It's a good thing the Helias boys basketball team built a 21-point lead against C.B.C. Cadets on Saturday night, because the Crusaders needed every last bit of it.
Helias took that huge lead in the second quarter, weathered a big C.B.C. run in the third quarter, and held off the defending Class 5 state champions by a 58-55 score at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"A team like that, you know they're always going to make their runs," Helias point guard Isiah Sykes said. "So you try to get as big a lead as you possibly can before they make that run.
"We got our lead and when they came back out, they had a surge. They had a good game plan in the second half."
But the Crusaders' first half was better than the Cadets' second half.
Helias came roaring out of the gate, racing to a 20-3 lead less than six minutes into the game. The Crusaders hit 6-of-10 from 3-point range during that run, with Sam Husting drilling three of them.
"I just felt like everything was going in," Husting said. "I tried to get some good looks and my teammates were finding me. It felt good."
The Crusaders' lead was 20-4 heading into the second quarter, and they took their biggest lead of the night at 31-10 on a layup by Sykes with 4:40 left until halftime.
"This is the first time this season we've "punched somebody in the mouth' first," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "We've been playing behind or dead even in a lot of first quarters. It was good to do this in front of our home crowd."
It was quite a turnaround from Friday night, when the Crusaders dropped a 47-44 decision at Branson.
"I'm very proud of our kids, this was a bounceback night for us," Buffington said. "This is the most fun I've had coaching this year. We haven't even come close to playing up to our potential in our first six game.
"We had a very poor effort (Friday) at Branson, and we challenged these guys mentally. They rose to the challenge and showed what kind of team they can be."
C.B.C., the seventh-ranked team among the large schools in St. Louis, shaved a few points off the lead and got to within 36-19 at halftime.
It was just a precursor of what was to come in the second half.
Husting hit another 3 to start the second half, putting the lead back at 20, but C.B.C. closed out the third quarter on a 19-5 run to get within 44-38. The Cadets forced the Crusaders into eight turnovers in the quarter.
C.B.C. was playing without leading scorer Christian Willis, who injured his hamstring in Friday night's win against Vianney. But it didn't seem to hamper the Cadets, as they kept the pressure on in the final period and eventually got within 56-55 with 56 seconds left on a 3 by Jordan Barnes.
The Crusaders ran roughly half the remaining time off the clock before Husting was fouled. The junior went to the free-throw line and calmly sank both attempts to provide the final margin.
"Obviously I was a little nervous, but I felt like I could knock them down," Husting said. "I needed to do it for my team. It's a huge win for us. We've been struggling, but I feel like we're going to be on the right path after this game."
C.B.C. called a timeout with :10.6 to set up a final play. The Cadets got off two 3s in before the buzzer, but both were off the mark.
"We knew they were going to make a run at us and we just had to do our best to stop the bleeding and do our best to answer that run at some point," Buffington said. "We did that with a big shot or a big stop here or there."
Husting led all players with 23 points, while Sykes added 18. Adam Bax and Hale Hentges tied for the team lead with seven rebounds apiece.
"After our poor performance (Friday), we just had to bounce back today and dig down deep," Sykes said. "We were able to come back and get a good win. It got close at the end, but we kept grinding and got the win."
Barnes had 18 points to lead C.B.C., while Kenny Lesley added 13 and Kale Catchings had 11. Lesley led all players with nine rebounds.
"(C.B.C) coach (Justin) Tatum does a great job - that's a traditional powerhouse, C.B.C. basketball," Buffington said. "We've been looking forward to this one on the schedule for a long time. I appreciate coach Tatum coming down and playing us, because typically teams like that can travel 20 minutes and play whoever they want."
The Crusaders are off until Saturday, when they begin play in the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic. Helias faces Lausanne Collegiate of Memphis, Tenn., at 8:30 p.m.
Follow News Tribune sports reporter Tony Hawley on Twitter for updates during games.