On this Friday the 13th, the Cubs looked to steer clear of the possibility of snapping their five-game winning streak as they faced St. John Bosco Braves in the third game of the Bosco Winter Classic.

Starting Cubs:

PG: John Belardi, #12 (6’3”, G, Jr.)

SG: Andre Parris, #13 (6’3”, G/F, Sr.)

SF: Jack Kresich, #10, (6’7”, G/F, Jr.)

PF: Remington Rofer, #35 (6’8”, F/C, Jr.)

C: Colby Brooks, #20 (6’7”, C, Sr.)

1st Quarter

The Braves won the opening tip and scored on a layup with at the 7:35 mark.  The Braves were sent to the free-throw line with 7:11 left and made one of two from the stripe.  Rofer’s putback layup gave the Cubs their first points with under seven minutes to go as they trailed 3-2.  After making one of two free-throws, the Braves led by two with 6:10 remaining. A Belardi block led to a Rofer layup that tied the game at 4 with less than five minutes left.  Rofer was fouled at the 4:51 mark and made one of two free-throws. A lane violation gave Rofer another chance at the line, and his made free-throw gave the Cubs their first lead of the game, 6-4.  The Cubs made their first substitution, with Uri Ferguson checking in for Parris. Rofer took a charge with 4:40 to go, giving the Cubs another possession. With under 4:25 to go, Rofer stole the ball and the ball found its way to Brooks, who committed an offensive foul after a Braves defender took a charge.  The Cubs’ lack of boxing out showed when they gave up five consecutive offensive rebounds to Bosco, which eventually ended with a Brooks block at the 2:35 mark. Shortly after, Grant Roquemore and a Braves player were given double-technicals for unsportsmanlike conduct. Off of a missed Braves lob, the Cubs took off and Brooks got the layup to go with two minutes remaining in the opening period.  Christian Sucuveanu and Jack Kresich subbed in for Rofer and Belardi at the 1:40 mark. Sucuveanu got his first points of the game off of a putback layup, extending the Cubs’ lead to six, 10-4, with 1:11 left. Kresich buried a three to further expand the Cubs’ lead with 50 seconds to go. The Braves were sent to the free-throw line once again with 46 seconds left and made one of two free-throws.

Score: 13-5 Cubs

2nd Quarter

The Braves opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run courtesy of two layups and two free-throws.  After a held ball call, a double-technical was assessed to Brooks and a Braves player with 5:27 left.  Brooks made both technical free-throws to put the Cubs up by four, 15-11. After, Roquemore came in for Brooks.  The Braves were called for an offensive foul, giving the Cubs another possession that ended in a Kresich turnover.  A three-point-play by the Braves kept them in the game, cutting the deficit to one with under five minutes left. The Cubs’ excellent passing resulted in a Belardi layup, and the Cubs led 17-14 with 4:30 left in the first half.  Nick Green checked in for Rofer at the 4:16 mark. Green got a block, and Sucuveanu got a block but was called for a foul with 4:12 left. The Braves cut it to one once again with two made free-throws. A Roquemore steal led to free-throws for Belardi, who made one of two with three minutes left.  A Braves jumper tied the game at 18 with 2:42 left. Kresich’s made free-throws gave the Cubs a 20-18 lead, but the game was tied again with another Braves jumper at the two-minute mark. The Braves made another 6-0 run, all off of pairs of free-throws. Kresich’s jumper cut the lead to four with 40 seconds left.  A scramble for the ball in the waning seconds led to Sucuveanu getting the ball and banking in a jumper at the buzzer.

Score: 26-24 Braves

3rd Quarter

The Cubs got the ball to begin the second half.  A Brooks three put the Cubs back in front, 27-26, with 7:30 left.  That gave the Cubs a momentum boost, as they would go on to an 8-0 run thanks to buckets from Parris and Rofer.  The Braves scored their first points of the quarter on a two-pointer with under six minutes left. The Cubs still led 35-28.  Parris’ layup increased their lead to nine at the 4:50 mark. The Cubs turned the ball over and fouled the Braves on a three with 3:15 left.  They made one of two free-throws. The Braves cut even further into the lead with a layup with two minutes remaining. Rofer splashed a three to bring the Cubs up 40-31 with 1:35 left.  After a Braves layup, Rofer buried another three from the corner, sending the bench into a frenzy. The Cubs led by 10, 43-33, with a minute to go in the third. The Braves went on a 5-0 run to come within five with 15 seconds left.  Belardi was sent to the line and made both free throws with five seconds to go. The Braves made a layup at the buzzer to cut the Cubs’ lead into four.

Score: 44-40 Cubs

4th Quarter

The Cubs gain possession to start the final frame, and their first points of the quarter come from Rofer’s layup.  The Braves strike on the other end with a three at the 7:21 mark. Brooks’ layup gave the Cubs a 49-43 lead with seven minutes to go.  Two Cub fouls result in three of four made free throws from the stripe, and a three-point deficit with 6:17 to play. A Parris three put the Cubs back up by six with 5:40 left.  Sucuveanu’s putback layup gave the Cubs a 54-46 lead with around five minutes remaining. The Braves’ three-point-play kept them in the game, and the lead was back to six with 4:46 to go.  Belardi’s putback layup increased the Cubs’ lead to seven with 4:13 left. The Braves reached the half-century mark courtesy of one of two made free-throws with about four minutes to play. The Cubs began getting into foul trouble, with Brooks picking up his third at the 3:37 mark.  Roquemore got his fourth foul at the 2:50 mark. The Braves buried both free throws and the Cubs were only up by five. Back-to-back Braves layups suddenly put the deficit to one with 1:24 left. The Cubs called a timeout at the 1:02 mark. Parris fouled out of the game after picking up his fifth foul with 55 seconds to go.  That foul ended up being a costly one for the Cubs, as the Braves made the game-tying free-throw. On the other end, Brooks shot a floater that rimmed out with 41 seconds left. The Braves called timeout with 27 ticks to play. The Braves took the lead on a layup with six seconds to go, and they called timeout again shortly after.  Ferguson was fouled with two seconds left and had a chance to tie the game. After making one free throw, the Cubs called for time. Coming out of the timeout, Ferguson shot the potentially game-tying free-throw that went in-and-out and gave the Cubs their third loss of the year.

FINAL: 59-58 Braves

The Next Game

The Cubs will face the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits on Saturday, December 14, at 1:30 pm.  They will be competing for third place in the Bosco Winter Classic.