After losing a 64-63 nail-biter to St. Mary's last week, the St. Anthony's Friars decided enough was enough. First, there was their authoritative 59-39 victory against Chaminade on Tuesday. Then, the team that glided to a berth in the state CHSAA Class A tournament last year scored a decisive 57-21 rout against league rival Holy Trinity on Friday.

The Friars took command of this one early. Senior big-man Jon Francois helped set the tone from the start, quickly piling up eight first quarter points around the bucket.

But despite their shooting woes, the Titans only trailed 16-7 after the first quarter and were just one little scoring streak away from tying the game.

Then, the shooters took over. Senior guard Chris Jimenez nailed five three-pointers during an overwhelming second quarter, and a tough Friars defense muscled Holy Trinity out of the paint, forcing them to fire tough, long-range perimeter jumpers.

Jimenez accounted for 15 of the Friars 17 second quarter points (he finished with 21 to lead all scorers). The speedy, quick-firing jump shooter proved too much for the Titans to handle and they trailed 33-14 at the half.

From there on out, it was defense, defense, defense. The Friars allowed just two field goals in the second half and took command of the glass, limiting second chance opportunities. The Titans' senior bruiser, Chris Fanning, was held to just three points after he managed 28 against St. Mary's and 16 against St. John the Baptist.

Entering the game, the injury plagued Titans sported a 3-0 record in CHSAA conference play with wins over St. John the Baptist, St. Mary's and Kellenberg. So if St. Anthony's was looking to make a statement on Friday night against their league rivals, then point made.