Holy Cross avenges losses to Rummel with 74-55 playoff win

Video: Holy Cross coach Mister Kirkwood, guard Khalil Thomas after basketball playoff win over Rummel

NEW ORLEANS – Having lost twice to Catholic League rival Archbishop Rummel twice in the regular season, the Holy Cross Tigers did not need to be reminded of their failure against the Raiders going into the third meeting in the Division I regional playoff round.

The Tigers were motivated, fast and sharp, avenging the two losses with a convincing 74-55 victory over the ninth-seeded Raiders Tuesday night at Holy Cross.

Kalil Thomas had perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 28 points and pulling down eight rebounds.

“It was a playoff game and we wanted to get the win,” Thomas said. “We knew we couldn’t let them come in here for a second time this year and beat us. We played fast. I think that is what we are best at. Once we got to do that and started to play our game, everything started rolling for us.”

The Raiders won 56-48 at home on Jan. 19 and whipped the Tigers 74-53 on Feb. 14 at Holy Cross. This one was much different.

“They were kind of our Achilles in the first two district games,” Holy Cross head coach Mister Kirkwood said. “We just told our guys we didn’t play our normal style of basketball in those games and they played well both games. We knew if we executed our game plan tonight, we’d come out with a victory. Transition is our bread and butter. If we’re getting the ball out, it’s pretty tough to beat us.”

Rummel jumped out to a 9-4 lead before Holy Cross went on a 13-0 run to take a 17-9 lead. The Raiders closed the period on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 21-18. Rummel never led after Holy Cross took a 10-9 lead in the opening quarter.

The Tigers went on a 13-0 run in the second quarter to open up a 36-20 lead before Rummel closed the quarter on a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to 39-30 by halftime. Myles Sanders had 10 points in the second quarter for Holy Cross and 12 in the half.

Holy Cross (19-11) built a 14-point lead in the third quarter before Rummel cut the deficit to 52-43 by the end of the quarter. Kalil Thomas had eight points in the quarter for the Tigers.

Rummel pulled with eight points twice in the fourth quarter but could get no closer. Holy Cross closed the game on a 9-0 run to put an exclamation point on a solid win.

“We worked very hard on not allowing them to get out in transition as we did in the first two games,” Rummel head coach Troy Holley said. “The thing that really gets them going is easy baskets and we allowed that to happen. They did a great job on doing what they are good at. We didn’t stop them. They took huge advantage of that.”

Aaron Brule led Rummel (17-15) with 23 points and five rebounds in his final game for the Raiders. Brule, a senior, is a Mississippi State signee in football.

“He’s a great kid, he’s very special, he’s going to obviously do great things in the future because he’s got great character. We’ll miss him. He’s been a great asset to the school and program.”
Donte Mitchell added 15 points for the Raiders.

Myles Sanders had 14 points while Jason Chan contributed 10 to the Holy Cross cause. The Tigers advance to take on top-seed and defending state champion Scotlandville in Baton Rouge Friday night.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” Thomas said. “We know they are good but we are playing well right now.”

“I keep telling Kalil not to make himself a jump shooter,” Kirkwood said. “If he attacks, he’s pretty good. He bought into that. I told the kids that if you want to be an elite program, you have to go into that atmosphere at Scotlandville and win, to see what greatness is.”

Final
HC 21 18 13 22 — 74
RUM 18 12 13 12 — 55

Scoring
Holy Cross—Kalil Thomas 28, Myles Sanders 14, Jason Chan 10, Tyler Kirkwood 7, Tyler Beaver 6, Jeremy Lindsey 5, Caleb Stearns 4

Rummel—Aaron Brule 23, Donte Mitchell 15, Corey Smooth 8, Kade Rivera 5, Aaron Thomas 2, Logan Diggs 2

Rebounds—HC 26, RUM 20

Turnovers—HC 13, RUM 13

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