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The Lafayette Christian boys basketball team rang in the New Year with a tough loss to Strong Rock on the road on Tuesday, but the team got back to winning ways on its home court on Thursday, trouncing CrossPointe 80-42. 

The Cougars were led by their terrific trio of Johsua Zapata, Vakiel Hammett and Bruno Tellez, who scored 25, 22 and 18 points, respectively. The three passed the baton back and forth as to who would lead the offensive charge at any given moment, 

In the first quarter, it was Hammett, who scored nine points in the opening eight minutes. He was everywhere on the court, hitting a 3-pointer, making a trip to the charity stripe, and muscling his weight into the paint for two points the hard way. Hammett kept up his hot start to the game by scoring nine more points in the second.

However, the second quarter was all about Tellez. After going scoreless in the opening quarter, Tellez exploded for 12 points in the second to help the Cougars put some distance between themselves and their opponent. A nine-point lead after the first quarter quickly ballooned up to a 49-22 lead at halftime. 

Jonathan Pierson also proved a threat in the first half, hitting three 3-pointers en route to an 11-point half. 

After scoring just four points — all in the first quarter — going into halftime, Zapata came out the other side on fire. He connected on four 3-pointers as well as a couple near the basket to go from four points to 20 points in the blink of an eye.

By the middle of the fourth quarter coach David Gisler was able to get his young bench players some key varsity minutes. 

Lafayette Christian is back over .500 (5-4) and 2-1 in region play. The Cougars are set to host Hearts Academy next Monday.