By Jack Aler ‘19

The greatest game ever played was Marist at Brother Rice basketball in 2017. Mike Shepski ‘17 hit a game tying 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. Brother Rice then went on to win. This rivalry, no matter the sport, always proves to be entertaining. So, in short, my expectations were high going into this game.

As the Crusader Crazies filed into the south gym, wearing their bathrobes and boxers, they got to see their sophomore team win a hard fought game 47-37 to improve to a 12-7 record. This game was the perfect opening to get the fans’ blood pumping for the main event.

The Crusaders went into this game with a confident 14-6 record, knowing they were capable of a win. The team got off to a quick start, but alas most of the game was neck and neck. If one team shot a 3-pointer, it was commonplace for the opposition to match a 3-pointer on the other end the next play.

Senior Tim Novick said, “I think the best part of the game was junior Deandre Hagan’s shooting from 3. He played very well and scored to help push the team toward the win.” I would have to agree. Our entire team is capable of shooting threes, yet Deandre remained consistent throughout the entire game.

Despite our plethora of threes and two amazing dunks by senior Marquise Kennedy, the Marist Redhawks managed to stay close. Senior Noel Cervantes said, “The most stressful part of the game was knowing that Marist kept the score close enough to comeback.”

The Crazies stayed loud however, and stuck by their team. Senior Tom Angus said, “I never lost faith in my Crusaders because I will never believe that Marist would have the upper hand on us.” The Crusaders kept that motto throughout the night and we were able to secure a 76-72 win.

The high scoring bout made this game incredibly riveting throughout. Marist Senior Jane Mikula said “Marist played well, but Rice still managed to outplay us.” Marist does have some promising talent developing however, which will hopefully create more intense games in the future.