Coventry and Warwickshire Crusaders put on another action packed and exciting game at the Coventry Sports Centre on Saturday.   All the home games this season have been dramatic and close and this one was no different.   

Both teams seemed a bit wary of each other in the opening minutes when the two teams came down the floor at their end of the court, set up offences and came away with nothing.   

It was only after Manny Sharland and Dip Donaldson were substituted in that Crusaders campaign really got under way as they both scored and created opportunities for the Crusaders. 

Crusaders took the lead for most of the first quarter but the experienced Keith Kelly for Oxford scored at will, keeping Devils in the game with nine of his own points.  It was all tied at 17 when the first period ended.

 In the second quarter Player / coach Derrick Pope got on the scoreboard, shooting two of his four 3 pointers for the evening, and dominating for the home side. 

Crusaders slowly crept away from the Devils in spite of Phil Alexander and Pemble Bristol’s attempts to keep Devils in touch. 

At half time Crusaders were leading by 44-35 and the home side’s supporters could be excused for thinking maybe they would witness a Crusader dominated game in the second half with a lopsided score to finish.  It wasn’t to be, however. 

After half time the game continued Crusaders way with a beautiful lob pass from Pope to Kevin Richard, one of the new American players this season. 

Richard caught the very high, precisely placed pass, controlled it and finished with a textbook Slam Dunk, to the intense and delirious pleasure of the Crusaders supporters present.

That set the stage for the third quarter, when Crusaders went ahead by as much as 13 points at one time with more outside shooting from Pope and some exciting play by Sharland who also dunked the ball when Crusaders had a fast break opportunity. It looked like Crusaders could cruise on to a comfortable victory.

Oxford had other ideas, however, and steadily chipped away at the score line bringing it back to within eight points by the end of the third quarter 63-55. 

Their defence caused Crusaders to run out of time on several occasions, using up all of the 24 seconds allowed to attempt a shot. 

With seven minutes gone in the last period, the Devils had cut Crusaders lead to just 2 points, and within another minute they had edged ahead by one, causing great concern to their supporters, although, it must be said, the players never looked like they would lose their composure. 

Alaster Spiers, Crusader’s newest signing, gave the Crusaders their lead back as he scored two free throws.  He had a good performance throughout the game, and showed his worth in what was his home debut. 

His presence inside the key had to be respected as he rebounded well for Crusaders throughout the evening. 

Point guard Larry Graves, especially, benefited from the Crusaders new centre as Spiers set picks for his team mates, allowing them crucial unguarded seconds to shoot freely.

In the last quarter Graves put on a scoring clinic for the appreciative home crowd, as he quickly scored basket after basket.  He scored 16 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter alone. 

After that short setback the Crusaders never looked back, and in the end finished with a well deserved and much appreciated victory over the Devils 83-77.

This win gives Coventry’s side a 2-1 start to their league standings, and can do nothing but encourage Pope’s team as they prepare once again to go on the road for the next few weeks.

Crusaders next home game is on Sat. Dec. 6^th at 7:30 pm

 

Crusader Scorers	Devils Scorers
Larry Graves 33	Keith Kelly 21
Derrick Pope 22	Phil Alexanbder 16
Kevin Richard 11	Carl Black 10
Manny Sharland 9	Pemble Bristol 10
Alaster Spiers 6	Neil Baker 8
Dip Donaldson 2	F Bankoley 6
	Jake Russel 3
	Team 3