The Body and Mind Kent Crusaders basketball team came away with a win and a loss in two away games that were both decided in the last seconds. Saturday the side took on the Leicester Warriors and won by two, and Sunday they took on the Birmingham Aston Athletics, who came away with a one point win.

In their victory against Leicester the Crusaders started strong behind James Harris, who had 10 early points, as they ran out to an 18-13 lead. The home side came back behind strong outside shooting, hitting three threes, to bring them within one point at the quarter break, 22-23.

In the second quarter the Crusaders closed out the Leicester shooters much better, but that left the middle open for Leicester’s Greenway and Thomas who scored 12 combined points as the home side got ahead by 42-39 at halftime.

Leicester continued to play well in the third quarter, as they quickly build up a 54-42 lead, before the Crusaders settled down on defence. The away side got it back to four points on one occasion, but had to go into the last quarter down eight 66-58.

The Crusaders couldn’t be rattled, and a concentrated effort on defence kept Leicester to two points for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, while the Crusaders ran off 14 points, as they took a 71-68 lead. The teams each hit for two points before entering the final minute with Crusaders up 73-70.

In the final minute Leicester’s Thomas again took it inside, got fouled, but only made one of two, and Crusader’s James Harris could sink two foul shots to bring Crusaders to 75-71. Leicester came right back, as Fowler hit a tough three pointer with 20 seconds to go, getting the home crowd on it’s feet.

Crusaders’ Steve Findley now threw a long pass to Crusaders captain Pete Ayling, who completely lost his defender and was able to run the length of the court before being taken down by a hard unsportsmanlike foul as he shot the ball. The captain missed two free throws, but because of the unsportsmanlike foul the Crusaders got the ball back, and set up a play to inbound the ball with six seconds to go. The ball was inbounded to Sam Betts, who got fouled with 1.3 seconds to go. Betts missed the first shot, but made the second, and Leicester’s last second heave was nowhere near the basket, and Crusaders escaped with a narrow two point win, 74-72.

After the game captain Pete Ayling was proud of his teammates; “It was a committed team performance. Everyone played with passion and intensity”.

The Sunday loss to Birmingham Aston Athletic was as close fought as the Saturday game. It was perhaps the most entertaining game of the season, as it featured six dunks, ten three pointers and two shots within the last four seconds to win the game.

The Crusaders came out gunning, and took a 22-15 lead into the second quarter. The visitors continued their run into the third, running the score to 35-22 before Aston came back strong and turned around the game, and were able to go into the half down two, 38-40. The Aston run featured perhaps the detail of the season, as Aston’s Madoyrie flew in over the Crusaders defence to slam dunk the ball.

In the third quarter Aston gained an edge, as the Crusaders missed five of eight free throws, which allowed the home side to gain a 54-45 lead. In the last thee minutes of the quarter the Crusaders defence again stepped up, keeping the home side scoreless, and Crusaders were able to pull within four, 54-50.

In the fourth the Crusaders pulled within two, 58-56, before Aston reeled off six straight. It looked like the home team had put away the game, but a shot by James Harris and a three pointer by Steve Findley gave the Crusaders hope. Aston then hit a double, before Steve Findley set up JP Dimandja for a dunk with a behind the back pass. Dimandja was fouled on the play and hit the bonus free throw, bringing Crusaders within two. Crusaders got a stop on defence, and James Harris found himself wide open for three points, bringing the Crusaders up one with 24 seconds to go.

The home side had one last offence, and it looked like a Crusaders victory as the ball was knocked loose with ten seconds to go, but the home side recovered the ball, and got up an off balance shot against a scrambling Crusaders defence. The shot was rebounded by Aston’s Barnes, who hit the basket with four seconds to go. Crusaders had a chance to get up the last shot as they inbounded the ball, but the ball didn’t fall, and the home side won the game, 68-67.

Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen thought the team played some of it’s best basketball of the season: “This weekend was all about getting back on track, and we definitely did that. We have nine games left of the season, six of those at home, and if we continue playing like this we should be looking up in the table, looking to get into the playoffs. To be in a position to go for the win in two games, on the road, against teams that are sure bets to make the playoffs, and come away with one win, is what you’d expect from a playoff team, not a team who has been looking down in the table, worrying about relegation.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Game Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.