After back-to-back losses on buzzer-beaters, the St. Aloysius Flashes made sure their latest game didn’t come down to the final shot.

Anthony McCloud and Carson Gleese scored 25 points apiece, and the Flashes used a big run in the third quarter to pull away from the Jackson Victors on their way to a 73-50 boys basketball victory Tuesday.

St. Al (10-6) lost both of its games at the Catholic Schools Tournament last weekend on shots at the buzzer.

“We lost both games to buzzer-beaters and we weren’t playing our best. The whole tournament we were playing slow and sloppy. It was good to have a good game, get back on a groove right before district play, too,” said McCloud, who had five rebounds and six assists to go along with his big scoring night.

The Flashes started slow against the Victors (6-6) as well. They beat them by 28 points in their first meeting in November, but only led by 10 at halftime on Tuesday. The Victors quickly chopped that to six with a pair of baskets to start the third quarter.

St. Al finally woke up and got moving right after that, however. Gleese scored seven straight points, and he and McCloud combined for 17 points in the third quarter as the Flashes outscored the Victors 22-3 over the last six minutes.
A 3-pointer by Ethan McDonald with 1:40 left in the third quarter was the Victors’ only field goal in a 10-minute span. McDonald finished with a team-high 15 points.

“It took us a while. I really don’t know why we were playing slow, because before the game we were talking about how we have to come in hot,” McCloud said. “It starts on defense. If we see each other getting steals, rebounds, blocked shots, that’s what gets the offense going.”

Gleese finished with 10 rebounds and five assists, along with his 25 points, for a double-double. While he and McCloud handled most of the scoring, St. Al had contributions throughout its lineup.

Carter Henderson chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Sadler Lambiotte had five assists, and Walt Andrews grabbed eight rebounds. Coach Walter Hallberg said he was pleased with the hustle plays that didn’t show up on the stat sheet, as well.

“We’ve got two really good scorers in (McCloud) and Carson Gleese, and everybody else does their job. Tonight, everybody did those jobs really well,” Hallberg said. “We’re not really overly aggressive, and tonight we dove for loose balls more than we have the whole year up to today. Carson Henderson and Sadler (Lambiotte) dove for a couple of balls each and Carson Gleese went on the floor a couple of times. That’s the way we’re going to have to play to win, especially to beat Copiah and ACCS.”

Those last two opponents are on the schedule next week, as the first two games on the Flashes’ MAIS District 4-5A schedule. They’ll go to Natchez to play ACCS on Jan. 14, and are home against Copiah Academy on Jan. 17.

The Flashes will also host Benton Academy — a team it beat by 68 points in November — on Monday, Jan. 13.
Hallberg said going into the district schedule with a couple of big wins would be a nice palate cleanser after the two bitter losses to start 2025.

“Losing two games in a row on last-second shots is kind of demoralizing. We definitely needed this,” Hallberg said. “Monday against Benton will be another good warm-up for us. We need both of them to get some good vibes going into district play next week.”