HTC boys roll New London

NEW LONDON — They were just scrimmages, and their results don’t count on the record.
But the on-court time Holy Trinity’s boys basketball team got during the Christmas break made a difference in Friday’s 74-24 win over New London.
The Crusaders (6-1 overall, 4-1 SEI Superconference South Division) were playing their first game since the December 20 win over Notre Dame, but got in work against three different opponents during the off week, which kept them sharp for their return to the regular-season schedule.
“We haven’t played in two weeks,” coach John Hellige said. “And it’s super hard to take that much time off.”
Hellige pointed back to last season, when his team went 13 days without a game because of cold weather and snowstorms, and lost 61-45 to West Burlington coming back from that unexpected break.
“We’re a team that’s got to stay sharp,” Hellige said. “Our JV guys play so hard in practice, but it’s hard to match the intensity of the teams that we’re going to be seeing, even though they give us all they can in practice. So I think it’s super important to stay sharp over the break.”
Holy Trinity scrimmaged Burlington, Oskaloosa and Sigourney, so the Crusaders were more than ready for New London (0-7, 0-5).

The Crusaders outscored the Tigers 27-7 in the first quarter and closed the first half on a 13-2 run to lead 44-16. They then scored the first 11 points of the third quarter, and there was a running clock under the IHSAA’s 35-point rule for the rest of the game.
“We talked a lot in the pre-game about coming out with passion, coming out with toughness, being gritty, getting on the ground for loose balls, getting out in transition,” Hellige said. “I think we did all those things in the first quarter.
“The second quarter. I think we kind of lulled to sleep just a little bit. I called a timeout, kind of challenged them to finish the quarter strong. Most of the season, our second quarter has been our worst quarter, analytic wise. So I was glad to see the way we turned it on there at the end of the quarter.”
Hellige was able to get his reserves playing time in the second half.
“Second half, we just really wanted to stay sharp, play within ourselves, not get rushed with that clock, once the clock started running,” he said. “It's great to get the role guys minutes. And I really think that those guys are playing great. They're getting beat up every day in practice, trying to slow down our starters, and it shows in their improvement. They do good things when they get in there.”
Luke Hellige led Holy Trinity with 25 points. Layne Rung had 13 points. Koby Jones had 12 points and Adam Sobczak added 10.
It gets busy for the Crusaders, who play at Mediapolis on Tuesday, at Central Lee on Friday and at Winfield-Mount Union on Saturday.
“It’s going to ramp up for us, so I was glad to see us play well tonight,” Hellige said.