Elijah Kothe, No. 9 Faith Lutheran turn back No. 7 Cimarron

Faith Lutheran’s boys basketball team didn’t get its normal contributions from its top two scorers Thursday, as point guard Jaylen Fox was out with an ankle injury and leading scorer Nic Maccioni was limited by foul trouble.

Fortunately for the Crusaders, Elijah Kothe was there to pick up the slack.

The 6-foot-4-inch junior forward, also an all-state wide receiver, had 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots to lead ninth-ranked Faith Lutheran to a 67-59 home win over No. 7 Cimarron-Memorial.

“He’s so versatile,” Crusaders coach Bret Walter said. “He can help handle the ball, he scores, he plays great (defense), and he just plays so hard. So he’s a huge part of our team.”

Kothe helped Faith Lutheran get off to a strong start, scoring 11 first-quarter points as the Crusaders grabbed a 23-12 lead.

After Maccioni had a rebound basket to give the Crusaders an 11-10 lead, Kothe scored the next seven points, and Faith Lutheran wouldn’t trail again.

As important as Kothe’s offense was early, the team’s defense was equally impressive. Faith Lutheran (10-6, 3-1 Northwest League) used a 2-3 zone to slow the Spartans and limit touches for leading scorer Demarco Alexander, who had only three points in the first quarter.

“Most importantly, we just wanted to get back and get them slowed down,” Walter said. “If we didn’t get them slowed down, they’re dangerous. They scored 99 two nights ago, and we just felt like the transition was the first key to the game.”

Alexander got going in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his 22 points to rally Cimarron (11-6, 3-2). The Spartans pulled to within 49-47 on an Alexander bucket to start the fourth quarter, but the Crusaders responded with an 11-3 run to push the lead to 10.

Maccioni fouled out with 2:35 to play, but Faith Lutheran held on.

“It’s a big win for us in this league,” Walter said. “They’re a good team. They’ve had a good season. So we’re real pleased to close the game out. I felt like our guys had some composure and got a few necessary stops at the end of the game.”

Maccioni had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Connor Nichols scored 10 for Faith Lutheran.

Keiron Hatchett had 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists for Cimarron, and Kamakana Winquist added 14 points and six rebounds.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.