The Cubs played the Strake Jesuit Crusaders in the third game of the Sand Dune Tournament. They won 55-42. They went 3-0 in the tournament, and were the only Jesuit team that went undefeated in the tournament. They are now 14-4 overall, and their win streak increases to nine.

Pregame Notes

CJ Jones, who is returning from an ankle injury, came off of the bench. Colby Brooks made his fourth consecutive start this game.

Strake Jesuit is from Houston, Texas. They were 0-2 before this game.

Starting Cubs

PG: Neil Owens (6-1, Sr., #3)

SG: Mason Butler (6-1, Sr., #10)

C: James Keefe (6-9, Sr., #22)

SF: Anthony Lucenti (6-4, Sr., #30)

PF: Colby Brooks (6-7, Jr., #20)

1st Quarter

The Cubs won the opening tip, and immediately went on a 7-0 run to start the game. A layup by Anthony Lucenti put the Cubs on the board first with 7:40 remaining. A three-pointer by Neil Owens put the Cubs up 5-0 with 6:35 to go. Lucenti’s two made free throws increased the lead to 7 with 5:36 left. The Crusaders got on the board with a two-pointer with five minutes to go. Moments later, CJ Jones entered the game for Keefe. Jones was fouled at the 3:02 mark, and Jared Cox subbed in for Owens. Jones’s two made free throws gave the Cubs a 9-4 lead. The Crusaders made a two-pointer to cut the lead to 3 with two minutes to go. Mason Butler made two of three free throws put the Cubs up 11-6. Strake Jesuit answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to two with 1:30 to go. The Crusaders nailed another three to beat the shot clock to gain a 12-11 lead with 30 seconds to go. Cox made one of two free throws to tie the game at 12. Afterwards, Uriel Ferguson checked in for Mason Butler. The Crusaders made a putback two-pointer to regain the lead at the buzzer.

Score: Strake Jesuit 14, Loyola 12.

2nd Quarter

Keefe’s putback layup tied the game at 14 with 7:30 left. Then, Jack Kresich and Neil Owens subbed in for Cox and Ferguson. Jones made two free throws to give the Cubs a 16-14 lead with 6:11 left. A Lucenti layup increased the lead to four with 5:41 left. A two-pointer by Kresich gave the Cubs a 20-14 lead with less than five minutes remaining. Strake Jesuit went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to one, 22-21, with 1:43 to go. Back-to-back Brooks layups put the Cubs up 26-21 with 45 seconds left. The Crusaders made a layup to cut the lead to three, 26-23, with 30 seconds to go. Jones’s buzzer-beating layup put the Cubs up by 5 heading into halftime.

Score: Loyola 28, Strake Jesuit 23.

Halftime

In the locker room, coach Adams said there was a lack of communication with the guys on the floor. He also said that offense dictates defense, meaning that what happens on the offensive end will have an effect on the defensive end. The Cubs were also giving up many offensive rebounds to the Crusaders.

3rd Quarter

Another putback layup by Keefe put the Cubs up 30-23 with 7:40 to go. Lucenti’s two made free throws increased the lead to nine with 6:25 to go. The Crusaders buried a three to come within six, 32-26, with six minutes to go. Brooks converted a three-point-play to put the Cubs up by nine with 5:33 to go. Jones subbed in for Owens at the 3:18 mark. Keefe was fouled at the 2:44 mark, but missed both of his free throws. A Crusaders three cut the lead to six, 35-29, with 2:20 to go. Cox subbed in for Brooks at the 2:13 mark. A Jones layup gave the Cubs a 37-29 lead with two minutes left. The Crusaders responded with a layup to cut the lead to six with 1:46 to go. Jake Perfitt subbed in to the game for Keefe at the 1:23 mark. A made free throw by the Crusaders made it a five-point game, 37-32, 58 seconds to go. Owens subbed in for Butler shortly after. Perfitt scored his first points of the game on a layup to put the Cubs up 39-32 with 30 seconds left. Jones got a block at the buzzer.

Score: Loyola 39, Strake Jesuit 32

4th Quarter

The Cubs scored the first points of the quarter on a layup with 7:26 to go. The Crusaders scored on a layup at the 6:20 mark. Owens nailed a two-point bank shot to give the Cubs a 43-34 lead with 5:57 to go. Keefe’s putback layup increased Loyola’s lead to 11 with 4:55 to play. After a two-pointer by Owens, the Cubs led by 13, 47-34, with 4:15 remaining. The Crusaders made a layup to bring the game back to an 11-point deficit. Keefe responded with a layup at the 3:43 mark. Keefe made another layup, but did not make the free throw that followed. The Cubs led 21-36 with 2:43 to go. The Crusaders responded with a layup. A Kresich layup at the 1:35 mark put the Cubs up by 15. Afterwards, Paul Hawkins, Remington Rofer, Grant Roquemore, James Nugent, and John Belardi checked in to close the game. A two-pointer by the Crusaders shortened the Cubs’ lead to 13 with 54 seconds to go. A Crusaders layup further decreased the lead to 11 with 40 seconds to go. Belardi made two free throws to seal the Cubs victory. A block by Paul Hawkins ended the game.

FINAL: Loyola 55, Strake Jesuit 42

Cub of the Game

The Cub of the Game was Anthony Lucenti, who had 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists.

Stats

The two other leading scorers for the Cubs were CJ Jones and James Keefe. Jones had 10 points and three rebounds. Keefe had 10 points and 12 rebounds. In total, the Cubs had 35 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals, and 18 turnovers. They shot 20/50 (40%) from the field, 1/8 (13%) from three, and 14/19 (74%) from the free throw line.

The Next Game

The Cubs have a home game against Alemany on January 4, 2019, at 7:00 PM at Leavey Gymnasium.