The Medway Park Crusaders again came close but had to walk away losers in their Division 2 and National Cup double header this weekend. Both in Wrexham and in Reading the Kent side went down big in the first half then clawed their way back only to let it slip between their fingers at the end.
Against the Glyndwr Nets Crusaders started the game well as they quickly build a 13-6 lead as Brad Smith scored 10 points. It didn’t last, however, as a combination of offensive mistakes, poor defensive transition and defensive breakdowns let the home side back in the game, and then let them build a big lead.
“We started out playing good defence and got some easy baskets,” said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, “but then we just got soft on defence again. The Nets moved the ball well, and we just weren’t able to keep up and we let them put a run on us. It obviously didn’t help that JP Dimandja injured his shoulder as he fell on it after a dunk, as he’s one of our best defenders”.
By quarter time the home side had build a 30-19 lead, and things only got worse at the start of the second quarter as Nets build the lead to 36-21. Down 15 Crusaders finally started to show some life as the defence started clicking and they managed to get the ball inside to Brad Smith on several occasions. With a minute go to in the quarter the lead was reduced to ten, 45-35, but as the Nets scored the last five points of the quarter Crusaders found themselves down 15 at half time.
In the second half the Crusaders’ man-to-man defence really started disrupting the Nets’ offensive flow while Smith and James Harris split 21 of Crusaders 23 points of the quarter between them, pulling the visitors within 6 points at quarter time, 64-58.
From the start of the final quarter it looked like Crusaders might get all the way back as Kalil Irving scored five points to get within three, 66-63, but over the next three minutes the Crusaders attack faltered.
“We’ve seen it a few times this year,” said Crusaders coach Mads Olesen. “We had a 28-16 run going from playing disciplined offence and defence, and then as we get back into the game we start making rushed decisions. Instead of executing like we had during the run we go back to bad decision making and give Nets some cheap points”.
After the slump Crusaders found themselves down eight, 75-64 with four minutes left, but they still had some fight left in them. Greg Currat hit a three pointer, followed by two missed foul shots by Nets’ Roberts. Sam Betts hit a layup, and again Nets missed two from the line, this time by Weedall. With two minutes left Irving drove to the hoop for Crusaders for two, and this time it was Flanagan missing two freebies for Nets. Damian Lyons was called for his fourth foul on the play, but unfortunately a James Harris foul had been entered for Lyons and the Crusaders starting point guard had to leave the game with a fifth foul.
“It is unfortunate that something like that happens,” said Olesen. “Obviously you’ll want your starting point guard to be making the decisions at the end of the game, but on this occasion we had to try and make do without him”.
Now within four, 74-71, Crusaders turned the ball over to give Nets’ Casenove two points. Crusaders answered back, though as Irving flew to the basket for a layup. On the play Crusaders captain Sam Betts went for the rebound, but on an unlucky play got pushed and injured his ankle, rendering him unable to finish the game.
Crusaders still didn’t quit and Harris got fouled and sank two foul shots with a minute left to pull Crusaders within 2, 77-75. On the ensuing possession Crusaders stole the ball but on the break threw the ball away leading to a Nets basket. Crusaders now charged up the court, but again they turned the ball over. A quick foul put Nets Herriman on the line, and as he made one of two shots the Crusaders chances for a win disappeared. The final score was 81-75.
Crusaders captain Sam Betts: “Once again we played well in flashes but we didn’t put 40 minutes of good basketball together. If we have another good week of practice I think we’ll be all right. I’ve got a feeling that we’ll be all right.”
In Reading the beat-up Crusaders came in heavy underdogs, but ended up making an interesting game out of it in the end. The game was Damian Lyon’s 100th game for Crusaders after he – fittingly – came from Reading in 2006. Damian had hoped to return with a victory, but in the first half it looked like the Division 1 Rockets would run away with it.
Reading built a lead through hitting wide open three point shots and hitting the offensive boards. Crusaders failed to recognize that the young Rockets big men could shoot from the outside, resulting in four wide-open 3-point shots made in the first quarter. At the same time the Rockets were able to get second, third and fourth chances off of offensive rebounds, and eventually they would get a basket.
Still the lead was only 8 points, 27-19, with a minute to go in the first quarter, but back to back 3-pointers and a layup from Jason Sayers build the advantage to 16 a minute into the second quarter.
From that point onwards, however, the Rockets didn’t get much else going offensively. Crusaders at one point forced consecutive 24 second violations as well as several steals, as their man-to-man defence started picking up on the Reading screens. For the next 26 minutes of play Reading only managed 32 points.
Crusaders weren’t able to take advantage of their improved defence immediately, as baskets were few and far between. Greg Currat drove to the basket and scored as he was fouled and Damian Lyons hit one-of-two from the foul line before Reading got a basket. Then Brad Smith got a basket followed by a Reading score. Every time Crusaders got closer reading would manage a basket off a rebound or a Crusaders turnover, and at the end of the half the lead was still at 16, 46-30.
From the start of the second half things looked better for Crusaders. They still disrupted the Reading screens, but they now also started executing on offence. Brad Smith repeatedly got the ball and either scored or as he got double teamed he found the open man. JP Dimandja and James Harris got a couple of baskets each, and though Smith himself had only six points he was involved in most of the offensive action.
An 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter got Crusaders back in firing range, down only eight, 47-55, but they had ten points to make up as the teams entered the final quarter.
Crusaders’ defence was still on form, and slowly they clawed themselves closer behind Dimandja, Smith and Harris’s baskets. With four minutes to go they got as close as four and had the chance to get closer, but on consecutive possessions Crusaders turned fast breaks into turnovers. With three minutes to go Crusaders were still within striking distance, down 68-64, but four straight Rockets points had Crusaders chasing the game again.
Crusaders tried to get the ball to Smith, but the physical defence of the Rockets kept him from being effective. As the game was slipping away Smith took his frustration out on an unsuspecting Reading player with a thunderous dunk that even brought the home crowd to it’s feet. It wasn’t enough to win the game, though, as Reading hit seven out of nine free throws to close out the game.
“I look back at that game with mixed feelings”, said Olesen after the game. “We played some of the best defence of the season, but at the same time we gave up 30 points in the first quarter. We’re making silly mistakes at the same time as we make great plays, and we have to cut down on the mistakes, because they cost us the games. We’re on a long losing streak, but in every one of those games we’ve been within striking distance in the last minutes, and it’s just frustrating not being able to pull it off”.
Lyons looked upon his 100th game with mixed emotions: “It was great playing back in Reading. I have some great memories of my time there. I’ve really enjoyed my time at Crusaders and I’m sure playing 100 games for the club is something I’ll look back at with some satisfaction after the season. Right now I’m just focused on going out there and picking up some wins.”
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