St. Charles (@StCbball) guard Jordan Burkey hit this game winner for the Cardinals, knocking off Beechcroft at #TheChallenge. pic.twitter.com/AcSWQMD4JG

— Jason Morrow (@JasonMorrow270) January 7, 2017

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Trailing by 12 points at the end of the first quarter, nothing looked to be going in St. Charles' favor in the second game of The Challenge at Africentric. All of that changed in the second half, as senior guard Jordan Burkey's late-game heroics led the Cardinals (10-1) over Beechcroft (5-5), 61-59.

Burkey hit a three with less than five seconds remaining to push St. Charles into the lead. Burkey's game-winning shot came just nine seconds after he forced a steal with the Cardinals trailing 59-58. 

After senior center Nick Muszynski was blocked inside on St. Charles' final possession, senior guard Braden Budd picked up a key offensive rebound and kicked out to Burkey, whose three rattled around the rim before dropping into the bottom of the net.

St. Charles survived a 12-2 run from Beechcroft in the fourth quarter that put the Cougars up 58-55 with 2:17 to go. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they would not make another field goal for the rest of the game, as junior forward Teon Jennings missed a potential game-winning alley-oop off an inbounds pass under the Beechcroft basket at the buzzer.

After a first quarter where St. Charles trailed 25-13, the Cardinals settled down in the middle quarters, outscoring Beechcroft 36-19 in the second and third quarters.

Behind the St. Charles offensive attack was Muszynski, who finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Muszynski was dominant inside on the afternoon, controlling the glass and finishing a high percentage of his attempts in the paint.

Outside of Muszynski, senior forward Tavon Brown finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, coming alive from the second half on. Budd added 10 points and four assists, while Burkey added nine points, with no three bigger than the one to win the game. 

For Beechcroft, junior guard Jelani Simmons was solid all afternoon, finishing with 18 points, knocking down three triples. Fellow junior guard Datrey Long added 13 points and four assists, while Jennings pitched in 11 points before injuring himself on the final play of the game.

With the win, St. Charles improves to 10-1, winning 10-straight games. The Cardinals will look to keep winning next Friday at Bishop Hartley.

For Beechcroft, the Cougars will have to quickly rebound on Tuesday at home vs. East.