The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders rounded off their 2007/08 season with a victory over Black Country University of Wolverhampton in a game that in reality had no meaning but ended in front of the loudest home crowd of the season. The entire crowd was brought to its feet for the last minutes of the game, as the game became very physical, with players pushing each other around and near fights breaking out on several occasions.

You have to applaud Black Country’s intensity and fighting spirit, although I would probably have chosen a different way of letting it out”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, “I thought the referees did a decent job of handling a tough situation in a game that shouldn’t have gotten out of hand. We approached the referees about the safety of the players on the court in the fourth quarter, and they responded in a way I can only applaud.”

The game was on the balance up until the final minute, but with the Crusaders ahead for all but seven minutes around half time. The Crusaders won the opening tip off and Robbie Parker scored the first 4 points for the home team as they started the stronger of the two teams. The university side did fight back late in the opening quarter with some baskets from top scorer Potts but Crusaders took the opening quarter 22 to 16.

Black country fought back after their slow start, though, as they held the Crusaders to just 12 points in the second quarter as the home side offense stuttered. The away team scored 20 points of their own in the second quarter to give them a slender 1 point advantage at the half time break.

After the interval the Crusaders let Black Country score the first four points, but then the defence of Rikki Broadmore, Jeff Wadey and Pete Ayling on the Black country guards led to a 11 to 2 Crusaders run that brought the home side up 47 to 42. The teams stayed close for the rest of the quarter, as the home side took a four point advantage into the final ten minutes of play.

No one could predict the drama that would unfold in the fourth quarter and bring the crowd to their feet with some entertainment, well worth the admission fee, that could see every single spectator return for the first game next season.

With the gap between the two sides only 5 points tensions began to run high resulting in a number of heated exchanges between both sets of players. At one point the entire crowd was at its feet voicing their disagreement with Black Country player-coach Tony Simms who was shooting technical foul shots after an episode that appeared to be initiated by himself. The game never got closer than five points, as Crusaders ran of an 8-2 run to start the quarter, and answered every little run Black Country threw at them. The Crusaders never looked like surrendering their lead with an ever more animated crowd behind them and kept their heads towards the end of the game earning their 7 point win.

The 75-68 victory brought the curtain down on a mixed season for the Crusaders, as the team set out with ambitions to reach the division 2 playoffs, but had to settle with ninth place, one spot from the postseason. The team rallied late in the season after finding themselves dangerously near the bottom of the table to secure division 2 basketball for the club next season.

“Having already guaranteed our survival with the effort against Northumbria last weekend and with Black Country already relegated, there was nothing but pride riding on this game”, said coach Olesen, “but being the last Crusaders game for some players and wanting a win in front of our home crowd we played with as much effort as in any game this year. I think we sent off Rob Dagger, who played really well in this his last game, with a great game. We will be sorry to see him go, but I’m certain he’s going to have a good basketball career ahead of him, be it in Canada, where he’s exploring options, or here in the UK.”

The Crusaders look to keep the core of players together for next season, and are hoping to come back next year to at least make the playoffs.

Kent Crusaders v Black Country University of Wolverhampton
Saturday 29 March at 7.30 pm
Venue: Body & Mind Leisure Centre, Canterbury High School
Home 22 34 21 41
Away 16 36 15 32

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