By: Kyle Bernaciak
On Tuesday, January 31, the Crusaders hosted the Spartans from Marian Catholic in a non-conference matchup at 99th 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.
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