Following one of the best games of the tournament, Princeton Community and Crispus Attucks duked it out on March 22 to decide who will be playing New Palestine for a trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse later tonight. 

After getting out to a hot start from the field, Crispus Attucks just as quickly fell victim to Princeton’s impressive three-point shooting to see their eight-point lead to start the game disappear in a blink of an eye.

With the two teams exchanging baskets early, it was not until Crispus Attucks used a late first-half surge to help pull out a 61-55 win. 

Led by Iowa commit Dezmon Briscoe, the IBCA No. 17 team in the state was quickly able to show their superior athleticism. 

That athleticism coinsided with their hounding defense that has been on display all season long, which was key in Attucks’ blistering end to the first half to take a commanding 29–16 lead into halftime. 

With Attucks in the drivers seat to start the second half, they started the third quarter with much more of the same intensity shown in the first 16 minues of play. 

Although Princeton conintued to get a few three-pointers to go through the basket, not much more was going their way as Crispus Attucks led 43-27 going into the final period. 

With Princeton able to continue to rely on their shooting and stacking fouls against Crispus Attucks, the Pocket Conference champions willled themselves back into the game. With the game supposedly in-hand for Attucks, Jace Jenkins was able to connect on a four-point play — finishing the evening in fashion after a strong performance throughout the game. 

After a near collapse — with several players fouling out — Crispus Attucks was able to survive for a much closer final score than the first 28 minutes of the game would have indicated it would be. 

In such a commanding performance for the majority of the game, none were better for Crispus Attucks than Briscoe — finishing with an unofficial near triple-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks to help keep his high school career alive. 

Tipping off again at 8:00 pm, Crispus Attucks will have a short amount of time to prepare for their final four matchup against New Palestine. 

The Dragons have shown to be a dangerous team from beyond the arc—similar to Princeton. If the Tigers can slow down their three-point attack for four quarters, they may be booking themselves a trip to Gainbridge next week. However, another late-game collapse may not fall in their favor.