The Kent Crusaders players huddled at centre court after the game on Saturday night, after failing to capture a game that could have all but secured their Division 2 status. In contrast the six Northampton Neptunes players left the court celebrating an unlikely 87-74 victory.

Against such an undermanned Northampton side Crusaders, despite being several league places lower, could have been considered favourites. But Northampton weren’t going to let this or the home crowd get the better of them. They were led by guard Pulkkinen who put on an almost flawless shooting display for his 34 points, shooting 8 of 9 from the floor, 3 of 4 from three and all 9 of his free throws.

Crusaders only managed 30 points in the first half as they struggled for any rhythm on offense. James Harris (16 points), Mike Webber (13) and Sam Betts (13) all made some tough shots early on in the game. But with several players getting into foul trouble early including Dan Garrard, one of the few Crusaders big men, and giving up 12 turnovers in the first two quarters Crusaders trailed by 11 at the half time break.

The home side rallied after the break and cut the lead to 9 by the end of the third quarter. Rikki Broadmore, who finished with a team high 7 assists, and Pete Ayling led the comeback with Crusaders playing with greater energy and getting some easy scores on the fast-break. However they were continually hampered by foul trouble, with Damien Lyons having to sit down for most of the quarter after picking up four fouls.

In the last quarter Crusaders cut the lead to as little as two points with a three pointer from James Harris. But Northampton answered with ex-Crusader James Acres hitting a three that just kept them out of reach of the home side. Northampton had Warmann fouled out with several minutes to go but Neptunes didn’t ease up and by the time Kent started fouling Northampton were out of reach and wrapped up the win.

Kent Crusaders v Northampton Neptunes

Saturday 15 March at 7.30 pm

Venue: Body & Mind Leisure Centre, Canterbury High School

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