With less than ten seconds left on the clock, down 2, Harrison Vickers picked up the loose ball, drove to the rim, went up for the strongly contested layup and heard a whistle.

A charge had been called. Vickers fouled out and turned the ball over to the Spartans.

With 2.6 seconds left on the clock and a DeSmet free throw to follow, the game was essentially over.  A 54-52 final score. A court storm by the students of D—Block and nothing else Vickers could do.

Close games have been the story the last four times these two teams have shared the court. A 79-76 victory in December of 2018 for DeSmet, a 65-59 win for the Red Devils in February 2019, on January 22^nd CCP won 54-51, and Friday night the Spartans took it 54-52 all show how close the two schools are in ability and skill. These MCC rivals have a knack for producing tight exciting games.

The game was tight all the way through.  The biggest lead either team had was midway through the third quarter when the Red Devils were up 5 and looked like they were starting to grab momentum, but the Spartans responded and closed it to a 1-point game.

From there, the two teams exchanged blows, and after multiple lead changes DeSmet finally took the lead in the fourth. With less than a minute left, Chaminade tied it up and then a Spartan took the ball down the court, drove to the rim, spun, and sliced between Luke Kasubke and Matteus Case to score the layup. Coach Bennett called his final time out and drew up a play.

Coach’s play was run to perfection. Chaminade got the ball in bounds, on the weak side the offense got Luke Kasubke open, and they kicked him the ball. He tee’d up his shot and let if fire. Kasubke missed. From there, Harrison grabbed the ball of the floor, drove, and was called with a charge. It was all over.

Overall Record: 13-5

MCC: 4-3

Next Game: Saturday February 8th^th, 5:15 at the O’Fallon Shootout vs O’Fallon.