In the annual Capital City crosstown showdown, the Crusaders took the air out of the gym in the opening minutes and didn't let it return, as they started with an 11-2 burst and never looked back in a wire-to-wire 59-48 win over the Jays before a big, but mostly quiet, gathering at Fleming Fieldhouse.

"A lot of times a win like this can turn things around for you," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "We've played a tough schedule --- our losses have been to five really good teams --- but confidence is everything with young kids, in any sport."

What a relief this was.

Or not.

"First and foremost," Buffington said, "this is a fun game for the kids and the community. These kids on both teams have been playing with each other or against each other since about the third grade, so it's a game where you're scouted-out at a high level on both ends. Everybody knows what everybody's going to do and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

"The team that makes more plays is usually going to win."

Indeed. On defense, Helias (11-5) held the leading scorer for Jefferson City (8-7), Brennan Jeffries, to only five points, 10 below his average.

"Brennan has really worked on his game, it's obvious," Buffington said. "He's a very good sophomore point guard and everything goes through him, so we really wanted to limit his touches and stay in front of him."

At the same time, however, the Jays held Helias' second-leading scorer, Nathan Bax, to only two points, nearly 10 below his average. So that was a wash.

"Nathan doesn't care if he scores two or 20," Buffington said, "as long as we win."

The big difference came at the 3-point line. Helias finished 7-of-19 beyond the arc --- including 5-of-11 in the first half when the game was won --- while the Jays finished a frigid 3-of-16 --- 1-of-10 in the second half when the comeback never happened.

You can do the math ... a 12-point scoring difference in an 11-point game.

Helias belted Jefferson City with a 3-point flurry in the first three minutes of the wire-to-wire win. Landon Harrison, who led the winners with 21 points --- 15 of those in the first half --- canned a 3-pointer 38 seconds into the game to make it 3-0, and the Crusaders never looked back.

Another 3-ball by Harrison and one by Nick Brandt fueled the game-opening 11-2 surge

"That's huge in a game like this," Buffington said. "We were patient early on and worked the basketball inside-out ... the 3's we were taking were good shots and we were fortunate enough to knock a few of them down."

The Jays would get as close at 13-11 late in the first quarter, before a 3-ball by Ben Cooper with 2 seconds left made it 18-13 after one. The Crusaders used a 20-13 scoring edge in the second quarter, and the margin was 38-26 at the half.

You kept waiting for the Jays to make a significant run in the second half, because that's what happens in this game.

It's never easy and it's always close.

Well, almost always. Unfortunately, it's not always a classic.

The Jays did score the first five points after the break to get within 38-31, but they would get no closer. The Crusaders outscored the Jays 11-4 the rest of the frame to build a 49-35 lead after three and coasted from there.

"Overall, "Buffington said, "I was very pleased with our defense. We focused on bringing more toughness than they were going to bring, and wanting it more than they were going to want it.

"That's who usually who wins the Helias-Jeff City game."

DaMani Jarret led the Jays with 14 points and Ben Folz scored 11, while Marcus Anthony added 11 for the Crusaders, who have now won 10 of the last 12 in the series.

It's only the fourth time in those 12 games the margin hasn't been in single-digits.

It's not always a classic: Crusaders

take charge early, cruise past Jays

As always, the Helias-Jefferson City crosstown showdown started in front of a big crowd and in a great atmosphere Tuesday night at Fleming Fieldhouse.