The Helias Crusaders picked up where they left off at Rackers Fieldhouse.
Two days after overcoming a 22-point deficit against the Jefferson City Jays, Helias began Thursday's game by making its first six shots and never trailing in a 62-47 win against the Rolla Bulldogs.
"We finally led after the first quarter, for once," Helias coach Joe Rothweiler said. "We started a little different defensively. We got after them a little bit early, and we saw that if we can play with that same intensity that we did in the fourth quarter against Jeff City, it can cause some people some problems."
Marcus Anthony scored the Crusaders' first two baskets, Malcolm Davis made a jump shot from the free-throw line and Damon Johanns scored in transition. After that, Isaac Johnson and Davis each hit a 3 from the top of the key to get Helias out to a 14-3 lead with 4:47 left in the opening quarter.
The Crusaders also picked up where they left off on the defensive end, forcing five turnovers in the first quarter and seven more in the second.
"If we're playing as hard as we can, we can force turnovers," Rothweiler said.
Helias led 21-9 after one quarter, then the two teams combined for just 16 points in the second quarter. The Crusaders were ahead 29-17 at intermission.
Danny Foster knocked down a 3 with 2:16 left, pulling Rolla within five at 39-34. The Bulldogs called a timeout after the basket, and Helias responded with a three-point play by Caleb Justice and a steal off the full-court press and a layup from Davis. That pushed the Crusaders' lead back to double digits in a 10-second span.
"We had a couple possessions in a row where we lacked intensity, and they took advantage of it," Rothweiler said. "Our guys did a good job of picking it back up."
Helias held Rolla to 30.2 percent shooting (16-of-53), including 5-of-19 from 3-point range.
"We put enough pressure on them to keep them out of their comfort zone," Rothweiler said.
The Crusaders pushed their lead to 49-35 by the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Johanns shot 6-of-6 from the floor, finishing with 13 points for the Crusaders.
"Our guys were doing a good job of finding him," Rothweiler said. "He was catching it and going up quick. He has a knack for getting open in good spots."
Davis scored a team-high 14 points and Anthony finished with 12 points. Justice added nine points and nine rebounds.
"We did a really good job of sharing the ball," Rothweiler said. "There wasn't one guy who was forcing the issue. Our shot selection was very good."
Trey Brown led Rolla (9-14) with a game-high 15 points.
Helias (16-5) plays today at St. Francis Borgia before wrapping up the regular season with three games next week.
"These last two weeks are going to tell us a lot about where we're at," Rothweiler said. "We've had a great season up to this point, and this is going to be a grind."
In the JV game, Rolla defeated Helias 55-41. Aaron Klahr led the Crusaders with 20 points and Noah Voss added 10 points.
III
Note: During halftime, Helias held a ceremony to retire the No. 90 jersey of football player Vito Calvaruso. A two-time all-state kicker, Calvaruso was also named an All-American this past season by Kicking World.