In the girls State Farm Invitational at Rackers Fieldhouse, the Lady Jays opened defense of their tournament title with a 65-31 rout of Quincy, Ill.; the Helias Lady Crusaders secured a 52-44 win over Eureka; Hickman shut down Blue Springs South 41-30; and St. Joseph Benton rolled over Hyde Park, Ill., 54-23.

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YOU COULD SAY THEY SHOT THE LIGHTS OUT of the gym, but the lights were already out when the Crusaders got hot.

Helias' 3-point barrage in the second half ---- especially in the third quarter when 18 of the 24 points came on 3-balls --- were the difference in this one. By comparison, and with the lights fully operational, the Crusaders were just 1-of-9 in the first quarter.

It's what the game has become --- winning and losing so often depends on who shoots it well from beyond the arc.

It's the trickle-down theory working to "perfection," if you want to call it that --- from the NBA's Golden State Warriors to high school basketball in Missouri.

"We have a team that can shoot it, but I do think it's effected the game," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "The 3-pointer is just a huge weapon, but the thing I love about our team is that when we're playing well offensively, it's the way we move the basketball and play inside-out. That's when we get most of our 3's and we shoot it well. When we're playing side to side, we shoot a low percentage."

The Cruaders (6-1) certainly struggled early on, allowing the Rams (2-2) to take charge. If you were wondering why Owasso has only played four games, the team was waiting for help as the school's football program was winning the Oklahoma 6A state championship.

The Rams don't overwhelm you with their appearance. But once the game starts, it's obvious they have some talented athletes who know how to compete and know how to win.

"It's a program with great tradition and they bring a lot of intensity every time they've been here," Buffington said. "They were the aggressors in the first half and they just execute so well ... but as the game went on, we started defending better.

"I was really proud of our defensive effort the last 20 minutes or so of the basketball game."

It was the Rams who shot the 3-pointer with proficiency in the first half. They led 18-9 after one quarter and the lead stretched to 12 points midway through the second quarter, before Helias closed within 36-32 at the half.

Let's just say Buffington was not in a festive, holiday mood at the break.

"We had a gut-check moment in there," he said. "We switched some things up, defensively, but the main thing we talked about was the toughness plays. We just weren't playing tough enough, we weren't playing with enough passion.

"It looked like we didn't care if we got scored on, or not."

The defense stiffened in the second half, allowing the Rams few clean looks. Meanwhile ... bam-bam-bam --- three different Crusaders hit 3-pointers early in the third quarter in a 9-2 run to give the Crusaders a 41-36 lead. They wouldn't trail again.

The margin was 56-51 after three quarters, before Helias belted Owasso with a 20-5 surge in a five-minute stretch of the fourth to win going away.

The shots started falling ... and kept falling.

"It changes everything, it really does. But it shouldn't," said Buffington, whose team will meet Raytown South in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday. "When you're coaching 16- and 17-year old kids, confidence is such a huge thing --- shots going in can help you on both ends."

Landon Harrison scored 27 points to pace the winners, Ben Cooper added 16 and Nick Brandt had 13, while Ameir Miller led the losers with 20 points.

CRAIGMONT 59, JEFFERSON CITY 54

Sooner or later, it will happen again.

Won't it?

The Jays have had a solid basketball program for decades --- in many seasons, much better than solid --- so this losing streak is certainly an improbable one. But now, the wait will be at least one more year.

Craigmont, a team from Memphis,received 16 points from Antwan Campbell and 13 from Terrence Cotton and the Chiefs held off the Jays down the stretch in the five-point win.

The Jays (6-1) led 15-14 after one quarter, it was tied 28-28 at the half, and the Chiefs (10-6) held a 45-42 edge after three quarters. They stretched the margin to nine points midway through the fourth, when two 3-pointers by Hudson Nilges and one by Brennan Jeffries keyed a 9-0 Jefferson City surge to tie it 51-51 with 90 seconds left.

But the Chiefs used a 9-3 scoring edge down the stretch to win it --- and leave Jefferson City still searching for its first opening-round win since 2009, when former Jay-standout and current NBA player O.G. Anunoby was in the sixth grade.

Jeffries and Nilges scored 12 apiece for Jefferson City, which will play Tolton at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Jefferson City's Ben Folz lays in two points during the first half of Thursday night's game with Craigmont, Tenn., at Fleming Fieldhouse.