Helias boys fall to Whitehaven in Classic

It was an uphill climb the entire night for the Helias Crusaders.

It took less than four minutes for Helias to fall behind by 10 points against the Whitehaven (Tenn.) Tigers. The Crusaders fell further behind in the second half, suffering a 67-47 loss to the Tigers on Thursday night in the semifinals of the Great 8 Classic at Fleming Fieldhouse.

"It was like playing against a small college basketball team tonight," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "Tonight, they outmatched us with their intensity, their physicality and on the glass, especially."

The loss was the first this season for the Crusaders, who failed to advance to the Great 8 Classic championship game for the first time since 2013.

After shooting 60 percent from the field in its tournament opener, Helias had a difficult time shooting against a taller Whitehaven team. The Crusaders made just one field goal in the first quarter, a 3-pointer from Nick Brandt at the 3:46 mark.

By halftime, Helias only trailed Whitehaven 30-22, yet shot just 4-of-17 from the field. They would finish shooting 33 percent for the game.

"Every time we got (the deficit) to six or eight (points), it seemed like we either shot ourselves in the foot or we lost out on a 50/50 ball," Buffington said. "We got a little bit too caught up into finding that 10-point play.

"When you dig yourself a hole, you have to chip away at it. We were trying to get too much back in one possession."

The free-throw line kept Helias in the game. Whitehaven committed its 10th foul of the game as the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter. Marcus Anthony made a pair of free throws, cutting the Tigers' lead to 20-12.

Helias scored 12 of its 22 first-half points at the free-throw line. They would shoot 20-of-28 from the charity stripe for the game.

"For a majority of the second quarter, we did a better job of playing downhill, attacking and getting to the free-throw line," Buffington said. "We knew that was going to be a big key for us."

The Crusaders trailed 30-22 at halftime. When the third quarter began, Cameron Jones took control.

The 6-foot-6 junior scored Whitehaven's first six points of the second half, and in a variety of ways. Jones scored on a putback, knocked down a pair of free throws and then hit a 17-footer. He finished with a game-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Rayshad Williams came off the bench to score 13 points for the Tigers. Marquavious Lobbings chipped in 10 points.

"They started three guys who were 6-5 or 6-6," Buffington said. "We don't have that length consistently like they do."

Whitehaven put the game away in the fourth quarter. The Tigers started the quarter on a 12-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer in the corner from Jones. Whitehaven made just two 3-point shots in the game, but was successful at penetrating Helias' defense and taking jump shots in the lane.

"They're just so athletic," Buffington said. "If we did force them into a tough, contested shot, they seemed to get the rebound."

Helias also committed seven of its 19 turnovers in the fourth quarter.

"I think our guys thought at times that there were six of them out there," Buffington said.

One day after Landon Harrison scored a Classic record 44 points, the Helias junior posted a team-high 17 points. Whitehaven rarely double-teamed Harrison, who shot 3-of-11 from the field and scored a majority of his points at the free-throw line.

Nathan Bax and Alex Buschjost each added nine points for Helias.

Helias (6-1) will face Western (Ky.) at 5:30 p.m. today in the third-place game. Whitehaven advances to the championship game, where it will battle Northmont (Ohio) at 7 p.m. today.