Helias gains control early, tops Jays 58-49

Landon Harrison of Helias goes up for two of his game-high 21 points in Tuesday night's 59-48 win against Jefferson City at Fleming Fieldhouse.
Landon Harrison of Helias goes up for two of his game-high 21 points in Tuesday night's 59-48 win against Jefferson City at Fleming Fieldhouse.

There wasn't much the Helias Crusaders couldn't do on offense in the first half Tuesday night against Jefferson City.

Helias knocked down the outside shot in the first quarter and drove it to the rim in the second quarter to score 38 points. The Crusaders' 12-point lead would only dwindle to seven the rest of the way as they defeated the Jays 59-48 at Fleming Fieldhouse.

"We had a lot of intensity tonight," Helias coach Josh Buffington said following Helias' 10th win in the past 12 games against Jefferson City. "We played with a lot of toughness. On the defensive end, we communicated very well. Offensively, I thought we did a good job playing downhill, playing inside-out and just forcing our tempo. They tried to mix it up on us and did a good job of it early on. Fortunately, we hit some shots."

Landon Harrison made both of his 3s as part of an 11-2 run to begin the game. Nick Brandt's 3-pointer capped the run about 3 minutes into the contest.

Helias was 4-of-8 from deep in the first quarter to lead 18-13.

"I thought our guys were pretty patient on the 3s that we did make," Buffington said. " We shot it with confidence."

The Jays countered with center DaMani Jarrett, who scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the first half. He also had six of his team-high 10 rebounds in the first 16 minutes.

"I thought we did a nice job early going to it, and then we kind of got away from it," Jefferson City coach Mark Anderson said. "That's kind of been a habit this year."

Jarrett, Garrett Parker and Ben Folz teamed up to keep the Crusaders from running away with it.

After baskets from Parker Jarrett, Folz connected from long range to get the Jays within 13-9. Jarrett and Folz each scored 11 points for the Jays.

It was 18-15 early in the second quarter before an 8-0 run, including a steal and three-point play by Harrison, gave Helias control once again.

Harrison also closed the half with a layup with eight seconds left for a 38-26 lead. Harrison scored a game-high 21 points.

"It's kind of pick your poison with them," Anderson said. "They were able to drive a little bit. Then you play man to contain that and they knock down shots."

A Folz 3-pointer with 6:22 left in the third quarter got the Jays back within seven, but that's as close at they got.

Helias' lead was 14 by the end of the third quarter and 18 midway through the fourth quarter.

With Jarrett guarding Nathan Bax inside, Helias relied on its guards. Marcus Anthony scored 11 points, Ben Cooper had nine and Brandt added eight.

Bax led the Crusaders with 10 rebounds, but he was held to two points.

"We knew that was a big matchup tonight," Buffington said. "Jarrett is just so long and can alter so many shots and is really good at sealing up and getting position underneath the rim."

Helias (11-5) will head to Columbia on Saturday to play in the MFA Oil/Breaktime Shootout. The Crusaders will take on Hillsboro at 4:45 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

Jefferson City (8-7) will head south next Tuesday to play at Rolla. The freshman game will start at 4:30 p.m. with the JV to begin at about 6 p.m. and the varsity to tip at about 7:15 p.m.

Helias defeated Jefferson City 52-50 in Tuesday's JV game.

Caleb Justice had 19 points for Helias. Dylan Weaver and Damon Johanns added 11 points each for the Crusaders, who led 25-19 at the half and 37-33 after three quarters.

The Jays won the freshman game 63-56 to improve to 9-1. Orentheus Pitts led Jefferson City with 19 points, while Ian Jones and Wyatt Fischer finished with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Jeff Szumigala scored a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds for Helias (10-2).