You expect lots of things when two state-ranked teams get together on the basketball court.
But you rarely expect one to turbo-clock the other.
That's just what happened Tuesday night, as the Helias Crusaders blasted the Mexico Bulldogs 78-41 in a game played with a running clock in the fourth quarter due to the mercy rule.
The game was decided in the first 6:03. The Crusaders, ranked third in the state in Class 4, raced out to a 21-4 lead and deflated the Bulldogs, ranked ninth in Class 4.
Mexico did a great job deflecting passes and disrupting Helias' first two possessions with its 1-2-2, three-quarter-court trapping defense. The Crusaders make a few adjustments immediately after that and the rest of the way, it was smooth sailing.
"The first possession or two, it bothered us a little," Helias head coach Josh Buffington said of Mexico's defense. "We had three or four passes deflected, but then we got to where we started playing downhill, banged home some shots and our confidence went up. I thought we played extremely well offensively."
That's putting it mildly. The Crusaders scored at least 21 points in each of the first three quarters and even managed to put up 12 in the speedy fourth quarter.
"There are times when somebody comes at you high and traps you, and if you've got the players who can go make a play, split it or get around it and find the next pass, that's what you've got to do," Buffington said. "We didn't do that the first possession or two, getting our feet wet and getting into the game. That third possession we started to do that and it made a world of difference offensively."
Helias' lead was 24-9 after one quarter and it didn't take long to push the advantage to 20. In fact, the Crusaders got it to 30 at 45-15 when Trevor Koelling made 1-of-2 free throws with 49.2 seconds left until halftime.
The Crusaders took a 45-17 lead into intermission thanks in large part to 12 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points.
"We've been great on the boards all season," Buffington said. "... We feed off that, just like we feed off our defensive intensity. It's very similar in how we gain momentum against other teams."
A little more than four minutes into the second half, the lead was up to an astounding 40 points when Isiah Sykes hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 63-23.
The edge was 66-33 after three quarters and lots of different players got playing time in the fourth. In fact, the Crusaders had 12 different players score in the contest.
"It's nice to have that balance," Buffington said. "I thought our ball movement was very solid tonight.
"And it's always fun to get your subs in that don't see a lot of minutes throughout the season. They work just as hard as our top guys every day in practice and don't see the glory. So when they get in and you see some of them score, it's even better."
Collin Caywood led the way for Helias with 20 points by nailing 7-of-10 shots, including an impressive 6-of-7 effort from 3-point range. Sykes was next with 17 points and Adam Bax just missed double figures with nine.
Malik Holman paced Mexico (12-5) with 14 points and Skylar Harrington had 10.
Helias (16-5) will host Hickman and University of Arkansas signee Jimmy Whitt at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
"We need two solid preparation practices for Hickman," Buffington said. "They've had our number the last couple years and it's a great opportunity for us, them coming in here and Jimmy being a senior. I feel good about the effort our guys are going to give on Friday."
In Tuesday's JV game, Helias snagged a 48-33 victory. Landon Harrison had 21 points for the Crusaders (12-6) and Alex Brandt added 16.