Crusaders starting to set mark in SEISC

BURLINGTON — Holy Trinity boys basketball coach John Hellige liked how his team finished Tuesday’s 66-57 win over Notre Dame.

His son, Luke, liked how the Crusaders started the game.

They were both right.

It was a fast start and what John Hellige called a “gritty second half” for the Crusaders (4-2 overall, 3-2 SEI Superconference South Division), who fought off a late run by the Nikes to win their second consecutive road game.

“It wasn’t pretty the whole time,” John Hellige said. “But we were tough, and finished the game.”

Holy Trinity opened the game with a 19-6 run, led 23-9 at the end of the first quarter, and led by as much as 17 points in the first half.

It was the first time the Crusaders had seen the rival Nikes (3-2, 3-2) since losing to them in district play last season.

“We really had to come out strong,” said Luke Hellige, who led the Crusaders with 31 points, 19 coming in the first half. “Last year in (the postseason), we didn’t come out strong. So it was real important.”

The Nikes were able to slowly carve into Holy Trinity’s lead, getting to within 53-50 with 5:25 left in the game on a 3-pointer from Liam DeLaney, but Maddox Rung’s 3-pointer less than a minute later stopped Notre Dame’s momentum. Luke Hellige converted a 3-point play on the Crusaders’ next possession, then baskets by Conner Gehling and Adam Sobczak had Holy Trinity up 63-53 with two minutes to play.

Notre Dame’s defense was focusing more on Luke Hellige in the second half, but that opened up things for the rest of the Crusaders.

“I would kick it out to Maddox or Layne (Rung), and they were hitting threes,” Luke Hellige said. “Adam was attacking, dumping it down and finishing.”

“We hit some big free throws, hit some big shots down the stretch,” John Hellige said. “The first half was a little bit about Luke, the second half was a little bit about everybody scoring, and that’s what we really need.”

John Hellige wasn’t surprised the Nikes made a run.

“That’s a really good Notre Dame team,” he said. “Even when we got off to a good start, and had a really nice lead there in the first quarter, I knew they weren’t going to play dead. Those guys know how to play, know how to win. But I thought it showed our maturity as a team, how far we’ve come.

Gehling added 13 for the Crusaders. Maddox Rung had 10.

The game ended a four-game road stretch for the Crusaders, who lost the first two before winning the next two. 

“We want to be a top-tier team in this conference,” John Hellige said. “Tonight shows that we belong up there.”