Basketball: Brother Martin stops Rummel

NEW ORLEANS – The past glory of Brother Martin basketball collided Friday night with the solid presence of the current Crusaders at Bob Conlin Gymnasium.

Former Brother Martin head coach Scott Thompson returned to the place he once called home and where he guided the Crusaders to the Class 5A state championship in 2010, this time as the head coach of Brother Martin rival Archbishop Rummel. Thompson spent 10 years at Brother Martin (2002-2011), the final six as head coach and posted an impressive 120-76 record including two top 28 tournament appearances.

Current Crusaders head coach Chris Biehl, who does an excellent job, got the best of it this time around as Brother Martin downed the Raiders 51-41 to complete a two-game sweep of Rummel in district play. The Crusaders handled the Raider 53-34 on Jan. 2 in Metairie. Brother Martin has beaten Rummel seven straight times. In his seventh year, Biehl led Brother Martin to the Division I state championship game in 2017.

“It was nice to be back and see many familiar faces,” Thompson said. “Give Brother Martin credit. They played very well, played hard and played good defense. Coach Biehl does an outstanding job. They are a well-coached team that defended well and were tough physically.”

Brother Martin went on an 8-0 run in the opening quarter and led 13-7 at the end of the period. Javier Perez scored seven points for the Crusaders.

Brother Martin pulled out to a 17-7 lead in the second quarter before the Raiders cut the lead to 20-18 before the Crusaders led 22-18. Dillon Delatte had six points and four rebounds in the half for Brother Martin while Colby Barrois had six points and four rebounds for Rummel off the bench.

The Crusaders distanced themselves from the Raiders in the third quarter, outscoring Rummel 16-9 as T.J. Small scored seven points in the quarter.

Brother Martin was never threatened in the final quarter as Rummel got with seven points but could get no closer. Perez connected on five of six free throws in the quarter to help seal the deal.

“We hang our hat on our defense,” Biehl said. “We knew going in that we really had to do a good job defensively. They have been shooting the ball incredibly well in the last couple of games and I thought my boys really stepped up. Anything that Javy does offensively is a bonus. He doesn’t give up anything defensively. Our boys were more focused than usual after they had beaten St. Augustine.”

Small and Perez each had 12 points while Victor Tomlinson had 11 points off the bench for Brother Martin (13-14, 4-3). Corey Smooth led Rummel (8-19, 2-5) with nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter while Dylan Delatte had eight points and six rebounds. Logan Diggs, Aaron Thomas and Kade Rivera each had seven points for the Raiders.

“We just came in and played hard,” Perez said. “They had a chip on their shoulder after they just beat St. Aug. They thought they were going to beat us but we weren’t going to let that happen. Smooth is a very good player. I had to stay low, watch his hips and deny him the ball. If we practice hard, rebound and box out, everything will go well.”

Thompson noted his past while embracing the present.

“I am very proud of our guys,” Thompson said. “We had some good looks and did not shoot it well but Martin is very long, very active. We competed hard to the end. We played with tremendous heart. We had great times here (Martin) but I love Archbishop Rummel,” Thompson said. “This is a great place and school and we will work extremely hard to bring a winner here.”

Both teams return to Catholic League play Tuesday with Brother Martin hosting Holy Cross while the Raiders travel to Jesuit. The Tigers beat Brother Martin 59-49 on Jan. 5 at Holy Cross. The Tigers are the district leader after winning 62-54 at St. Augustine tonight.

“Every game inside district is huge,” Biehl said. “Holy Cross is an elite team in the district. We did a good job defensively at their place but we left a lot of points out there, missing layups and free throws. They won’t be as easy to come by Tuesday night.”

Final

BM 13 9 16 13 51
RUM 7 11 9 14 41

Scoring

BM—T.J. Small 12, Javier Perez 12, Victor Tomlinson 11, Dillon Delatte 8, Peter Schneller 6, Isaiah Torregano 2

RUM—Corey Smooth 9, Logan Diggs 7, Aaron Thomas 7, Kade Rivera 7, Colby Barrois 6, Jaelen Sturgis 5

Rebounds

BM 26, RUM 26

Turnovers

BM 13, RUM 12