Crystal City and Jefferson Earn 1st Rd Wins in 7th Rolla “Duke” Herbert Classic

(CRYSTAL CITY) The 7th Rolla “Duke” Herbert Classic tipped off Monday night at Crystal City with the Hornets defeating Grandview 66-46 in Game 1 on KJFF and Jefferson beating Herculaneum 70-40 in Game 2 on J-98. The 6th-seeded Hornets had a comfortable 33-9 lead at the half and turned to Blake Eisenbeis in the 3rd quarter to cushion the lead.

 
All nine of Crystal City’s players scored with junior Nate Denby leading the way with 15. With the win, Crystal City advances to the semifinals and will take on top-seed Saxony Lutheran Tuesday night at 6:30 on AM 1400 KJFF. Hornets head coach Lee Richardson says that the team played unselfish basketball all night but that they need to be better on the boards to have a chance to beat the Crusaders.

 
Game 2 started out tight with 2-seed Jefferson leading Herculaneum 7-6 midway through the 1st quarter, then ending the period on a 13-0 run. The Blackcats closed the 20-6 2nd quarter gap before senior guard Easton Null delivered a barrage of threes to stretch the lead.

 
Jefferson continued carrying that momentum into the 2nd half, winning 70-40 behind 20 points from Null and 17 points and 3 blocks from Jon Weik. Blue Jays head coach Sean Breeze talked about the importance of having those consecutive threes by Null.

 
Jefferson advances to the Rolla “Duke” Herbert Classic semis on Wednesday at 6:30 on AM 1400 KJFF. They’ll play the winner of St. Vincent and St. Louis who play Tuesday night. Grandview and Herculaneum drop down to the Consolation bracket with their losses.

Lee Richardson Post

 
Sean Breeze Post

 
Crystal City 66 Grandview 46 Full Game Audio

 
Jefferson 70 Herculaneum 40 Full Game Audio