The Helias Crusaders' high-octane offense wasn't getting the job done with two points in the first four minutes Saturday night.
Head coach Josh Buffington called a timeout for his team to regroup.
"We just came out so stagnant offensively," Buffington said after the Crusaders' 76-51 win against the Hazelwood West Wildcats at Rackers Fieldhouse. "Our offensive struggles led to poor defensive possessions and rotations.
"We just needed to change things up."
One of the changes during that timeout was having sophomore Marcus Anthony come off the bench. Anthony scored a putback on his first shot attempt, then knocked down a 3-pointer.
Anthony then picked up a steal on Hazelwood West's next possession and scored a layup, capping a 13-2 run in less than two minutes that went from a 6-2 deficit to a 15-8 Helias lead.
"If you can come in, take care of the basketball and bring energy, you're going to be a huge asset for us," Buffington said. "We have several guys that can play, so our personnel can change on a nightly basis. But Marcus really brought his A game in that first quarter."
Helias led 15-12 after one quarter, then kicked its offense into high-octane mode with a 23-point second quarter.
Landon Harrison scored 10 of his 16 points in the second quarter and was one of five Crusaders to finish in double figures.
"It was nice to see some better individual performances," Buffington said. "It was nice to see Landon get going in the second and fourth quarters."
Hazelwood West had six of its 20 turnovers in the second quarter, which led to a couple of easy layups for the Crusaders.
Helias also improved its ball movement from the first quarter, attacking the basket and then dishing passes back to the perimeter for open looks at 3. Harrison kicked out a pass to Alex Buschjost, who knocked down an open 3 from the corner to begin the second quarter.
"When we got in the paint with two feet and made fundamental plays - two-hand passes and two-hand catches - we were very successful and got almost everything we wanted," Buffington said.
The Crusaders led 38-21 at halftime, but Hazelwood West turned over Helias six times in the third quarter and cut its deficit to 10 points.
"We were just too loose with the ball," Buffington said. " You also have to give some credit to Hazelwood West on some of those as well. They were extremely long, active and athletic. They just weren't going to quit on us tonight."
Nick Brandt made back-to-back 3s late in the third to stretch the lead to 55-37.
Nathan Bax, who finished with a team-high 17 points, picked up eight points in the fourth quarter. He shot 7-of-8 from the field, making his final four attempts.
"Nathan's been a load for us all year round," Buffington said.
Brandt finished with 14 points for the Crusaders, while Ben Cooper added 11 points and Anthony finished with 10. Harrison also had a team-high nine rebounds.
Jihad Thornton led Hazelwood West (5-4) with 18 points, making 12-of-13 free throws. The Wildcats were 20-of-22 from the line but shot just 31 percent from the field.
Helias (5-0), which played two games less than 24 hours apart, will play at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Waynesville Route 66 Shootout against McCluer North, another unfamiliar opponent.
"We're ready for some intense games," Buffington said. " We want to get ready for the Great 8 (Classic), but we don't want to look past McCluer North."
In Saturday's JV game, Helias suffered a 53-45 overtime loss to fall to 5-1.
Hazelwood West had to go the length of the court down three points with :00.5 left in regulation. After catching a long in-bounds pass, Joseph McLaurin heaved up a 35-footer and banked it in at the buzzer to tie the game at 44 and force overtime.
Xavier Sykes finished with a game-high 24 points for the Crusaders, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter.