By Joe McCarthy

The Brother Rice-Marist rivalry is one of the largest in the history of Brother Rice High School. One can always count on a crazy crowd and a great game. On the football field or on the basketball court, the rivalry brings out the best in the players, coaches, and fans. The outcome of the next meeting will not only determine who controls Pulaski Road, but also who moves on in the play-offs. This time, the rivalry means much more for each school. Brother Rice and Marist will play in the first round of the IHSA play-offs.

With play-offs still days away, the Crusaders need to close out the rest of the regular season. Many of the players are happy there is a rematch against Marist, but they are still focused on finishing out the season on a high note. Junior Cal Kennedy said, “We take each game one game at a time.” Cal’s words have been the focal point of the Crusaders basketball team. With senior night on Friday, the team wants to be able to send the seniors out on a high note with their last home game of the year.

Players and coaches are planning for the big game Tuesday night against Marist. With the thought of the regular season loss to the Redhawks still fresh in the player’s heads, the team is looking for redemption in the first round play-off game. “We look to come out and play hard and hopefully it will result in a win,” said Eric Dansart, a junior on the team. With a hard fought game like that last matchup, it is understandable why the Crusaders would feel down. “We cannot let that loss bring us down,” Eric added. “We have to pull ourselves together and play on for a win. Usually, we would have to wait until next year for another shot against Marist. This time, we can have a chance to beat them on their home court and kick them out of the play-offs.” With the game not only being a rivalry game but also a first round play-off game, there is no doubt the Crusaders will be ready to play hard to compete for a state championship.

Not only is the game a rematch for both teams, but also for the fan sections. The Crusader Crazies have been recognized as the best fan section in Illinois. With a very large number of students in attendance at every home and away game, there is no doubt the Crazies bring a “6^th man” advantage to the Crusaders. At the last Rice-Marist game, the chanting brought a thunderous roar to the gym and echoed farther than the walls of the school. The SouthTown Star not only wrote about the game, but also the effect the Crazies had on the game.

With the new play-off game also come new cheers from the Crazies. Senior Brian McQuillan is one of the leaders of the Crusader Crazies and helps come up with the new ideas for cheers and props that pump up the crowd and intimidate the opposing team. When asked if there were any new ideas for the play-off game, Brian said, “Of course there are, but I cannot tell you because it will be a surprise on game day. What I have planned for this game will go above and beyond expectations.” With the added help of other seniors and large group of Crazies behind him, McQuillan will definitely be ready with many new cheers. “This game is what every student looks forward to because of how crazy the Crazies get,” Brian added.  “The fact that we have a rematch and it is the play-offs only means that we will cheer louder than ever before.” It will be exciting to see what the Crazies have in store for us come Tuesday.

With Tuesday getting closer and closer, the Crusader basketball team is preparing like any other play-off game. They plan to close the regular season out on a high note and carry that to the Marist game on Tuesday. With a state championship looming in the air for the Crusaders, a win over Marist will only push them toward the ultimate goal of a championship.

By: Kyle Bernaciak

On Tuesday, January 31, the Crusaders hosted the Spartans from Marian Catholic in a non-conference matchup at 99^th and Pulaski Road.  After falling in their last three games, Brother Rice needed a big win to get their momentum back on track.  By no means would Marian Catholic be an easy opponent because they possessed one of the best guards in the state, Tyler Ulis.  If the Crusaders could stop Ulis and force the Spartans to use their sub-par post game, then Rice’s losing streak would be snapped.

On Rice’s first possession, senior forward Garrett O’Neill drained a long-range three to finally get on track from his three consecutive games of poor shooting.  He would be stellar the rest of the game from beyond the arc, but the Crusaders proved to be shaky the rest of the first half.  A combination of quick possessions, turnovers, and poor defense resulted in a five point lead for the Spartans at half, 28-23. If Rice wished to come out with a victory, then they had to utilize their post game, which proved successful in the first half, led by junior forward Alex Majewski.

To begin the third quarter, the Crusaders came out of the gates on fire.  They began to stop Ulis and force him to take mediocre shots.  Then, Rice played an extremely aggressive game on the boards, by out-rebounding the Spartans in the second half.  As the momentum of the game shifted in favor of Rice, O’Neill channeled that momentum and hit clutch three-pointers when called upon.  Finally, O’Neill hit huge free-throws at the end of the game to give the Crusaders a 56-50 victory.  This win was essential for the crusaders going into Catholic League South play on Friday and definitely boosted morale.

One of the key elements of Rice’s victory on Tuesday was the great ball-handling of junior guard Jimmy Barista.  He produced a double-double performance, along with fellow junior, Alex Majewski, ending the game with 17 points.  O’Neill was the top performer with 24 points on six three-pointers. The biggest factor during the game was the Crusaders nabbed 34 rebounds compared to Marian Catholic’s 23 rebounds.  This win brought Rice to 12-8 overall.

On Friday, February 3, the Crusaders played another home game, this time against Catholic League South opponent, Providence Catholic.  Last time Rice played the Celtics, Garrett O’Neill hit a last second shot to claim the victory in New Lenox.  This time, Providence Catholic was seeking revenge, but the Crusaders needed to defend their home court.

To begin the game, Providence’s stellar point guard, Kevin Kozan hit a deep three-pointer to warn the Crusaders of his long-range capabilities.  Rice knew that tight defense on Kozan was a necessity if they wished to stop the Celtics’ offensive attack.  At the end of the first quarter, Rice led 19-18.

The trend continued throughout the second quarter with O’Neill consistently hitting a variety of shots and playing to his true potential.  Majewski used Providence’s weak post play to his advantage and racked up a substantial amount of easy buckets.  Going into halftime, the Crusaders led by five, 31-26.

In the second half, the Celtics’ Kozan went ice cold from the field which allowed Rice to flourish on offense.  They finally pulled past Providence with a final score of 66-56.  A huge part of the Crusaders’ win was that they shot 17 for 19 from the line and pulled down 26 defensive rebounds.  O’Neill shot a perfect 8 for 8 free-throws and finished with 21 points.  Majewski had yet another double-double performance with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The highlight of Friday night came with roughly 13 seconds left in the game.  Rice stole the ball, and Providence could not get back on defense quick enough.  The ball was passed to Majewski who slammed down a fierce dunk to put the icing on the cake and sent the Crusader Crazies into frenzy.