.Playing their fourth game in four nights, Coach Chris Biehl was worried about fatigue setting in for the eight players he had dressed out for Saturday night's championship game. After a lethargic start, down 10 to 5 to the East Jefferson Warriors five minutes into the game, Coach Biehl called his second timeout.
"I was trying everything possible to get energy into the gym," said Coach Biehl. Obviously, Senior Captain Torrance "T.J." Small heard his coach's call. T.J. rallied his team, and the Crusaders outscored the Warriors, 84 to 56, after that timeout.
T.J. Small, an Army-West Point commit, smashed Brother Martin's single-game scoring record by scoring 49 points, a record previously held by DJ Augustin ‘06, Darwyn Alexander ‘88, Pat Swilling, Jr. ‘10,and Tyler Epps ‘18 (41). "What is most impressive about T.J.'s performance tonight is that he scored 49 points on 25 field goal attempts."
T.J. finished the night shooting 6 for 11 from the three-point line and grabbed 11 rebounds in the game. His last bucket came with three minutes left in the contest in the form of a coast-to-coast drive, including a behind-the-back dribble through traffic, capped off with a monster dunk.
T.J.'s stellar night in the championship game was aided by a solid supporting cast. Junior Grant Delord finished the night with 14 points and 4 assists. Freshman Corey Skillman also added 11 points and 4 rebounds, and sophomore Jace Patin scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
"Our roster was really small this week since we are waiting on a few players from football and a couple of minor injuries. Rex Hernandez '21, Jace Patin '22, and Marvin Jones '22 had to learn all of our offenses at new positions in the past forty-eight hours. That is incredibly difficult, and it is a credit to them."
During the four-day tournament, the Crusaders defeated McDonogh 35 by a score of 56 to 23, Livingston Collegiate by a score of 82 to 32, Bonnabel by a score of 57 to 51, and East Jefferson by a score of 89 to 66.
After the game, Grace King High School Head Coach Jason Fischtzuir presented T.J. with the Tournament MVP plaque.
The Crusaders (4 - 0) will play Abramson Sci Academy on Tuesday night in Brother Martin's Conlin Gymnasium. Varsity tip-off will be at 5:00 p.m.
