Eastside Catholic boys basketball coach Steve Kramer didn’t deny it — he was concerned Monday night.

His Crusader squad hadn’t played a game in 20 days. They went 10 straight days without practicing due to the heavy snow and the holidays.

“I was worried about the rust that was accumulating, or I should say the ice that was accumulating, with the layoff,” Kramer said.

His team quickly put those worries to rest against non-league Liberty, jumping out to a fast start, and cruising to their largest win in two years, 67-41.

“We had three-hour practices for the last six days,” Kramer said. “They really put in the work and the results came out tonight.”

Eastside set the nets on fire in the first half, hitting 15 of 21 shots (71 percent).

“Some people have been shooting 20 percent and they came out tonight and shot 100 percent,” senior forward Troy Perry said.

Made baskets came from in close and afar — and from everyone. The Crusaders were 3-for-7 on first-half three-pointers, and nine of the 11 players on the roster scored in the first half. The remaining two scored in the second half.

“It was all about like passing to teammates and creating shots for teammates,” senior guard Andrew Carlton said. “We definitely shot the ball a lot better than we have in the past. I felt like we were working more as a team.”

The Crusaders turned a nine-point first-quarter cushion into a 19-point halftime lead. Carlton, who was 4-for-4 with nine points for the game, hit a 8-foot jumper at the second-quarter buzzer to put Eastside up 38-17. Perry helped increase the lead early in the quarter, drilling three straight shots in a span of a minute, including a three-pointer.

The Crusaders cooled off in the second half, but maintained their cushion by forcing the Patriots into seven third-quarter turnovers, and 17 for the game. Junior Nile Kramer scored eight points, including two three-pointers, in the final 1:55 to give him a game-high 15 points. Perry ended with 13, after scoring nine in the first half.

Eric Peterson led Liberty with 11 points, while Turner Chatterton and Chandler Jenkins had nine apiece.

The victory was Eastside’s largest win since Jan. 3, 2007, when they defeated an Australian team, Horizon Sporting Events, 73-26.

“Sometimes things just go your way, hopefully this is a turning point,” Perry said.

Eastside 46,

West Seattle 37

The Crusaders nabbed their second straight win and first conference win Tuesday night, knocking off West Seattle, 46-37.

Nile Kramer had 13 points and Perry scored 12 to lead Eastside.

The Crusaders moved to 1-4 in league and 3-4 overall with the wins. Eastside hosts Nathan Hale at 8 p.m., today.