Goodwin scores 42, but Althoff falls to Chaminade

Junior Jericole Hellems scored a tournament-record 47 points Saturday night as the Chaminade Red Devils outlasted Althoff 97-94 in the title game of the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East.

Hellems, who was named tournament MVP, broke the former record of 46 points set by the late Mike Jeffries, of Alton, in 1969.

The game also set a tournament record for most points combined by two teams with 191 points. The old mark was 186, set in 1980 in a game between DeSmet and Althoff.

Chaminade improved to 16-1 and dropped Althoff to 12-5. The Crusaders received 42 points from senior Jordan Goodwin in the losing effort.

“It was a great game, but not defensively,” Althoff coach Greg Leib said. “Both teams played tremendously hard. Right now, the only thing we can hang our hat on when it comes to Chaminade is in the summer when we beat them about four years ago.”

Key moments

The game hung in the balance until the final buzzer.

Chaminade led 97-94 but missed two free throws that could have iced the game in the waning seconds. With time running out, Goodwin missed a deep 3-pointer, and the ball went out of bounds and was awarded to the Red Devils.

On the inbound play, however, Chaminade turned the ball over in the corner near the Crusaders bench, and Althoff gained possession with 4.2 seconds to play.

Goodwin was closely guarded by two Red Devils on the left side and dribbled ahead before launching an off-balanced 3-pointer from 35 feet. The shot caromed off the iron and bounced away as the buzzer sounded.

“We had a play, but really we just wanted to get the ball into our players’ hands and let them make a shot,” Leib said. “Those shots don’t always fall.”

Chaminade led 50-42 at halftime as Hellems outscored Goodwin 26-25. The Red Devils raced to a 21-8 lead less than five minutes into the game on Hellems’ three 3-pointers.

Althoff scored the final 12 points of the first quarter, then extended the run to 14-0 on senior C.J. Coldon’s basket that put the Crusaders ahead 22-21 with 7:35 left in the half.

Key performers

Goodwin’s outburst gave him 2,298 career points. He ranks second all time at Althoff behind Kevin Lisch (2,306). Goodwin’s first chance to set the scoring record will be at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday when the Crusaders play host to Mount Vernon.

Coldon finished with 24 for the Crusaders, while seniors Edwyn Brown (11) and Marvin Bateman (10) also reached double figures.

Senior Marin Vrucinic had 21 points for the Red Devils.

Leib praised Hellems.

“He killed us last year in the Highland Shootout, and I think he’s even gotten better,” Leib said of Hellems. “He’s an inside-outside guy, a really good player, and he’s still just a junior.

“I think he should forego his senior year, go into the (NBA) draft or go to China or something.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Goodwin scores 42, but Althoff falls to Chaminade."