Crusaders travel to Northampton Neptunes this weekend in the second round of fixtures of the Patron’s Cup. Northampton is a strong side as they were relegated from division 1. In their first game of the Patron’s Cup Northampton went down in a high scoring encounter with Plymouth Raiders 96-92. Given that Northampton  are largely unknown to the Crusaders, and it is the Kent teams first away game of the season, it’s sure to be a tough matchup. Head coach Mads Olesen said ”This early in the season we’re looking at ourselves more than at our opponents” (more…)

The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders host Leicester Warriors this Saturday in their first group match of this years Patrons Cup. Crusaders have been drawn in a group alongside Leicester Warriors, Northampton Neptunes, Plymouth Raiders II, Tamar Valley Cannons and Cardiff Celts so a good start is essential.

Last year Crusaders missed out on a semi-final place by the smallest of margins. Despite an impressive 86-74 win over Taunton Tigers other results went against Kent seeing them eliminated on points difference. Had Crusaders beaten Taunton by 2 more points they would have progressed to the next round. (more…)

The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders will be hoping to get off to a good start with their first official game of the new season this Saturday. Crusaders face Sevenoaks Suns in the first round of the National Cup, which will see the only two men’s national league teams in Kent going head to head.

Last year in this competition Crusaders made it to the second round, where they were knocked out by a strong Worthing Thunder side that have won back-to-back division 1 titles. A win in the Sevenoaks game would set up a rematch with Worthing in the 3rd round due to Solent dropping out of the 2nd round game. (more…)

Next Week the Body and Mind Kent Crusaders face a crucial relegation battle as they travel to play fellow relegation battlers the Plymouth Raiders II.

Plymouth who are lead by Jean Wakanena are a tough combative team who like Kent have found themselves undersized this season. Plymouth also have had the better of Kent this season having beaten the Crusaders 87-75 in the league, and in the Patrons Cup.

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The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders face another busy weekend when they travel to Birmingham on Saturday to play the Birmingham Athletics before returning home to host the Leicester Warriors on Sunday.

Kent know that a couple of good results at the weekend could be crucial as they try and stave off relegation.

Birmingham, who are currently tied in fifth place in the league, has already beaten Kent once this year winning 71-64 in front of the Crusaders home crowd.

Sunday sees Kent play host to Leicester who like Birmingham have already beaten Kent this season. Kent lost out by 8 points in Leicester after an exciting overtime shootout between the two sides. The Warriors enter the game fresh off capturing the Patron’s Cup last weekend.

Kent Coach Jesse Sazant says despite his team’s long slide down the league rankings he is confident his side can win points this weekend. “These are two games that are definitely winnable. Although our record isn’t great, we’ve only lost 3 games by double figures and have lost 5 games by less than 5 points. We know we can compete with and defeat these teams.”

Assistant coach Pete Ayling commented. “We’ve had a real disappointing season and recently we’ve been putting in some good performances but we haven’t been getting the results, there’s a real determination in the side now to win some games now and regroup before next year.”h

Sunday’s game tip-off at 2:30 at Body and Mind. There is no pre game clinic this week

The Crusaders losses at the weekend have left them in a precarious position in the league, which makes next weekend’s game, which sees Kent travel to face fellow strugglers Mansfield, absolutely crucial if the Crusaders are to remain in the league.

Sazant reinforced this saying; “This is a crucial game for us with Mansfield being one of our nearest competitors. We need to make sure we beat the teams around us in the table over the last month of the season.”

Kent (4-12) and Mansfield (4-13) are currently part of a 3 way tie for ninth, with Kent holding a game in hand.

Mansfield, despite lying in the lower reaches of Division 2, has a couple of the leagues top scorers in 6’4 forward Tristan Lawson and 6’3 guard Williamz Omope. Omope was hugely influential in Mansfield’s December victory over the Crusaders and Sazant has targeted the player; “Omope is a really key player for them, the rest of the players really feed off him so we need to force him into difficult shots and not let him get going.”

Kent’s Gary Davison commented: “We’ve put in performances over the weekend that should be enough to beat a team like Mansfield but we can’t be complacent we’ve not been getting the rub of the green and we need to show what we can do.”

Victory next week could really put to bed many of the Crusaders relegation issues however another defeat, especially against a side below the Crusaders in the league could lead to Kent having the worst kind of finish to their season.

Gary also took the opportunity to thank the fans for their support: “ We really appreciate the fans for coming out to see us over the past few difficult weeks.”

Next weekend the Body and Mind Kent Crusaders have a crucial home double header, hosting the Tamar Valley Cannons and Derby Trailblazers, as they try to avoid being dragged into the relegation mire.

Tamar Valley, who are one place above the Crusaders in the league, currently hold the final play-off position while league leaders Derby are run away favourites to win the division.

Kent captain Paul Jessop described the situation Ken find themselves in ; “Next week’s games are crucial, unfortunately we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we have to play team’s like Derby who we’d normally except a loss against and we have to win.” He added “We have a lot of guys who are inexperienced at this level but if we don’t improve our mindset we might not be at this level much longer.”

On a brighter note Kent’s injury woes are easing with the return of Angelo Irving and Mike Webber back from injury and Lee Butters available after suspension.

Tamar, who have played and beaten Kent twice this season, is lead by versatile forward Matt Peard and the outside shooting of Adam Hatchell. Saturday’s game tips off at 6:30, with the usual pre-game clinic taking place at 4:45.

Coach Jesse Sazant has targeted Tamar as a game which Kent must win to improve their league position. “Saturday’s game is a real key for us. We know we have the potential to get in the play-offs and need to start beating the teams just ahead of us.”

Then on Sunday the Body and Mind centre welcomes league leaders Derby. Derby, who will also be playing their second game of the weekend, are favourites for promotion and have a solid team packed full of experience and talent. Derby’s main threats come from Matt Shaw and Simon Spencer however Derby has a number of quality players in all positions.

Kent remain undaunted by their opposition and coach Sazant says he is confident that his side can be a match for the league leaders, “We feel capable of taking on Derby, but we’ll need to compete for 40 minutes and play with confidence.”

Sunday’s game starts at 3:30 at Body and Mind with the pre-game clinic beginning at 1:45.

The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders return to their home court at Canterbury High to face Team Northumbria this weekend.

Kent comfortably beat Team Northumbria by 98-64 earlier this year in revenge for the Crusaders defeat by Northumbria in last season’s National Shield Final.

This game is pretty much make or break for the Crusaders, with Northumbria currently holding the final play-off position, one spot ahead of Kent.

Once again Kent will be smaller than their opponents, with forwards Dodecker Ndombasi and Angelo Irving out with injury and Lee Butters missing through suspension.

Northumbria is lead by the exciting talent of 6’4 Sam Attah, who has been averaging nearly 30 points since joining over the holiday season. Attah is supported by 6’2 Dijon Fisher and 6’0 Michael Noell-Roberts.

Coach Sazant commented ahead of the game “This is a real key match-up for us if we are going to make the play-offs, we’re going to need to find a way to play big and make up for our lack of size.”

The game tips off this Saturday 10th February 6:30 at the Body and Mind Centre, Canterbury High School after a pre-game skills clinic at 4:30.