St. Bede got huge contributions off the bench from Alec Tomsha and Graham Ross as the Bruins cruised 64-33 victory over Flanagan-Cornell in the Rt. 17 Thanksgiving Classic on Tuesday in Streator.

The Falcons came out strong with Logan Ruddy scoring the team’s first six points for an early 6-2 lead.

It was short lived though as it was all Bruins the rest of the way.

About halfway through the first quarter, Tomsha entered the game and gave the Bruins the spark they needed.

Tomsha hit his first two 3-pointers of the night to give St. Bede an 8-6 edge and then Ross came off the bench for a drive and layup before Tomsha added another 3-pointer.

“(Alec) wears No. 3 for a reason,” St. Bede coach Brian Hanson said. “We call him Lethal Weapon 3 and what a spark he gave us after we started the game off slow.”

Carson Riva hit a 3-pointer also that capped off a 14-0 run for the Bruins. Ruddy then drove the lane for the Falcons and ended the drought, making it a 16-8 St. Bede lead. The Bruins led 18-8 after the first quarter.

St. Bede started off the second quarter with a putback and then hit both shots from the foul line as the Bruins lead grew to 24-12.

“I liked the way we came out, but St. Bede’s bench was the difference,” Flanagan-Cornell coach Brian Yoder said. “No. 3 and 13 were absolutely huge not just in the beginning, but all night. Hats off to them.”

Geno Dinges hit a 15-foot jumper and right after that the stingy Bruins defense picked up a steal and Dinges found Gino Ferrari ahead for the layup to extend the lead to 28-12.

St. Bede capped off another run of 11-0 with a steal and 3-pointer from Gus Burr. Reece Pelnarsh then hit 1 of 2 from the line for the Falcons that ended another drought.

The Bruins dominated the bigger Falcons team on the boards (47-26) and it led to a 12-foot jumper from Riva as St. Bede ended the half on a 13-1 run and a 33-13 lead.

“Of our 33 first half points, 17 of them were off the bench,” Hanson said. “Gino Ferrari, who is our leading scorer and rebounder from last year, didn’t have a great half and we were ahead 20. That says what these kids are capable of and how much fun they’re having to start the season. They are truly playing for each other.”

In the second half, the Bruins stepped on the gas and never let the Falcons back into the game. Burr finished off a fast break with a layup as the lead grew to 39-13.

Ruddy continued to fight for the Falcons as the Bruins defense smothered him all night, but his drive and layup made it 40-15.

Burr came down the court and drained a shot behind the arc and then Chris Gedraitis came off the bench and converted an up-and-under shot for the Bruins.

Before the third quarter was over, Tomsha sank a long range bomb and a free throw for the four-point play and 57-25 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

The strong bench play finished the night off as Michael Schultz added five more bench points as St. Bede came away with the 64-33 victory with 38 of those points coming off the bench, while the Falcons got three from their bench.

Tomsha had 14 points while Burr had 12. Ross added 10 rebounds and eight points. Ruddy led all scorers with 18 points.