On Friday, January 6, the Crusaders traveled to 64th and Dante to face off against the Caravan of Mount Carmel. This contest was a rivalry in all aspects because Brother Rice and Mount Carmel have been competing with each other in all sports for decades. For the past three seasons, the Caravan has dominated Rice on the hardwood, but the first basketball game of 2012 resulted in a wide margin of victory for the Crusaders. Momentum was gained early by Rice, and there was simply no looking back as Rice pulled off a 73-56 victory.
Going into Friday’s game, the Crusaders came out of the Hinsdale South Christmas Tournament with three riveting wins, including a victory of redemption over Sandburg. They finished 3-1 overall in the tournament with their only loss coming from a tough Schaumburg squad. The stage was set, and Rice, now 9-4 overall, was prepared to take on Mount Carmel, who were a mere 3-10 entering the matchup. In order for Rice to come away with a Catholic League win, they needed create pressure on Mount Carmel to force them to make mistakes. Also, on the offensive end, three-pointers needed to be hit early and often.
Sean Fitzpatrick, a senior guard, answered the call early by hitting three of his eventual four three-pointers in the first quarter. It proved extremely hard for the Caravan to answer on their offensive side of the ball after Fitzpatrick kept firing away from what seemed like 65th street. Also in the first quarter, Rice harshly attacked Mount Carmel’s man-to-man defense forcing guards to easily drive on Caravan defenders. At the end of one quarter, The Crusaders led by eight points, 22-14.
The second quarter was a different story because Mount Carmel decided to switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense. As a result, Rice was unable to drive the lane on as many occasions as they did in the first quarter and had to be much more patient. Junior forward Alex Majewski capitalized on the opportunities which he received and played a solid quarter down low, on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately, costly turnovers were made by Rice which allowed Mount Carmel to score an abundance of easy baskets. Going into the locker room at halftime, the Crusaders only led 35-31.
With only a four point lead, Rice knew that they had to play as a team and put up a substantial amount of points early to stun the Caravan. This was definitely the case in the second half because Fitzpatrick and Majewski continued to dominate defenders, while senior Garrett O’Neill kept feeding his teammates with crucial assists. The second half’s momentum went entirely to the Crusaders as they cruised to an easy 73-56 Catholic League victory. One of the game’s high points was that many non-starters received a large amount of playing time due to the large margin that Rice was ahead late.
Fitzpatrick was Rice’s leading scorer with a fantastic 24 points overall. Right behind him, Majewski had 23 points while shooting an exceptional 10 for 14 from the field and a perfect one for one from behind the arc. O’Neill was a true teammate by accounting for 10 of the team’s assists. Fitzpatrick added, “I was very satisfied with our win, but the toughest part of our schedule is coming up in the next two weeks.”
Fitzpatrick was spot on when he said that the toughest two weeks of Rice’s season was upon them. Their next four games include Notre Dame, Leo, Marist, and St. Francis de Sales, which are all fundamentally sound teams who are on hot streaks. It will be a fun stretch to watch because the Crusaders play three of their next four games at home, with the only away game being just two miles away at Marist for “The Battle for Pulaski Road.” If Rice decides to bear down and play together, they will have much success over these next two weeks.
Follow Us!