Helias guard Marcus Anthony scored 31 points to lead the Crusaders to a 71-58 win over Republic in Jefferson City Wednesday. The Crusaders took advantage of second-chance points all night, out-rebounding Republic 25-12, and controlled the game from the end of the first quarter on.
Republic took an early lead on the strength of its defense. When Race Looney hit a midrange jumper late in the first quarter, Republic led 12-4. But Helias closed out the period with two straight three-pointers, then out-scored Republic 12-2 to open the second period.
“We left some wide-open layups on the board that should have extended our lead,” said coach Tim Brown. “It should have been 14 or 16 in the quarter…and we just weren’t ready to play and we missed layups. Then we gave them second-chance opportunities for them to close it out and make it a 12-11 game.”
Before the second quarter was over, Helias had scored 24 points to take an 11-point lead at 34-23. The Crusaders out-rebounded Republic 9-3 in the period.
“We give up 24 points in the second quarter … 36 points in the half, whatever we gave up … then 70 in the game, we’re not going to win very many games,” Brown said. “We talked about on our scouting report, they’re a three-point shooting team that rebounds really well, and for some reason we’re not getting that message across to our guys. So it’s something we’re going to have to fix for sure in the next coming days.”
Race Looney finished with a season-high 20 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Tucker Thomas had a big night as well, scoring 16 points. Helias held Drew McMillin to his lowest scoring output of the season, with 10 points.
The Tigers fall to 3-2, and they’re off until the Blue & Gold Tournament on December 26.
Republic Scoring: Race Looney 20, Tucker Thomas 16, Drew McMillin 10, Nate Woolford 6, Ahlante Askew 3, Oliver Welch 3
Turnovers: Republic 8, Helias 4
Rebounds: Republic 12, Helias 25
