Before Jesuit High School Varsity Basketball game against Rio Americano High School started, Moses split the “Red Sea” of Galley Crew members wearing red, and the Raiders responded by turning off the lights and swinging glowsticks wildly during the player introductions. These two energetic groups set the tone for an intense matchup.

“We were very fortunate as a team to have a large turnout, especially with the Galley Crew. Having their support really motivated and inspired the team,” said junior Ethan Pangelinan.

Tipoff arrived, and Jesuit immediately pulled away as junior Malik Duffy scored the Marauder’s first 8 points of the game, giving Jesuit significant momentum right from the start.

“Malik scoring eight points right off the bat really set the tone for the game,” Ethan said after the game. “It showed that we came to handle business and sparked the team to have an aggressive presence the rest of the game.”

Jesuit played a strong first half, consistently maintaining a 10 point lead. Jesuit went into halftime leading Rio 41-26. Malik had 12 points while senior Isaiah Bailey had 14, combining to score as much as the entire Rio team.

The second half was played equally well, and the Marauders even picked up their pace a little finishing three quarters up 61-43. Jesuit finished off strong, with chants of “Beat the traffic,” emerging from the Galley Crew before the 2 minute mark.

Jesuit took over American River Drive officially with the final score of 81-68 as the Galley Crew sang the song, “Goodbye.”