It truly felt like a rivalry game Wednesday night at Fleming Fieldhouse.
Neither the Jefferson City Jays nor the Helias Crusaders led by more than six points in the finale of the Joe Machens Fantastic Four Tournament. After all, there were a total of eight ties and 21 lead changes in the 32-minute contest.
But Helias never trailed in the game's final 5:16, closing out a 59-53 win against Jefferson City.
"It was another Jefferson City-Helias game," Helias coach Joe Rothweiler said. "I've been in enough of them now where I know you throw the records out the door as soon as you walk in the gym."
The win marked Helias' ninth straight in the rivalry against Jefferson City.
"For it to truly become a rivalry, we've got to win one," Jefferson City coach Tony Phillips said.
Sterling DeSha gave Jefferson City an early boost, scoring 10 straight points to end the first quarter. He went coast-to-coast off a steal and scored a layup with :01 left to put the Jays ahead 15-14 after the opening eight minutes.
"We had kids that were sitting on the bench telling kids on the floor, 'Get Sterling the ball, get Sterling the ball,'" Phillips said. "They realize it, and we trust Sterling to make good decisions with the ball."
Helias used a 6-0 run in the second quarter - the first of two 6-0 runs for the Crusaders in a game where runs were few and far between - to pull back ahead 20-17. Desmond White scored a pair of layups and Damon Johanns added a pair of free throws with 4:26 left in the half.
"You could feel from about the middle of the second quarter that this game was going to come down to the last couple of possessions," Rothweiler said.
DeSha scored from the right block for the Jays, then Michael Onunkwor made 1-of-2 free throws with :41 left in the half to put the Jays ahead 23-22 at intermission.
The seesaw battle continued into the third quarter, which by itself featured nine lead changes and five ties. Bad possessions didn't pile up for either team, which explains why no team scored more than six points in a row.
"It was a game where we made a lot of mistakes, but we were mentally strong to forget about them," Rothweiler said.
Although the Jays finished 0-3 in the tournament and extended their losing streak to eight games, Wednesday's game had a much different feel compared to most games during that stretch.
"This team is starting to come together," Phillips said. "They're learning to play with each other."
Late in the third quarter, Koby Sands scored on a drive to put Jefferson City back on top 40-39. The Jays turned around a forced a five-second call on the Crusaders' ensuing in-bounds play.
However, Jefferson City followed with a missed 3-point attempt with :34.8 left, and on the other end, Johanns snagged a loose ball and made a 6-foot floater at the buzzer to put Helias back on top 41-40.
"We've had several bad breaks," Phillips said. "What I've told the kids is, and I've always taught and believed, that nobody deserves anything. You get what you demand.
"If continue to work hard and have a good attitude, eventually those breaks will go our way."
Jefferson City held a 44-43 lead early in the fourth quarter. That's when Helias went on its other 6-0 run, which proved to be the difference in the win.
All six points were scored by Johanns, who had 17 of his game-high 21 points after halftime. Although Johanns wasn't named to the all-tournament team, his 7-of-9 shooting performance and game-high eight rebounds were crucial for the Crusaders.
"He doesn't score every game, and that's where he doesn't get his recognition," Rothweiler said. "He does so many little things for us He's a huge part of our team."
Malcolm Davis added two clutch shots, hitting a 16-foot fadeaway near the baseline and followed with a 12-footer in the lane on a pass from Joe Rembecki. That made the score 53-49 with 1:57 to play.
"He hit a couple mid-range shots that were daggers," Rothweiler said. "He's been doing that all year. The analytics say you that you shouldn't shoot the mid-range shots anymore, but we throw that out the door with Malcolm, because he's one of the best mid-range shooters that I've coached."
Then it came down to free-throw shooting.
Johanns shot 7-of-8 at the free-throw line, including 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter, and Davis was 4-of-4 at the line in the final 20 seconds. Helias was just 9-of-16 at the charity stripe in its two other tournament games but went 11-of-12 on Wednesday.
"We've started to shoot them a little bit more in practice," Rothweiler said. "But at the same time, our guys live for that pressure situation."
DeSha, who made the all-tournament team for the Jays, scored a team-high 17 points, while Kevion Pendelton finished with 13 points.
Davis and White made the all-tournament team for the Crusaders. Davis finished with 17 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Because Blair Oaks defeated Father Tolton earlier in the day, three teams finished the tournament with a 2-1 record. The first tiebreaker - after head-to-head - was points allowed. Helias and Father Tolton each allowed 166 points in their three games, while Blair Oaks gave up 189, eliminating the Falcons from contention for first place.
That left Helias and Tolton, and because the Trailblazers won their head-to-head meeting against the Crusaders, Tolton was awarded first place for the tournament. Jevon Porter was named tournament MVP.
"It is what it is," Rothweiler said.
Both the Crusaders and the Jays play in tournaments next week.
Jefferson City (1-8) plays the Rolla Royals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to open the Owensville Tournament. Helias (5-2) will play next Thursday through Saturday in the Houlihan's Invitational at Springfield Catholic.