On Tuesday, January 13th, the #12 ranked Jesuit Crusaders defeated the #15 ranked West Linn Lions in a close back and forth battle. Coming off of a loss to the Central Catholic Rams, the Crusaders were hungry to get a victory over the Lions.
Sam Curvy opened up the scoring for the Crusaders with a smooth layup. The first quarter was a back and forth battle, with both teams struggling to score without much offensive presence on either side.
“Our offense just wasn't the best but we were hustling which was good. We just needed to keep running our sets,” Curvy said.
Curvy also started the 2nd quarter hot for the Crusaders, hitting a nice hook shot to get the offense moving. Shortly after, a nice hustle play from Nick Zervis allowed Jack Wilson to push in transition up to Sam Curvy where he could finish with a one handed slam. After both teams were struggling to score, senior Ryan Barone got the crusaders back on their feet with a corner three with short time in the 2nd quarter.
Heading into halftime, the Crusaders were trailing 28-29 and looking to get their offense going.
“We just needed to keep working hard and we knew our offense would eventually start to flow. Coach Potter really motivated us in the locker room and we know we have been working hard for this all season, ” Senior Cole Koopman stated.
Junior Major Williams started the 2nd half, hitting a corner three and getting the offense charged. The game continued to be a back and forth defensive battle, with junior Jack Wilson getting an impressive block for the crusaders. Major Williams continued hitting for the Crusaders, scoring another crucial three pointer to help the team slowly take the lead.
Senior Joe Stimpson started the 4th for the Crusaders with a tough layup through contact. The 4th quarter was an evenly spread stat sheet, with Joe Stimpson, Sam Curvy, Ryan Barone, and Major Williams doing most of the scoring for the Crusaders. The Crusaders maintained the lead throughout the 4th quarter and continued playing hard defense to close out the game.
Following the 60-53 victory over West Linn, the Jesuit Crusaders will travel to face the Aloha Warriors at 7:15 PM on Friday January 16th to kick off Metro play.
