Brother Rice’s Cale Cosme picks up slack after Ahmad Henderson suffers injury. ‘I knew I had to score more.’

Junior guard Cale Cosme knew he had to step up for Brother Rice.

When star guard Ahmad Henderson went down in the first minute Friday night with a right ankle injury, Cosme wanted to have a big game to make up for Henderson’s points.

It’s nothing new for Cosme, who’s listed at 5-foot-8 on the roster. Every time he has ever walked out on the basketball court, Cosme has felt like he has something to prove.

“They look at me and I obviously don’t look the part,” he said. “You have to prove that you are better than how tall you are. This might be the first or last time someone is going to see me play, so you want to play your best all the time.”

Cosme gave his best effort in a huge pressure situation, breaking out with 27 points as the Crusaders lost 72-67 to Kenwood in the Class 4A St. Rita Sectional championship game.

Khalil Ross added 18 points and nine rebounds for Brother Rice (29-5), while Zavier Fitch had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Cosme scored 14 points in the third quarter for the Crusaders (29-5), who finished with a program record for wins and were seeking their first sectional title since 2005.

Tyler Smith totaled 18 points and seven steals for Kenwood (28-6), which had to sweat out a 51-49 sectional semifinal win Tuesday over Bloom.

Henderson has had some legendary performances in his three-year varsity career, but Cosme put on a worthy show that should bode well for the future.

“He’s just grown so much from not playing much last year and not playing as much at the beginning of this year,” Henderson said of Cosme. “He always came in and had a positive attitude. And his confidence has grown.

“I’m proud of the way he has grown. With his ability to pass the ball, he made my job a lot easier. He brings in a difference dynamic. You don’t see a lot of guys his size running around and doing the things that he does.”

Brother Rice was riding high off a 72-65 victory Wednesday over St. Rita. The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Henderson scored 34 points in that game, but ran into a screen from Kenwood’s Solomon Mosley, who checks in at 6-8 and 218 pounds.

“I was guarding and he screened me out of nowhere,” Henderson said of the play, which came only 31 seconds into in the first quarter. “My leg kind of got twisted up, and I wasn’t expecting it.”

Even without Henderson for the remainder of the first half, the Crusaders still led 22-13 with 7:05 left in the second quarter.

Kenwood, however, roared back and took a 30-27 halftime lead.

The Niagara-bound Henderson would enter and leave the game a few times in the second half, but he missed two shots from the floor and hit a couple of free throws in the closing minutes.

Thanks to Cosme’s hot second half, Brother Rice led 49-47 after three quarters and 55-54 with 4:06 left in the fourth before Kenwood pulled away.

Cosme, who said Henderson taught him a lot when the two would lock horns in practice on a daily basis, didn’t like seeing what happened to the Crusaders’ standout player.

But at the same time, he also realized what he had to do.

“I knew I had to score more than I usually do,” Cosme said. “Usually, I’m driving and kicking it out. I knew I had to take over.”

Ross also came up big with his inside power.

“This showed how deep we are,” Ross said. “We thought we were going to win the fight. It hurts to lose, but I’m proud of what we were able to do in this game.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.