Eastside Catholic boys basketball falls short against Roosevelt
On Wednesday, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders faced the Roosevelt Rough Riders and lost 49-48.
The game began with a slow start. Both Eastside Catholic and Roosevelt struggled to put points on the board and were challenged by each other’s strong defenses. Both teams managed to score 10 points with the Crusaders scoring a series of 2-pointers and fouls, while the Rough Riders banked two 3-pointers by EJ Sommers and Ismail Guyo. The first quarter ended in a 10-10 tie.
The second quarter continued to be tight, but Roosevelt gradually took the lead at the end of the quarter. Despite maintaining possession for most of the quarter, Eastside Catholic struggled to hit the net and managed to add only 11 points to their total. Roosevelt capitalized off the rebounds and forced three steals, allowing them to add 18 points with two 3-pointers from Monte Michle and a dunk from Sommers. The second quarter ended in favor of the Rough Riders, 28-21.
The third quarter continued to go in the Rough Riders’ favor. Despite numerous efforts from the Crusaders to close the gap, even their layups did not go in. After a timeout, Eastside Catholic changed their strategy to become more aggressive and added 14 points to their score. However, it was still not enough to close the gap. Roosevelt continued to play aggressively and scored 13 points. The third quarter ended 41-35.
Eastside Catholic tried their best to come back in the fourth quarter but came up short. Aggressive defense from Roosevelt prevented the Crusaders from scoring many points during the first half of the quarter, and fouls helped Roosevelt put up 8 points, their only points of the quarter. In a final push, Eastside Catholic gave it their best and made a drive for 13 points with a 3-pointer coming from Steven Sun and 8 more scored in the last 2 minutes. Despite the effort, they were left just short by a single point.
