FEBRUARY 5 – ORADELL, NJ – Senior Night in Oradell saw a well-deserved starting five open the game as Jake Behrens, Zach Behrens and Logan Sarza joined Julius Avent Jaden Brown as the line-ups were announced.  The five performed well, helping BC to a 14-12 lead half-way through the first quarter.  By quarter's end, the Spartans of DePaul got hot, and at the half, the visitors took a 30-25 lead into the locker room.
     BC struggled with their Passaic County foe, whom they defeated by 35 points earlier in the season.  It was clear that DePaul grew in confidence, understood their roles and played much harder this second time around. 
     As regulation was winding down, BC was teetering on the edge of defeat with 3.2 seconds remaining and the Crusaders down 63-62 with a timeout on the court.  Coach Armstrong drew up a play, that undoubtedly BC practiced many a times throughout the season.  They needed to execute now.  With the ball in Alex Mazzella's hands, Julius Avent cut to the basket.  Mazzella lobbed a pass to the 6'8" senior who received it and...
     ...was fouled going up.
     Now, with 1.9 second, Avent would go to the line where he was three-of ten to this point in the contest.  Much to the chagrin of the Crusader faithful, Avent's first shot clunked off the iron, leaving BC with just one free-throw opportunity to tie.
     Swish!  Phew!  Still need to play 1.9 seconds!  A last second, long-range attempt sailed wide and the teams found their way to overtime. 
     Overall, it was just too much for the travelers who yielded to the Crusaders strong finish.  Avent knocked down 5 of 6 free throws in overtime and finished with a game high 32 points, his second-highest scoring day of his career behind his 33-point output against Central Catholic (MA) earlier this year.  Julius recorded his fifth career double-double with 13 rebounds on the night. 
     Jaden Brown had a solid game with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  The Crusaders needed everything they got from everyone including Jake Behrens, 3 points, 2 steals, 1 assist and Logan Sarza – 3 points, 2 assists.  Zach Behrens grabbed a rebounds and added a pair of steals. 
     Sophomore guard Sean Forbes continues to anticipate extremely well, grabbing 5 rebounds and nine points, going 4-for-4 from the line.  Alex Mazzella was his typical self, except for shooting.  The junior sharp-shooter couldn't find the hole until his team most needed it in the fourth quarter when his NCAA-three hit from the sideline to give BC a 1-point lead with just over two-and-a-half minutes to play in regulation.
     Final score in overtime was BC 75 – DePaul 69.  The victory was the Crusaders' 19^th overall and 6^th in division, assuring themselves of at least a tie for the BNC United Red Division title.
 

TEAMS	1	2	3	4	OT	FINAL
DC (13-7)	17	13	20	13	6	69
BC (19-3)	16	9	23	15	12	75

 

NAME	2PT	3PT	FTM	FTA	PTS	REB	AST
Julius Avent	10	1	9	18	32	13	1
Shane Jacobs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Marcus Brown	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alex Mazzella	0	1	0	0	3	1	2
Zack Behrens	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Jake Behrens	0	1	0	0	3	0	1
Jaden Brown	4	2	3	4	17	5	5
Sean Forbes	1	1	4	4	9	5	1
Jahlil Owusu	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Brandon McMillan	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Owen Wucherpfennig	2	0	2	5	6	7	0
Logan Sarza	0	1	0	0	3	0	2
Kieran Quinn	0	0	2	2	2	7	2
Totals:	17	7	20	33	75	41	15

BLOCKS:  Julius Avent (1), Brandon McMillan (1)
STEALS:  Julius Avent (3), Alex Mazzella (3), Jaden Brown (3), Jake Behrens (2), Marcus Brown (1), Zach Behrens (1), Sean Forbes (1)