w/e 23/03/08 Crusaders Triumph in Tense Thriller Kent Crusaders 22 34 55 75Black Country University of Wolverhampton 16 36 51 68The 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 offence 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. w/e 23/03/08 Crusaders Safe in Division 2Team Northhumbria 51 v. 68 Kent Crusaders (13-17, 29-35, 37-46) Saturday 22 March at 4.00 pm Venue: Westgate Centre
Tees Valley Mohawks 78 v. 65 Kent Crusaders (22-16, 40-31, 59-45) Sunday 24 March at 4.00 pm Venue: Eston Sports Academy
The Kent Crusaders went up North for two games against top five teams and secured their place in Division 2. A win at Team Northumbria on Saturday night combined with a NEWI loss to Leicester means that the Kent side will stay in the division. The Crusaders went to Newcastle and Middlesbrough with the added confidence of knowing standout player Robbie Parker was back from a three month injury break. “We have played timid for a couple of games, knowing the importance, but once we had our backs against the wall, the players responded with an almost perfect defensive game against Northumbria”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen. “When we played them in Canterbury in January they came out hitting six three pointers in the first quarter, which basically ended the game, and we knew we’d have to stop their outside shooting to have a chance to win the game”. The Crusaders came out aggressive on defence from the tip, rotating to the Northumbria shooters, as they kept the home side to only three points in the first eight minutes of the game, running up a 15-3 lead behind Parker, Lyons and Betts baskets. Northumbria then hit a couple of three pointers, as the Crusader defence relaxed a little bit, but captain Pete Ayling was substituted onto the court and immediately the defence settled again. Apart from the two three pointers Northumbria made in the first quarter the Kent side always seemed to get a hand in the shooter’s face, or run at him to disturb him, and it paid off as the home side never hit another three in the game. The lead stayed around ten points until the last minute of the first half, where the home side hit a two pointer and a couple of foul shots to draw within six at the half, 35-29. After the break the home side immediately hit a two pointer to get within four, but for the next five minutes neither team could get a shot to drop, as Crusaders’ defence was still getting stops, but also looked like the importance of the game got to them on offence. Northumbria’s Steutel finally broke the deadlock with two baskets to tie the game, but Robbie Parker forced his way to the foul line to bring the Crusaders up two, and that woke up the Crusaders offensively. Northumbria tied the game again on the next possession, but then the Crusaders ran off the next 11 points, bringing them up 48-37 early in the fourth quarter. For the next couple of minutes the teams traded baskets, before the away side ran off another nine unanswered to go up 62-43 with four minutes left. Northumbria desperately tried to shoot their way back into the game, but the Crusader defence continued to rotate aggressively to the three point shooters, and the home team had to settle for a couple of inside shots to bring them within 15, before Crusaders’ Betts and Lyons iced the game with a couple of baskets. The final score was 68-51 and the Crusaders could huddle at mid court as the travelling Crusaders fans chanted “We’re staying up!”. After the game a relieved Crusader big man JP Dimanjja called the game “a gutsy performance where everybody stepped up”. Coach Olesen echoed his words and added “It was a load off everybody’s shoulders. You could just see the anticipation in the player’s eyes as we were waiting for the NEWI result to come in, and then the relief as we learned of the result.”
On Sunday the Crusaders faced the Tees Valley Mohawks, who had secured second place in the League on Saturday. After a hard fought game on Saturday coach Olesen elected to use his entire bench, and eleven Crusaders played in the first quarter. The game started with Robbie Parker being hot for the guests, as the teams traded baskets until the middle of the quarter where the Mohawks scored three baskets in a row to pull away for a 17-8 lead. ‘The Crusaders were able to pull back within six, 22-16, at the end of the quarter, as Rob Dagger, an under 18 player who’s played with Crusaders for two seasons, hit two shots at the end. The second quarter was more of the same as the teams traded baskets, with Crusaders at one point getting as close as four, 30-26, but with the Mohawks able to go to halftime with a 40-31 lead as young guard David Hanson hit two three pointers to bring his total for the half to 14. The gap stayed around ten points after the break, as the Crusaders stayed within striking distance by forcing turnvers with aggressive defence, but without ever getting closer than nine points, and the Mohawks never going up by more than 14 until the middle of the fourth quarter, With four minutes left of the game Hanson hit another three pointer to finally bring the Mohawks up 16, The Crusaders tried to come back behind Parker and Betts scoring and Dagger and Rikki Broadmore forcing turnovers on defence, but they were only able to get within 11 with two minutes to go, before Hanson hit his fourth three pointer of the game to ice it. In the end the Mohawks won 78-65. “I was pleased to see how the young players responded against a quality opponent”, said Olesen after the game. “We haven’t been able to play the youngsters as much as they need to to develop because of the threat of relegation, so it was great to see Dagger, Dan Garrad and Rikki Broadmore step up and take responsibility.” The situation in the bottom of the league is that there’s still a chance for the Crusaders, NEWI and Plymouth Raiders to end up with the same number of wins and in that case the tie breaker is the games those teams have played against each other. The three teams all have two wins in the six games played between the teams, but the Crusaders have the best points difference, followed by NEWI and then the Raiders, securing the Crusaders safety.
w/e 16/03/08 Kent Crusaders 11 30 52 74 Northampton Neptunes 16 41 61 87 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. w/e 09/03/08 Crusaders in Vital Home DefeatKent Crusaders v Plymouth Raiders (26-13, 40-28, 51-56) 74-76 The Kent Crusaders lost their crucial relegation battle with the Plymouth Raiders. A game of wild scoring runs came down to the last four seconds, as the visiting Raiders could celebrate a victory, and the Crusaders faced further relegation worries. After the Crusaders had been up by 20 early in the game, and Plymouth had been up late, the teams entered the last minute with Crusaders up three. Crusaders had a chance to build the lead to five off a couple of JP Dimandja free throws, but he missed both shots. Instead Plymouth came down and hit a three pointer to tie the game. After a Crusaders miss with 13 seconds to go Plymouth ran the ball down the court and made a tough shot with 3.8 seconds to go. The Crusaders called a time out and Rikki Broadmore got a good look at the basket from the corner, as he shot a potential game winning three pointer that rimmed out and was knocked out of bounds with 0.2 seconds to go. The Crusaders tried to inbounds the ball, but time expired as the ball was tipped by Plymouth. “It was one of those games that both teams needed and wanted really badly, and it might be one of the best basketball games we’ve been a part of this year,” said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, “We came out losers, and to be honest it’s a horrible feeling coming out losers after such an important game. I have faith in our ability to fend off relegation though, as we have matters in our own hands. If we win two of the remaining four games we’re safe, and with displays like tonight I believe we can do that.” Crusaders are battling Welsh side NEWI Nets and Midlands side Black Country to avoid the relegation spots. To avoid relegation Black Country would need to win the rest of their three games while Crusaders have to lose out. NEWI are two points behind the Crusaders and have three games remaining, but if the teams end up with the same number of points the Crusaders would win out, as they won both of the team’s meetings this year. If NEWI wins the rest of their games two more wins would keep Crusaders safe. Saturday’s game fluctuated wildly. At the start of the game the Crusaders looked like they would run away with it easily, as they scored 20 unanswered points in the first four minutes of the game. Plymouth were not about to lie down, though, and they came back to being only 13 down at the quarter break, 26-13. In the second quarter the teams traded baskets, with the Crusaders holding a 17 point lead through most of the quarter, before Plymouth made a small run at the end to bring the lead down to twelve, 40-28. After the break Plymouth had their own run, as they ran all over the Crusaders, who seemed to have forgotten how to play defence. The away side scored 28 points in the quarter and could enter the final quarter up five, 56-51. In the fourth the Crusaders again got their defence going, and they had several leads of five and six points, but Plymouth came back and set up the last second finish to win the game. w/e 02/03/08 Crusaders get crucial away winNEWI (North Eastern Wales Institute) Nets v. Kent Crusaders 60-67 (12-16, 31-22, 37-46, 60-67) The Kent Crusaders took an important win in their battle to avoid relegation, as they beat fellow bottom dwellers NEWI Nets 67-60 in Wales. Along with Plymouth Raiders and Black Country, the Crusaders and NEWI are fighting to avoid the two relegation spots. With their fifth win of the season the Crusaders went two points ahead of NEWI and six clear of Black Country ahead of next weeks matchup in Canterbury with Plymouth Raiders, also on five wins. “This game was as big as they get in this end of the table”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen after the game, “We didn’t play a great game by any stretch of the word, but as a team I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of the guys than I am tonight. We just got defensive stop after defensive stop, and scraped out the points needed to win the game.” The Crusaders came out looking a bit shaken by the importance of the game, as NEWI scored the first five points, but for the next five minutes the hosts were kept scoreless, as Kent came out behind James Harris’ hot shooting and claimed an 11-5 lead. The hosts recovered slightly as Greek import Kostas Psarris hit a couple of shots, but the Kent side could have their first rest up 14-9. NEWI recovered from their slow start by shutting down Kent on defence, as the Crusaders were only able to score six points in the second quarter. The Crusaders played some good defence of their own, and with eight minutes gone of the quarter the score was tied at 22. Psarris again stepped up for the home team though, as he hit two three pointers which helped put NEWI up nine, 31-22, at the half. After the break the visitors came out aggressively on defence and forced NEWI to make tough decisions, which often lead to difficult shots or mistakes that gave the Crusaders easy fastbreak baskets at the other end, highlighted by a J.P. Dimandja dunk that brought even the home crowd to its feet. For the first four minutes of the quarter the teams had only managed one basket each, but then the Crusaders scored 22 almost unanswered points, mostly on the back of NEWI mistakes, as NEWI only managed a three pointer by Psarris and one free throw for the rest of the quarter. The Crusaders looked like they thought the 46-37 lead they took into the fourth quarter had the game already decided, and NEWI scored 11 unanswered points and got up by two, 48-46, before Crusaders veteran Mike Webber finally got a basket to go in to even the score. The teams traded baskets as Psarris hit for four more points, and Crusaders’ Steve Findley made a three and a two, but with four minutes left in the game the Crusaders’ defence again stepped up, stopping NEWI from scoring and converting turnovers into points. Crusaders slowly build their lead to 62-54 going into the last minute off two Damian Lyons baskets and five of six made foul shots. NEWI were now fouling to stop the clock, hoping that the Crusaders would miss their free throws and that NEWI would be able to convert misses into quick points. The home side got as close as 64-60 with 20 seconds to go after the Crusaders missed two of four from the line, but Lyons and Harris sealed the deal from the line for the Crusaders, who came away with a 67-60 win. Olesen thought a key to the win was how Crusaders spread out their scoring, as Steve Findley top scored with 13 points, while they had five other guys score between 8 and 12 points. “We never found a great offensive rhythm, but various players just stepped up at different times in the game. James Harris was hot early, Findley stepped up and hit some shots at key times, Lyons got our last run going, and Dimandja had some great finishes. Having so many players stepping up and taking responsibility for the win is key as we continue to fight relegation.” Crusaders captain Pete Ayling agreed; “Everyone contributed to a crucial win. The team showed character and determination and ensured we continue to have next season’s destiny in our own hands”. Plymouth Raiders 106 Northampton Neptunes 75 The Northampton Neptunes sponsored by Thrifty Car Rentals were dealt their worst defeat of the season away to the Raiders on Saturday. The Neptunes were well beaten on the weekend, after being dealt a heavy 30 point defeat. This was the Neptunes biggest defeat of the season and has hurt the Neptunes chances of gaining a top four finish. After the game Neptunes captain Mark Spatcher said “In fairness the score line is a pretty good reflection of the way we played, we didn’t get off to the greatest of starts after arriving to the game late, we only had a very short time to warm up, having said that we can’t blame the late arrive on the defeat though. There were many area’s that we lacked in but it came down to two major things and that was decision making and defence, that’s what cost us the game. Also some of our players have to be accountable for themselves, in games when things aren’t going your way the first person you should look at is yourself before pointing the fingers at others. It’s unfortunate because we really didn’t play like a team at all at the weekend, now we’ve got to try and get ourselves back on track this week at practice and see if we can cause an upset over the Mowhawks. The Neptunes did beat the Mowhawks earlier in the year on the buzzer for a one point win. However the team know that they’re going to have their work cut out if they are to do it again. Top scorers for the Neptunes were Chad Pulkkinen with a 20 point hall, Marlon Henry hit 18, they were backed up with 12 points apeice from Spatcher and Reynoso. w/e 24/02/08 Kent Crusaders v University of Birmingham The battle for Division 2 survival has begun. A 67-55 loss to the University of Birmingham on Saturday, in a game that over three quarters the Kent Crusaders had a chance to win, means that the Crusaders will almost certainly be dragged into a relegation dogfight for the rest of the season. This game summed up Crusaders season. At times they looked like they would beat the fourth place Uni of Birmingham side easily, and at other times they had big problems both defending and scoring. The game was close early, despite Birmingham hitting three three-pointers, but Birmingham went on a 26-7 six minute run from the end of the first quarter to the start of the second, on the back of another four three pointers. At the score 37-16 Birmingham seemed to lose their shooting touch a little, while the Crusaders upped their defence. At the same time the home team found their scoring touch and finished out the half with a 13-4 run, which sent the two teams to the break with Birmingham up 12, 41-29. After the break Birmingham again got the lead up to 20, points down in a key game at home didn’t seem to faze the Kent players. It was now the Crusaders displayed their defensive strength. The game turned physical and the Crusaders prospered, grinding out stop after stop to stifle Birmingham’s offense. Birmingham’s shooters no longer found the space they had enjoyed in the first quarter, and the Crusaders’ inside defence was patroled by big man Dan Garrad who was able to effectively stop the inside scoring, and the Birming offence stalled as a result. For the next 11 minutes Crusaders held Birmingham to only two points, and behind scoring from Sam Betts, James Harris and Mike Webber the home side got it down to a four point game three minutes into the fourth quarter. For the next three minutes none of the teams could find the bottom of the net, and Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen described this as the deciding point in the match: ”It was one of those times where the next team to score has the mental advantage. Birmingham’s Salisbury finally got the basket after we’d held them scoreless for more than six minutes of the final quarter, and it gave them the belief that they could win the game, while we got our heads down a little.” For the rest of the game both teams tried to grind out basket against good defence, as Birmingham went up eight, 60-52, on a couple of free throws, before Kent cut it back down to five in the final two minutes. The Crusaders now fouled to stop time, and Birmingham hit five of six foul shots to grind out a win by 12 points, 67-55. Northampton Neptunes 104Plymouth Cannons 98A depleted Northampton Neptunes side sponsored by Thrifty Car Rentals made a dramatic come back to overcome the Plymouth Cannons.The Neptunes were well under strength on Saturday being without the services of Centre Cachia Reynoso who was recovering from a hand injury that he picked up last Sunday against the Newi Nets, James Acres was out with a sickness bug and Francis Tebo who was unavailable for selection. Ironically once the Neptunes got their second wind they produced probably their best team performance the year so far. The Neptunes struggled early on as the south coast team ran in a big first quarter of 30 points. However the Neptunes got 25 points of their own as the Cannons struggled to stop Spatcher, Pulkkinen and Henry’s penetration to the basket. In the second quarter the Neptunes slipped further behind as they got caught on the break several times for easy lay-ups. The Neptunes were down as many as 15 points. Spatcher helped keep the Neptunes in touch with 12 second quarter points, but the home side were still some 11 points a drift at the break as they trailed 45 -56. The Neptunes regroup at the half and came out all guns blazing Spatcher hit the first 8points of the half with back to back three pointers and a lay-up, while Mark Quashie began to stamp his mark on the game as he started to dominate at the basket. A pair of three pointers from Pulkkinen and another from Spatcher saw the Neptunes right back in it at the end of the third as they narrowed the lead to just two points 74 – 72. In the final quarter Ukari Warmann came up with four key steals that led to scores for the home side. The Neptunes finally broke the Cannons lead after Spatcher had penetrated to the basket before kicking the ball out to Henry who hit a three pointer and was fouled, Henry went on to score the foul shots and the Neptune’s went up 90-88. With just three minutes remaining the Neptunes never looked back as Pulkkinen finished the game off from the foul line to 104 – 98. Top scorers for the Neptunes was again Mark Spatcher with a 31 point hall, Chad Pulkkinen continues his good form with a valuable 24 points, while Marlon Henry and Mark Quashie respectively hit 20 and 17 points apiece. Ukari Warmann also enjoyed his best performance since joining the Neptunes mid season. The Neptunes make the trip to the other Plymouth side this Saturday, the Raiders as they look to close in on a top four finish. w/e 17/02/08 Cardiff Celts Too Much For CrusadersKent Crusaders 64 v Cardiff Celts 77 The Body & Mind Kent Crusaders lost their home game this Saturday to the Cardiff Celts, who currently reside second in the league. The Crusaders lost 77-64 as a shorthanded Crusaders team had to bow to a better team. Cardiff built a 5 point lead in the first quarter, as they hit a three pointer at the buzzer to go up 20-15. The away side also started the second quarter well, as they hit three three-pointers to build a 39-25 lead. But with a full bench and on their home court, Crusaders were never going to be easy to beat. They rallied after a poor start to the quarter and closed to within four points of Cardiff on the back of a 12-2 run, including two three pointers from James Harris, to close out the first half. Cardiff came out a changed and much more aggressive and physical team after the intermission. They held the Crusaders to two points for the first five minutes of the half, as they build a 14 point advantage. The home team cut it back to 9 points, but had to concede a 12 point disadvantage, 58-46, going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter the Crusaders started playing physical with the away side, as some rough play was allowed, but they were unable to get closer than 11 points, as the experienced Cardiff side moved the ball well and played good defence. ”We were without Damian Lyons, out with a family emergency, and obviously Robbie Parker is still injured, and they both mean a lot to our team”, said Crusaders Head coach Mads Olesen after the game. ”Those two players have proved to be important to us time and time again, with their toughness and scoring, and having them both out was just too much to overcome against one of the best teams in the league. The rest of the team played their guts out, I thought, but we just played a good, disciplined team, that made very few mistakes”. w/e 03/02/08 Crusaders Come Up Short At HomeMark Gilbard’s 35 points for Plymouth Saturday night was enough to see of a mixed Kent Crusaders performance. A good crowd at Body and Mind saw Crusaders dominate the first quarter leading by 25 points to 12, but then fade as the game wore on eventually going down 71-96. Crusaders started strongly with consecutive baskets from Captain Pete Ayling who led the team with 14 points. Cannons struggled to contain the home team’s hot shooting in the first quarter and Sam Betts came off the bench with back to back 3-pointers bringing the crowd to their feet and opening up a ten point lead. Crusaders tight defence forced turnovers from the Plymouth big men Peard and Kakonde, holding the team to 12 points in the quarter. The break in play was in Plymouth’s favour as they regrouped and won the second quarter by 15 points. Gilbard started the comeback, hitting an open 3-pointer and from then on the away side didn’t look back. Baskets from Mike Webber and James Harris kept Crusaders in contention only trailing by 2 points at half time. The second half was no different as Plymouth went from strength to strength as they found even more space on offence allowing them to get good looks for their shooters. However the Kent team kept up their intensity, as JP Dimandja was controlling the boards, finishing 11 rebounds, but they couldn’t eat into Plymouth’s lead. They had it all to do going into the final quarter 10 points down. However Plymouth all but finished the game off in the first few minutes of the final quarter, Gilbard and Rodgers continued to prove Crusaders problems on defence. Crusaders guards Broadmorre and Lyons pushed the tempo trying to claw Crusaders back in the game but the team could only manage 10 points in the final quarter. This wasn’t going to be enough to avoid a repeat of last year where Cannons beat Crusaders twice in the league. The final score of 96-71 reflected the difference in shooting between the two teams who were evenly matched in all other areas. Plymouth hit 52% from 3’s compared to Crusaders 35%. Crusaders now face some tough games in the weeks ahead as they look to maintain their division 2 status. Coach Mads Olesen said this about the game ”The first quarter we showed just how well we can play. But at this level you need to put together 40 minutes of good basketball, which is something we’ve been saying all year. In the next few games we need to do that, show what were capable of and do whatever it takes to get some results” · Rikki Broadmore needs 8 more assists to break record for assists in a season (held by Gary Davison, 71) · James Harris has moved into 5th on all time scoring list and all time Field Goals Made· Mike Webber has moved into 3rd for career FTM, needs 4 more to pass Robbie Parker for 2nd. He also needs 6 rebounds to pass Walter Moyse for 4th in career rebounds· Damian Lyons needs to 2 assists to reach 100 career assists (currently 2nd behind Jeff Wadey’s 114)w/e 27/01/08 Kent Crusaders win one lose one on the roadThe 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. 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.” Aston Athletic 77Northampton Neptunes 86The Northampton Neptunes sponsored by Thrifty Car Rentals bounced back after last weeks narrow defeat to claim victory over 3rd place Aston.The Neptunes made the short trip up the M6 to take on Aston. The Neptunes were missing the services of 6’8’ centre Mark Quashie who was awaiting the birth of his 2nd child. However this didn’t stop the Neptunes from getting off to good start, as they moved the ball well and took a 26-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the Neptunes continued to move the ball well which lead to a dunk from Reynoso over 6’8’ ex-England international Steven Barns, assisted by Chad Pulkkinen, this was followed up moments later by a three pointer from Neptunes captain Mark Spatcher. Marlen Henry continued to move the ball well setting up Pulkkinen and James Acres for two point scores. Spatcher kept the scoreboard ticking with a flurry of assist to Reynoso as the Neptunes went into the break 50-41 ahead. However the 2nd half saw the Birmingham side fight back and tie the game up at 70 apiece, with just less than 3 minutes to play. The Neptunes held their nerve with back to back three pointers from Acres and Spatcher, Pulkkinen and Henry finished of the game as Aston sent the Neptunes to the pair to line, making 4 from 6 fouls. Top scorers for the Neptunes on Saturday were Joe Cachia Reynoso with (28 points), Mark Spatcher backed him up (20 points) while Marlen Henry and Chad Pulkkinen both gave support with 11 and 9 points apiece. w/e20/01/08 Record crowd witness lopsided Crusaders lossKent Crusaders 69 Team Northumbria 102 (12-36, 15-26, 23-22, 19-18) A record crowd applauded the Mavericks Cheerleaders and the Body & Mind Kent Crusaders new light and smoke show, but on the court the team put on a sub-par first half performance, as Team Northumbria hit a barrage of three pointers to take the game out of reach by halftime. “We just seemed flat from the first whistle, and Northumbria was shooting very well”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, “We gave them some incredibly open shots, and tonight they just knocked them down. They moved the ball well, but our effort was just lacking in the first half.” Northumbria started out hitting six of seven from three point land in the first quarter, on their way to a 24 point lead, 36-12. The Crusaders were unable to get anything going against Northumbria’s physical defence, and when they got to an open shot, they didn’t fall. The second quarter was much like the first with Northumbria first hitting two threes, and then steadily scoring more points than the Crusaders behind full court press and tough defence, running out to a 62-27 halftime lead. After the break the Crusaders came out looking much more aggressive and while Northumbria started the half with a 10-4 run, the more aggressive Crusaders came back with a 15-3 run that forced Northumbria to take a time out at the score 75-42. “Our chances of winning the game were slim at halftime, but we had to take that chance, and we came out running and gunning”, said Olesen, “We tried to force tempo and get to quick baskets, as it was the only way to have a remote chance to come back from 35 down. I think we had Northumbria worried for a while, but the time out calmed them down and they were able to cruise the win home”. From the timeout in the middle of the third quarter to the end of the game the teams traded baskets, with the Crusaders unable to cut into the Northumbria lead. Crusaders ended up winning the third and fourth quarter by one point each, but ended up losing the game by 33, 102-69. w/e06/01/08 Crusaders Lose Two In PlymouthThe Body and Mind Kent Crusaders came away from a tough road trip at the weekend, with two defeats at the hands of Plymouth Raiders II and Plymouth Marjon Cannons. Having won two of the last three and having beaten both teams in the Patrons Cup earlier this season the Crusaders were optimistic going into the weekend. The two losses leave Crusaders dangerously near the bottom of the table with a tough January schedule ahead. Despite losing both games by score lines of 70-57 to Raiders and 76-54 to Marjon Cannons head coach Mads Olesen saw a number of positives: “Defensively we have made great strides, we are much tougher now than we were at the start of the season”. Crusaders defensive strength showed itself over the two games, holding Raiders under 18 points per quarter in three quarters and Marjon Cannons to just 9 points in the 3rd quarter of that game. Olesen also added “Offensively we struggled over the weekend, we didn’t convert the chances we created into points. Failing to score 60 points is always going to hurt. In Sundays we hot good looks, but only converted 27% of our shots. We are a shooting team, and when we make them, we look good, like in the four previous games where we score between 80 and 110 points a game”. The Crusaders were weakened by the loss of Robbie Parker, who will be out for at least six weeks with an injury sustained over the Christmas break, and Rikki Broadmore and Dan Garrard, who were playing a prestigious juniors tournament in Serbia, with Broadmore captaining the Barking Abbey Academy team. “It’s unfortunate to have the two talented youngsters unavailable, and they really would have helped us, but they’ll come back better players and make us stronger long term”, said coach Olesen. The Saturday game saw Crusaders lose to Plymouth Raiders II in a close game at the Plymouth Pavilions. The visiting side struggled to find any kind of rhythm early on, managing only 8 points in the 1st period, leaving themselves down by 10 points. Crusaders stopped the bleeding in the second quarter tightening up defensively. They were able to hit Plymouth on the break a number of times, but they couldn’t cut into the 10 point deficit going into the half. The 3rd quarter saw the game remain tight, as Crusaders got to within three, before Raiders turned it into an eight point game with a late rally at the end of the quarter. The 4th quarter was also tightly contested, with Crusaders drawing within four and six points on two occasions. With a minute and down eight, Crusaders were forced to foul to stop Plymouth running down the cock, but Plymouth hit seven foul shots to keep the Kent side from the win and run out eventual winners by 13 points. Crusaders forward Mike Webber commented on the game “Plymouth is a hard place to go and play at the best of times due to factors like the court, unfriendly rims and the long journey. When you add all this to the long Christmas break it made things difficult. Our offence stalled and we weren’t able to get as many of the good looks we’ve been used do, and when we did get them we didn’t consistently convert them.” After losing the game Saturday Crusaders had to look to the game against Plymouth Marjon Cannons on Sunday if they were to take anything from the weekend. In this game Crusaders’ tough defence once again showed itself forcing Cannons into 30 turnovers. However their failure to convert opportunities once again hurt them, shooting just 27% from the floor. Similar to Saturday Crusaders went down early losing the first quarter 22-10, and from then on it was an uphill battle. Once again Crusaders improved in the second quarter but still couldn’t find much offensive production and went into halftime trailing by 16 points. Despite being 16 points down and at the back end of a long road trip Crusaders cam out fighting after the break. They really put pressure on the Cannons offence and won the quarter by 5 points. Despite this Crusaders were still trailing by 11 points going into the last quarter and a comeback was just beyond the visiting team, who finished up losing by 22 points. Given that Crusaders shot only 7 out of 32 from the free throw line this game could have been much closer. Crusaders captain Pete Ayling vows to turn things around; “It’s been a tough road trip, were missing a lot of guys and we looked rusty after the Christmas break. Were going to have a tough week of training and come out with intensity, drive and passion” w/e09/12/07 Kent Crusaders lose at University of BirminghamThe Body & Mind Kent Crusaders lost away at University of Birmingham, 101-84, in a game that was decided in the last quarter. The game featured several lead changes through the first half, as the fast paced game featured several runs be both teams. Crusaders played fast in the beginning of the game, running in a lot of points off aggressive defence, but also allowing Birmingham to convert turnovers into easy points. In set offence the Kent side had success shooting close to the basket, going inside to Mike Webber, Steve Findley and Sam Betts. From 3-point range, however, they were stone cold, as they were only able to connect on one long range attempt in the last second of the half, as James Harris evened the score at 42 apiece. The second half started with a small Birmingham run, as they got the score to 51-44 with four minutes gone. The Crusaders answered with some aggressive defence however, as Rikki Broadmore forced a string of turnovers, but Crusaders were unable to capitalize as they too turned the ball over or failed to hit their layups. The score before the final quarter was 60-54 to the home team. In the first couple of minutes of the final quarter Crusaders brought it within 2 and 3 on a couple of occasions, but an 11-4 Birmingham run meant that the visitors were facing a 10 point deficit in the last five minutes of play. The Kent side tried desperately to come back, but nine missed free throws of 13 attempts in the last minutes sealed the Crusaders’ fate, while Birmingham connected on 12 of 15 attempts to secure the victory. Before the game Crusaders Head coach Mads Olesen had singled out young big men JP Dimandja and Dan Garrad as keys to the Kent defence, but with Garrad unavailable due to an ankle injury suffered late in the week, Birmingham big man and captain Stephen Jones was the deciding factor with 14 points in the four minute span that brought the game from 65-62 to 84-69. “We just didn’t recognise Jones as the game decider he is, and fell asleep a little bit while he stepped up his game big time to get the victory. He’s a great player, and we have to give him credit for that”, said Olesen after the game. The Crusaders had an awful shooting night, connecting on only two outside attempts after making nine the previous week. “I think the bottom line is that we need to make some outside shots to open up the inside”, said Olesen, “Also we probably played some players too much so they were tired late in the game, and that’s one I’ll put on my own shoulders. Looking forward we need to do more work to get our shooters the shots they need”. w/e02/12/07 Kent Crusaders gets first league winThe Body & Mind Kent Crusaders got their first League win of the season, 107-87, behind an impressive shooting performance at home against Birmingham Aston Athletics. After an even first quarter the Crusaders broke the game open in the beginning of the second quarter. James Harris first hit a 3-pointer and then immediately followed that up with a rare four-point play, hitting another 3-pointer while getting fouled, and making the extra shot. From that point onwards the half belonged to Crusaders, as they went on a 25-6 run to bring the score to 49-25. The third quarter was an even affair, and the teams entered the fourth quarter with Crusaders up 16, 72-56. This was to be the last time the game seemed within reach for the Athletics, as Crusaders went on another 19-8 run, and entered the last five minutes of the game up 93-66. From then on the Crusaders empties the bench and gave all players valuable experience. The game ended 107-87. The Crusaders shot 58% from the 3-point line, as James Harris (5 for 7 3-pointers) and Robbie Parker (3 for 5) lit it up from the outside. “While we shot extremely well, the difference tonight was how we got those shots”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen, “We shared the ball and passed up open shots to find team-mates who were even more open. We average 20 assists per game, and tonight we had 42”. Captain Pete Ayling, recently back from a wedding in Australia, was relieved to get the win, and attributed the win to the team playing with “real intensity and togetherness”. Crusaders did indeed seem to share the ball more than in previous games, and the sometimes stagnant offence was replaced by ball movement and team play. The team seemed to have found a good offensive balance, with lots of players contributing, but coach Olesen was cautious as he looked ahead: “We can’t let one good game erase the fact that we have played some pretty awful games this season. We have only won one of four games, and we need to remember that hard work and team play got us that win!” James Harris also mentioned some external motivation as a factor in his and the team’s performance. In the week leading up to the game the Crusader fans called for new players on the Crusader web site, and Harris thought that served as a motivating factor: “I think we were fired up by everyone doubting us. We played as a team, and won as a team”. Coach Olesen thought the fans had some valid points, and was happy that the team web forum could provide some motivation to the players. He did point out that the four teams the Crusaders have played in the league this season have a combined record of 16 wins and only three defeats, including tonight’s games. “We played the top three teams in the league in the first three games, and while it looked ugly at points, they were good teams, and there’s no reason to write us off after only three of 22 games”. Notes:
w/e25/11/07 Kent Crusaders loose two in CardiffThe Kent Crusaders played and lost at Cardiff Celts in both League and Patrons Cup ties this weekend. The Celts have won all their league games of the season and made short work of Crusaders in the league game Saturday. “We got outplayed in every aspect of the game. They put us under pressure and we made mistakes, mentally and physically. Out man to man defence wasn’t aggressive, we didn’t execute on offence, and we didn’t play hard”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen. Even the return of top scorer Robbie Parker couldn’t prevent the home team from walking away with an easy victory, as the game ended with a lopsided score of 85-67. Crusaders have now lost three league games in a row, but the losses have come against the top of the league, as the combined record of the teams Crusaders has played is ten wins and one loss. w/e 18/11/07 Crusaders Fall to MohawksThe Body and Mind Kent Crusaders fell victim to ten minutes of basketball midway through the second half, which saw Tees Valley go on an astonishing 30-0 run. Crusaders were unable to score a single point during this stretch and this helped Tees Valley close out an otherwise tight game quite comfortably. When asked about the game Head coach Mads Olesen said “Again we fell to a run we failed to stop. For three straight games we have allowed our opponents to put up big runs at some point, and in all three games it has cost us the game. Right now we’re not facing adversity very well. After a good first half where team play prevailed, we tried to stop the run by being individual heroes. When faced with adversity we need come together” The first half of the game was a very close affair and neither team could establish a meaningful lead. Both teams played good defence over the first half and the Mohawks struggled to get easy shots against some tough Crusaders defence. The lead changed hands seven times throughout the first half but Tees Valley went into the break with a six point advantage, 41-35. They were able to force the home team into a number of turnovers and ran in some easy baskets in the last few minutes of the half. The third quarter looked to be more of the same, as the teams exchanged baskets for the first seven minutes. With the score at 55-50 the game was still in the balance, but Tees Valley scored the next 30 points unanswered in a run that ended the game as a contest. The final score finished 94-60 Mohawks. Rob Dagger had this to say about the game ”We showed that we could compete with them as a team for periods of the game, but we couldt keep it up for the whole 40 minutes which was dissapointing” While coach Olesen wasn’t pleased with the result, he did see some rays of light in a game that looked pretty bleak: “When we play together we look pretty tough on both ends, and I have to be happy about that. Also I thought Rob Dagger played an excellent game in his first start for the club. He got a chance to play extended minutes, and he really took the chance. He’s a young player, who has worked extremely hard, and he’s now starting to see the returns of the hard work, and we figure to rely on him more as he continues to expand on his talent”. The game also saw the debut of Adam Brown, a young player from the Canterbury High School basketball academy. “Adam played the last three minutes of the game, and showed some toughness and willingness to work hard. He’ll do well in the future”, said coach Olesen on Brown. The Crusaders now stand bottom of National League Division 2 with no wins in two games.
|
|