Just one game remains before Cardinal Newman boys basketball rounds out the regular season, but there's a new energy surrounding the Crusaders — and not just because of their most recent 66-61 win over St. Andrew's.

Tuesday's defeat of the Scots was just another scene in the script that Newman, now 19-5, has been flipping since November. Better yet, since the offseason that followed 2023's 10-15 run and first-round elimination in districts.

"St. Andrews has been a staple among the basketball elite for some time now in Palm Beach County, thanks to coach [John] O'Connell and the guys he has had come through the program," Crusaders coach Reilly Campbell said. "But I know that Newman should be there too — we just had to rebuild it."

Down eight points in the final minutes of action, back-to-back 3-pointers from senior teammates Alex Grande and Jermaine Council saw the Crusaders to the lead that held for their sixth consecutive victory, staying undefeated outside of tournament play and overcoming the threat that is St. Andrew's point guard Brooklyn Vick.

"Me and my teammates just bought in to the defensive scheme that coach put in on Monday’s practice, which was having each other's back with help defense, boxing out, rebounding and making them uncomfortable for 32 minutes," said Council.

The ambidextrous point guard transfer from King's Academy led the Crusaders with 17 points, accompanied by 13 points from Max Redmon and 12 from Grande.

"We also knew we could guard them pretty straight up if we committed to making it tough on them, throwing different guys at him [Vick], and doing what we do, and that is forcing tempo with our ball pressure. He is a very talented kid, but this is really a testament to our guards' ability to pressure him," Campbell said. Vick put up 16 points for the Scots, who were led by 20 points from Alex Montes.

Council called the process to pin down the Scots (15-6) a "build-up."

While he knew his and Grande's contributions from the arc put the points on the scoreboard, Council found junior teammate Redmon's block on Vick late in the game to regain possession to be the "main play" that got the job done.

Newman junior Izzy Joseph and senior Joe Duran also received shout-outs for their scores from the free-throw line.

"It was the real definition of a team win," Council said.

Campbell, who took the helm of the two-time state champion program two years ago, called the milestone a huge accomplishment. However, he knows Newman "can't relax now."

"Newman basketball belongs in the conversation as one of the best teams in the county this season and it is my job to make sure we stay there — and not just as the best private school team, we want to be in the conversation as the best basketball program in the county and South Florida. We have a ways to go to get there, but that's our goal," Campbell said.

Campbell said Newman feels "good" heading into its Senior Night and regular-season finale against Benjamin on Thursday, and beyond.

"We've talked all season long about this team's story and we have a lot more pages to write," Campbell said. "Our focus is to keep getting better with each day and to keep making the Newman name mean something on the court."

After finale against Benjamin, Crusaders to close in on districts

Duran is the only Crusader on the roster who was around for Newman's last postseason appearance in 2022, when the eighth-seeded squad reached the region semifinals. That season, he played in just two games. Fellow top performers Grande, Joseph and Redmon joined the Crusaders' basketball team only last winter.

Playing and winning a district title at King's (18-6), which reached the 3A region championship in 2023, puts Council in a position to lead his teammates through the tension to come on a deep run that they hope will end in Lakeland.

"It honestly feels good. I might even say it feels a little better than the first time," Council said.

"When I first came here, people thought it was a crazy decision and thought I would just be the only good player on the team, and me and my team ignored the noise and we worked for the No. 1 seed in the district. Nothing was given to us. We went out and earned it and the story isn't over. It's just getting started. I would honestly take this team and coaching staff over anyone."

Newman's status as the top seed in District 8 — which also hosts King's, Benjamin (8-12), Inlet Grove (11-10), John Carroll Catholic (9-14), Somerset College Prep (7-15) and Oxbridge (6-16) — means that the squad get to the state playoffs as a champion instead of an at-large contender.

In Region 2, the Crusaders stand sixth behind the No. 4 team in Class 3A, Windermere Prep (17-6), as well as Santa Fe Catholic (19-3), Holy Trinity Episcopal (16-4), Bell Creek Academy (12-11) and The First Academy (13-10).

"St. Andrew's is a good program with a ton of talent and with a win like that, we are going into the postseason with good momentum. The St. Andrew's game should let other teams know that we aren’t ever gonna quit or give up until the time says 'zero' and that's what I love about this team," Council said.

"So we don't care who we play in the postseason. If they don't come to play, they're going home early."

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Newman hoops nabs more milestones with St. Andrew's win, top-seed in district