The Kent Crusaders Under 16’s team came very close to taking the first round of the Sureshot cup in a thrilling game against Sevenoaks Suns but ran out of steam in the third quarter and, despite a late rally, lost by 75-68.

Crusaders started strongly and were leading 6-14 on eight minutes thanks in part to two 3-pointer swishes from Ricky Williamson but the Suns came back to draw the quarter 16-16.

The second quarter was equally tight, starting with another Williamson three-pointer and more points from Joel Baddiley, Ibrahim Omer and captain Vassie. The quarter finished 36-35, but with captain Vassie on 4 fouls and sitting on the bench the Suns powered into a 58-43 lead despite Micah Wright, Samet Cinar and Joe Spencer getting onto the scoresheet.

The final period saw a frenzied end-to-end battle topped by birthday boy Vassie dropping a three-pointer in the final minute with Crusaders winning the quarter but losing the game 75-68.

Coach Ben Hollingsbee said “It was a thrilling game and we are sure we can get revenge and beat them in our league games.” Coach Hollingsbee’s MVP for this game was Rob Vassie.

The Crusaders Under 16 team now have a busy weekend coming up with a home friendly against Tenterden on Saturday followed by a visit to the league leaders Newham Youngbloods on Sunday. Crusaders are now fifth in the league with 4 points from 2 games.

Statistics - Sevenoaks Suns Sureshot Cup Game

EBL National League Under 16 Boys South II Division

Sevenoaks Suns (16,36,58) 75

Kent Crusaders (16, 35, 43) 68

Kent Scoring: Rob Vassie 24,  Ibrahim Omer 14, Ricky Williamson 13, Ben Thomas 5, Joe Spencer & Joel Baddiley 4, Micah Wright & Samet Cinar 2

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 11:24 pm and is filed under Under 16s. 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.