By Justin Jefferson ‘20

It was a hard fought win by the Brother Rice Crusaders basketball team last Tuesday, winning the game in triple overtime against Richards 85-83. The Crusaders are now 13-6 starting the season.

Starting off the game with a 21-6 lead, the Crusaders looked as if this game was going to be an easy one, but they lost the lead late in the third. The team started to rally back towards the end of the game with key shots from Deandre Hagan and Colin Campbell.

Sophomore Coach Duffy said,  “The team lost their composure for a little while, which caused them to lose the lead, but the kids really rallied back and maintained their composure and were able to hold the league down the stretch.”

Senior small forward Deandre Hagan led the team with a season-high 31 points and 13 rebounds. His performance helped the Crusaders win in a hard fought battle against Richards, with him making two go ahead threes in the fourth to bring the Crusaders back in the game.

Hagan his confidence is high and his coach never puts a restraint on him, which makes him comfortable taking big shots. Even though he fouled out in the third overtime, Deandre was able to be a leader on the side and keep his team motivated to win the game without him.

A big player who stepped up is senior Colin Campbell. Campbell also played a big part scoring 28 points to add on to Deandre’s performance. Helping the team make a come-back win.

Campbell said, “In the third quarter I just told myself that we are getting back into this game one way or another. After everyone’s shot started to fall, we clawed our way back to get a gritty win.”

Conor Glennon also helped the team with his leadership and big play moments. Glennon recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists and also 1 major steal in a play that helped the Crusaders tie the game going into overtime and an assist to junior guard Cullen Cosme to win the game.

Glennon’s quick thinking and experience helped him get the steal in the final seconds of the 4th. He said, “playing in so many close games over my career I have learned to be patient in late clock situations. I knew I could poke the ball away but it was just a matter of time before the opportunity presented itself”

The Crusaders will play Providence at home on Friday. Then they will play one of their biggest games of the season against rival team 6-6 Marist next Tuesday.