The Jefferson City Jays could have spiraled.
The Helias Crusaders jumped out to a 20-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Jefferson City fought all the way back and tied the cross-town matchup at 49 in the fourth quarter.
Helias then outscored the Jays by seven in the final four minutes to build a 67-60 win Wednesday in the third-place game of the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic at Fleming Fieldhouse.
“It was energy and enthusiasm,” Helias coach Joe Rothweiler said. “… Sometimes we’re really happy and having fun, sometimes we don’t look like we like playing the game. Today wasn’t really x’s and o’s, today was about being a high school kid and loving the game.”
“I was disappointed with our first quarter performance, our first quarter effort,” Jefferson City coach Josh Buffington said. “I think it was as much mental as physical. But I’m proud of how we got back in it, we stayed in the fight when it easily could have snowballed into something much worse.”
Jefferson City got consecutive baskets from Steven Samuels and Jordan Martin, with Martin’s coming off a Michael Onunkwor assist, to get within a point, but Desmond White hit two free throws to extend the Helias advantage to 49-46 with 4:34 left.
Martin answered for the Jays when he drove the baseline and scored as he was fouled, getting sent to the free throw line and sinking it to tie the matchup for the first time since 0-0 with 4:21 left.
White drove, then kicked the ball to Jacob Rembecki in the right corner for a 3-pointer, grabbing the lead once again for Helias. Rembecki then brought down an offensive rebound after a missed free throw and dished it to Malcolm Davis for a left-wing 3, one of his four 3-pointers and three of his game-high 29 points, to give Helias a cushion.
“When we were up 20-3, I told them it wouldn’t last,” Rothweiler said. “I’ve been part of too many Jeff City-Helias games and it’s very rare for it to be a blowout. A lot of times one team gets up big, but the other team comes back.”
Jefferson City relied on free throws for its next three points, while White scored on a give-and-go off a pass from Henry Neuenswander, leaving Helias up 57-52.
White then used a Davis pass to hit a left-wing 3 for three of his 24 points.
Martin connected on another traditional three-point play for the Jays to cut the lead to 60-55 with 2:05 left, but Nick Heislen used a post-entry pass from Neuenswander to create a three-score advantage again.
Samuels, one of Jefferson City’s all-tournament team representatives, cut the lead to four when he pulled up for a left-wing 3, then the Jays were forced to start fouling as Helias held the ball for more than a minute.
The Crusaders hit five of their final six free throws to maintain their lead in the last minute.
“I thought we played outstanding right from the get-go,” Rothweiler said. “We came out ready. We had a gut-check moment last night and didn’t play our best basketball and we really challenged the guys today to be prepared and they responded really well.”
The Crusaders jumped ahead early with an incredible scoring performance from Davis. He hit 4-of-7 shots in the first quarter, including three 3s, for 11 points to help the Crusaders build their early advantage.
“Everyone in the state knows you’ve got to stop their main two guys to beat them,” Buffington said. “… In the second quarter, we limited their touches and our guys were flying around. It led to some easy buckets and the momentum changed.”
The strategy worked in the second quarter for Jefferson City, as the Jays held Davis and White to a combined 10 points, while coming back to within 44-42 at halftime.
White got hot in the third quarter for Helias, scoring seven points to help the Crusaders maintain their lead, then he added 12 in the fourth with the help of four free throws.
Martin joined Samuels on the all-tournament team for the Jays after scoring 12 points and bringing down three boards. Kevion Pendelton added 10 points for the Jays, while Onunkwor brought down six boards.
White complemented his 24 points with a game-high six assists and three rebounds. Neuenswander dished out three assists to complement a game-high nine rebounds.
“The main thing is I thought they had fun today,” Rothweiler said. “They were smiling, they were a team today.”
Davis and White both made the all-tournament team for Helias.
Jefferson City (5-5) is off until it starts the Kaminsky Classic next Thursday against Joplin.
“It’s a process, I’m bought into it, our staff and players are bought into it,” Buffington said. “We’ll continue to take things a day at a time. Great things are coming for this program.”
Helias (4-6) hosts Father Tolton next Thursday.