Brother Martin guard/forward Corey Skillman blocked a shot with three seconds left and forward Marvin Jones contested a final 3-point attempt as the Crusaders held off Jesuit 41-39 in a District 9-5A game Friday a Brother Martin.

The win avenged a one-point loss at Jesuit in the first game of district play on Jan. 4 in which Skillman missed three putback tries in the final seconds.

“This feels good,” Skillman said, as students rushed the court after the Crusaders (20-5, 4-3) held off the Blue Jays (15-8, 5-2). “This is a big rivalry. So, beating Jesuit is always a big deal.

“We just played good defense all game. We practice it.”

Forward Jace Patin scored 10 points to lead Brother Martin and Skillman added nine. Guard Michael Britsch led the Blue Jays with 16 points while guard Matt Knight had eight.

Skillman blocked a driving layup attempt by Jesuit's Jasper Parker with 3.0 seconds left in the game. Then Jones contested a 3-point attempt by Britsch that missed badly at the buzzer.

That ended a second-half comeback by Jesuit, trailed 19-8 at halftime and 26-17 at the end of the third quarter.

The Crusaders still appeared to be in control after Morris Jones' 8-foot pull-up jumper gave Brother Martin a 39-33 lead with 2:13 left in the game. Jesuit came to within 39-37 at the 1:26 mark before Jones drove left for a basket.

Knight made two free throws witih 28.4 seconds remaining. Skillman missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 23 seconds left, setting up Parker's drive and the block by Skillman.

The Crusaders held the Blue Jays to three points in the second quarter in taking a 19-8 halftime lead. That came on a 3-pointer by guard Vincent Smith at the 6:26 mark.

Meanwhile, Brother Martin went on an 8-0 run that began at 2:44 of the first half and stretched to the first 23 seconds of the second. With the score tied at 5-5 after a jumper in the lane by Jesuit's Michael Britsch at 3:08 of the first, Brother Martin's No. 12 answered with a baseline jumper.

DJ Fowler followed with a jumper in the lane, and Jones muscled in for a 5-footer off glass. Skillman sank a corner 3 to start the second quarter, giving the Crusaders a 13-5 lead.

After Smith's 3-pointer, the Crusaders held the Jays the rest of the way without a point, outscoring them 6-0.