The No. 6-Ranked Jesuit Crusaders defeated the No. 17-ranked Benson Astros in the 3rd place game in the OSAA 6a state playoffs on Saturday, March 14 at the Chiles Center.
Sam Curvy opened it up for the crusaders with a smooth post fade. Major Williams also added a three pointer to give the Crusaders the lead early in the first quarter. Benson continued fighting in the first however, with freshman Kendall Hopkins-McGlothen answering back with a layup to take the lead 12-10 with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. Following stellar defense from senior Cole Koopman, the Crusaders entered the 2nd quarter with the lead of 19-18.
Senior Ryan Barone opened up the 2nd quarter for the Crusaders with a simple pull up three pointer from deep. Benson answered right back with a three on their own from Robert Acelar. Then the Crusaders went on a run, scoring threes and shutting down the Astro offense. Finishing the first half with a layup from Joe Stimpson, the Crusaders headed into halftime with a lead of 43-27.
“We were feeling great, we had a strong first half of our last game of the season, as a team we put an emphasis to keep up on the momentum and blow them out to end the season on a good note,” senior Max Sharp said.
The third quarter is where the Crusaders took over, shutting down the Astros and increasing their lead by as much as 22 points. Joe Stimpson opened up the third quarter with a smooth post fade for the Crusaders. Major Williams then hit a three pointer to increase the lead further for the Crusaders. Penny Harrison carried out the momentum after finishing two free throws to give the Crusaders a lead of 63-41 heading into the 4th.
Sam Curvy would start the 4th for the Crusaders with a fast break layup. The Crusaders continued to dominate all throughout the 4th. They would cycle through their entire bench and play good team basketball on their final game of the season. Senior Nick Zervis would hit two three pointers in a row to get the bench hype in the middle of the 4th. Cole Koopman would finish the game for the Crusaders by hitting a three pointer deep in the 4th to give the Crusaders the win 82-62.
“It was just a great way to end the season, we went out there and fought hard despite the loss from the day before and we were able to bring home the third place trophy for the student body,” Cole Koopman said.
The Jesuit Crusaders ended their season with the third place trophy and a final record of 22-8.
