lake Oswego for the first time this season after suffering a hand injury, and proved to be the star of Jesuit’s defense. With eight defensive rebounds and multiple blocks, he allowed the Crusaders to take the lead and even their record to 1-1.

Home-court advantage turned out to be a real thing for Jesuit on Tuesday, December 5. They will put it to the test again, this Friday, December 8 at 7:00pm when they host the highly ranked Central Catholic Rams in another classic rivalry match-up.