St. Aloysius College fielded a basketball team as early as 1912, nine years before football began at the school. The 1916 55" basketball team won the championship of its division in the Catholic School Athletic League. That same year, Aloysius won the Unlimited Class over Jesuit in an era when 20 points in a game was an offensive explosion. The Saints won again three years later and in 1926.
By the 1930s, the Prep league had dropped the height distinctions in basketball. The purple and gold Panthers, who became the crimson Crusaders for the 1935-36 school year, were hampered by the lack of a gymnasium. Nevertheless, they finally broke through in 1936-37 under Coach Monk Zelden. With five returning starters, the Crimson cagers won the prep championship and qualified for the state tournament at LSU. Aloysius defeated Marthaville and Castor before losing in the semifinals to Coushatta. But the season didn’t end there. The Crusaders were invited to participate in the 14th Annual National Catholic Tournament in Chicago. They defeated Catholic High of Little Rock 39-21 before falling to Marquette University High 34-27.
The big news the next season was the opening of the new gymnasium, the finest in the city. Both the JV and varsity won prep – the first time any school had won the double championship in the same year. Led by All-State C Rene Galatoire and All-Prep G Pete Judlin, the Crusaders defeated Catholic High of Donaldsonville in the state tournament before losing to Istrouma. The team again traveled to Chicago, where Galatoire set a new tournament record of 32 points in the 41-28 victory over St. Mary's of Dunkirk NY. But the season ended with a 52-23 loss to Mount Carmel of Chicago.
The next milestone occurred in 1940-41 when Brother Ralph, S.C., led the Crusaders to the school's first state championship in any sport. Aloysius lost the city crown to Holy Cross but still qualified for the state tournament. Led by C Herb Jefferson and G Sammy Trombatore, both of whom made the All-Tournament (All-State) team, the Saints reached the finals against Istrouma. A close game was expected since Aloysius and Istrouma had split their two meetings in the regular season. But the Saders romped 37-16. As a reward, the Crusaders made another trip to the Chicago tournament. Regis of Denver fell easily 59-31, but Power Memorial from New York City prevailed 37-34.
Brother Ralph's 1942-43 team would again play in a postseason tournament but not the state or Chicago tournament. Because an ineligible player appeared in the first JV game, the LHSAA disqualified the Aloysius varsity from participating in the state tournament. After his team finished second in the prep league, Brother Ralph entered them in the Southern AAU Tournament in New Orleans, where they competed with older teams. The Crusaders defeated the Naval Air Station Enlisted Men, the Young Men’s Hebrew Association, the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board, and the Baton Rouge Esso Oilers to become the first high school team to qualify for the National AAU Tournament in Denver. Playing against college-age opponents, the Crusaders pulled within one point with four minutes to play before running out of gas and losing to the Portland (OR) Boilermakers 50-43.
Two years later, one of the most versatile athletes in Aloysius history played on the varsity basketball team as a 7th-grader – Nick Revon. As prep runner-up, the Crusaders advanced to the state tournament where they defeated Thibodaux and Catholic High to reach the semifinals. But the road ended there at the hands of the prep champion, Holy Cross. Revon and Edward Clay made the All-State team.
1945-46 followed the same pattern – runner-up in prep to earn a trip to LSU. Victories over Bolton and Lake Charles brought the Saders face-to-face with Jesuit for the state AA title. The Blue Jays prevailed 35-29. Before the 1946-47 school year, the Aloysius community was shocked by the news that Brother Ralph had been transferred to Catholic High in Baton Rouge. So Brother Martin hired a newly-discharged Navy Lieutenant commander named John Altobello to coach basketball and baseball. Little did anyone know at the time that the Golden Age of Aloysius athletics would begin that year and extend through 1953-54.
Altobello's Crusader basketball teams won four state championships – 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1952. The '49 and '51 squads went undefeated. The 1950 team finished second in the state to Baton Rouge High led by future Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit. Aloysius won the prep championship seven straight years and the first three CYO Tournaments.
Altobello left Aloysius to become the athletic director at De La Salle for the 1952-53 school year. His assistant, M. L. Lagarde (SA ’45) took over and continued the fabulous streak by winning the prep and state championships his first year. The ’53-54 team didn’t win the local championship but did advance to the state semifinals, where they lost to Byrd of Shreveport 47-46.
After two coaches in three years after Lagarde left for Jesuit, stability returned to the Aloysius program with the arrival of Coach Ernie Smith in 1957-58. He would coach outstanding teams that battled Altobello's Cavaliers every year, including two seasons when the teams met seven times!
The first of those seasons was Ernie's first. De La Salle won the first round of Catholic League play and Aloysius the second, the Crusaders winning the championship playoff. The three meetings produced a total difference of seven points between the two teams. The quintets met again in the CYO Tournament, Aloysius winning by two. In the AAA playoffs, the two teams won their first round matches, then met again to determine their seeding going into the next round. The Cavs won by four. When the two winners from the southwest district fell to the New Orleans’ squads, the teams met again for seeding purposes – DLS by three this time. Next came the two winners from the Baton Rouge district in the semifinals. Aloysius came from behind in the final seconds to beat Istrouma 54-52 while the Cavaliers romped over Baton Rouge High. That set up the seventh clash of the season, this time for the state championship at Loyola Field House before the largest crowd (6,000) ever to see a prep basketball game. Unfortunately, officials from Shreveport called 67 fouls. DLS sank an amazing 48 free throws in a 78-53 romp.
The next two seasons produced winning records but no titles before the 1961-62 Crusaders engaged in another "World Series" with De La Salle.  The Catholic League played two home-and-home round robin rounds that year. SA and DLS split those four games. Then the teams played for the second round championship, Aloysius winning, before meeting again two days later for the district championship, the Cavs taking that one. The final clash again came in the state finals, this time in Shreveport. De La Salle triumphed 38-35.
Following Smith's departure for a college position, Don Landry coached the Crusaders for two seasons. His successor was the legendary Nick Revon. Led by all-staters Johnny Vitrano and Ted Meade, the 1965-66 team won 29 games but suffered a last-second loss in the state semifinal against Lafayette.
When Nick stepped down a year later, Aloysius hired a young unknown named Andy Russo who would lead the Crusaders to 31 wins in each of the last two seasons of the school. The ’67-68 squad defeated De La Salle for the district championship, then reached the state semifinals in Alexandria, where they lost to Baton Rouge High 75-60.
The Aloysius community hoped the final year would produce a state championship in the school’s signature sport. The Crusaders lost the district playoff to the Cavaliers before going Gator hunting in the playoffs. Victories over South Terrebonne and Captain Shreve in the first two rounds earned a return trip to Alexandria. After beating LaGrange in the semifinal, the Crimson faced Woodlawn of Shreveport in the final. Alas, the fairy tale ending was not to be as the Knights won 62-59.