Four in a row for Helias!  The Crusaders used a dominating opening 12 minutes to capture a 59-47 victory over the host school Pintos in semi-final action of the traditional tournament.  Senior Josh Smith, who is riding a hot streak, led the ‘Saders with 25 points.  Deion Hughes chipped in with 14 points, 7 rebounds.  Hale Hentges tied for rebounding honors with 7 of his own.  Helias will play Southern Boone in the finals as they upset Class 4 State Ranked Mexico 54-50 in the other semi-final contest.  The Crusaders are now 8-4.  

 Helias ripped Fulton 64-32 in the first round of the 75^th Annual California Tourney.  All 10 Crusaders saw significant action in the victory.  Deion Hughes had a huge 12 minute span to help lead the Crusaders.  He ended the night with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Freshman Hale Hentges had a career night, totaling 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 blocks.  The Crusaders are back in action Thursday night when they take on the host school in semi-final action.  Game time is set for 7:30 pm.  Helias, winners of 3 straight, are now 7-4 on the year. 

 Helias took on the Perennial Class 5 Power Red Devils of Chaminade today in a great venue at Cardinal Ritter H.S.  The Crusaders came away with a huge win in overtime by the score of 56-49.  Leading all scorers again was Josh Smith with 23.  Josh carried the Crusaders in overtime scoring 9 of the team’s 12 points in a 4 minutes span.  “We stubbed our toe a bit in the 4^th quarter after controlling the game for the first 3 quarters.  Thankfully, we found a way to get it in to overtime, and really dominated the extra period.  Our guys were excited to get this one” said Coach Buff.  Helias travels to California next week as a 2 seed in their tournament.  The Crusaders are now 6-4 on the season. 

The ‘Saders traveled to O’Fallon, MO to take on the Crusaders of St. Dominic.  It was a great night on the court as Helias handled St. Dom by the score of 54-26.  Josh Smith sizzled the nets with 6 three point baskets. Smith totaled 18 points on the night.  “Josh really set the tone for us.  He has really gone through an uncharacteristic shooting slump as of late, but he has never quit working, or quit shooting” said Coach Buff.  “He can really carry us when he is hot.”  Helias had 21 assists on the night, with 9 players scoring.  The Crusaders move to 5-4.

Helias vs. Blair Oaks - The Crusaders ended the 4^th Quarter on a 12-2 spurt to finish off the Undefeated Blair Oaks Falcons 46-36 in the 1^st Round of the Kehoe Classic.  All 2500 plus in attendance would have to agree this was a great game to be a part of.  “This was the most physical game we’ve played in to this point.  Emotions were running high for 32 Minutes and I felt our guys did a great job at feeding off their emotions in a positive way.  Our guys will remember this atmosphere for quite some time.  It was a solid win for our program” stated Coach Buff.  Deion Hughes led Helias Catholic with 11 points and 9 rebounds.  Seniors Josh Smith and Aaron Vossen ended the night with 10 points respectively.  Helias moves to 4-2 on the year.

Helias vs. Rockbridge – Helias falls to Columbia Rockbridge 74-38 in 2^nd Round Action at Flemming Fieldhouse.  “Things just snowballed on us tonight.  Our kids understand they just weren’t in the right mindset to compete with a high level team like Rockbridge tonight.  We need to learn from it, move on, and respond tomorrow night against another very talented team” said Coach Buff.  Senior Josh Smith and Freshman Hale Hentges tied for scoring honors on the evening with 8 points apiece.  The Crusaders fall to 4-3 on the season. 

Helias vs. Fayetteville, Arkansas – The Crusaders battled to the end but fell short to Fayetteville 44-38 in the 3^rd Place Game of the Kehoe Classic.  “Our players showed a great amount of integrity tonight coming off what may have been one of the tougher losses of their career at Helias.”  I’m very proud of the fight they showed, and although we came out on the losing end, we took a step forward tonight.  This one could jumpstart us to putting together a nice run” stated Coach Buff.  Deion Hughes led the Crusaders in scoring with 11.  Tied for rebounding honors were Deion Hughes and Hale Hentges with 7 each.  Helias falls to 4-4 on the season.