Caden Workman did a little bit of everything for Brother Rice on Friday, and the Crusaders needed all of it against DePaul Prep.
Workman had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal as No. 11 Brother Rice went on the road and knocked off No. 1 DePaul Prep 53-52.
The 6-5 senior also had the toughest defensive assignment of the night as he was tasked with containing Rashaun Porter, DePaul’s physical 6-7 junior.
Porter did get loose for 15 points, including three dunks in the fourth quarter, but Workman and the Crusaders (18-3, 4-1 Catholic League Blue) did just enough to snap a two-game losing streak.
“Caden, maybe last year he was playing better,” Brother Rice’s Marcos Gonzales said. “I think he thinks it. We all know he’s capable of playing like he did today. He played really well against a really good player and he showed everybody what he could do.
“Whatever college picks him up is getting a lucky steal.”
Workman knew what he was up against in Porter, but he didn’t back down.
The plan: “Just make everything hard, make every catch hard, make every inch of space hard for him to get [to] … and just fight as well as I could.”
Workman even stepped out and hit a three-pointer for Rice’s first points of the game.
“I worked on it a lot in the offseason, trying to expand my range to help space the floor out,” he said.
“I feel like I haven’t played to my standards … but you’ve just got to keep grinding. You’re gonna go through some bad stretches in life and basketball so you’ve just gotta bounce back.
His effort helped the Crusaders open a 12-point lead in the second quarter. They were up 11 midway through the fourth before DePaul Prep (20-2, 3-1) rallied.
Gonzales made two free throws with 20.5 seconds left to give Rice a 53-48 lead. Porter’s slam cut the deficit to 53-50 with 12.1 seconds remaining.
Rykan Woo hit a free throw with 9.2 seconds left to make it 53-51 and deliberately missed the second, with the Rams controlling the rebound. Makai Kvamme made one free throw with 2.2 seconds left, but missed the second and time ran out, giving Brother Rice a signature win coming off a buzzer-beating loss to St. Ignatius and a rivalry loss to Marist.
Jack Weigus had 17 points and eight rebounds for Rice, Gonzales added 12 points and seven rebounds, and KJ Morris scored 10.
“It means the world,” Workman said of the win. “It’s tough when you’re losing a bunch of close games. You feel like you’re so close and we’re a couple possessions away from a couple more big wins.”
Kvamme scored 10 for DePaul Prep, while Woo and AJ Chambers each added eight points.
“We knew that they had a loss in the league and they were coming for us,” Rams coach Tom Kleinschmidt said. “They’re a very good team and they beat us. … We showed some fight in the end, but we didn’t deserve to win.”