By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

LYMAN — St. Stanislaus made a strong third-quarter effort, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their first-half shortcomings in a 61-37 loss to the Brother Martin Crusaders from New Orleans in the Harrison Central Annual Thanksgiving Shoot-Out on Saturday.

St. Stanislaus had their biggest offensive production of the night as they put up 17 points in the third period, after putting up only 14 points in the first half (6 first-quarter points and 8 points in the second quarter).

The Rock-a-chaws had trailed by as many as seventeen points up to that point but pulled within 9 points of the Crusaders (29-20) in the third period. The Crusaders also had their biggest offensive production of the evening, putting up 19 points in the period.

“The adjustment we made at halftime was we had nine turnovers that six of them turned directly into points for them on the other end in the first half,” said St. Stanislaus coach Daniel Grieves. “We were able to get a quality shot and cut down on the turnovers, and it limited their offense, but it also gave us a chance every possession. So were able to at least go toe to toe with them that quarter.”

Max Baria closed out the first half scoring for the Rocks with a layup, and he opened the third-quarter scoring for the Rocks with a rebound and putback to put the Rocks within nine points of the Crusaders at 25-16.

Alan Gilliam converted on a 3-point play as he was fouled on a made layup, and he sank the free throw. He also sank a three-pointer later in the period.

“We’re a young team. We’ve got twelve sophomores on the roster,” said Grieves. “We’re going to take our lumps. There’s a lot of learning going on. But that was the biggest adjustment, the adjustment with turnovers.”

Grieves said that he knew that Brother Martin would field a capable team that would present a challenge to his young team.

“It shows them what hard tough-nose basketball is,” Grieves said of his team playing a quality opponent in Brother Martin. “We knew that going in. I’ve got a long-standing relationship with Brother Martin. I knew what kind of product they were going to put on the floor. When you’re trying to build the confidence of the team, and you’re trying to show them how to things the right way when you’re building a culture, it’s great for them to be able to see this is what playing hard does.”

Gilliam led the Rock-a-chaws with ten points on the night. Carter Macias added 6 points, followed by Jason Forte, Tucker Hockert, and Baria with 4 points each.

Brother Martin was led by Chase Chesser with 15 points, followed by Hale Hankins with 13 points and Will McChesky with 12 points. The Crusaders’ record improves to 2-2 on the season.

The loss moves the Rock-a-chaws’ record to 4-5 on the season, and their district season begins next Friday against West Marion in Bay St. Louis.