Crusaders (37) 82

NW London (40) 89

Wolverines Bite Back at Crusaders 

Facing a tough test to their current run of good form, Coventry and Warwickshire Crusaders, took on second place North West London Wolverines at the Coventry Sports Centre on Saturday night, in what turned out to be an exciting and entertaining encounter even though Crusaders came out on the wrong side of the result by seven points. 

Included in the opening line up for Crusaders was former favourite Matt Collins making his return to Coventry having taken a season out to play basketball in Europe.

Crusader Coach Derrick Pope is pleased to have Matt back inside the Crusader camp, but as Coach Pope explained ahead of the game,        

"Matt is not returning as the missing piece in the puzzle, although his addition to the team will be an asset because it gives us even more depth to draw from."

Having lost just one game this season, Wolverines still have the league title within their grasp, and therefore had come to Coventry knowing what they had to do to keep up the pressure on league leaders Worcester.

From the onset, and despite Crusaders scoring from the first offence of the game, the visitors made clear their intentions, bagging four three point shots inside the opening five minutes to help give themselves an early 6 - 14 advantage.

That was until Matt Collins put his own mark on the game scoring from long range with the same confidence of old.

Some good defensive rebounding from Crusaders and a couple of silly fouls from the visitors kept Crusaders in touch, and when Derrick Pope found the target from long range, Crusaders were back in contention 14 -16.

A second long shot from the Crusader Skipper closed the opening session, with Crusaders once again looking confident and composed despite trailing 17 - 20.

The break appeared to temporarily disrupt the rhythm of play for both sides, with almost two minutes gone before there was any change to the score.

However, once Dip Donaldson had made his opening basket at the second attempt, excitement mounted as the ball travelled back and forth and the lead with it.

Neither side could break away from the opposition, resulting in a well matched second quarter with both teams securing 20 points a piece, the outcome being Wolverines maintained their 3 point lead by going into the half time interval 37 - 40. 

Crusaders looked determined not to let the game slip in the third. Derrick Pope's attempt to score from the perimeter failed to find the target but Larry Graves was straight in with the put back to notch up another two points and open the second half scoring. 

Then when Wolverine's Madike picked up his third foul on Crusader's Alaster Spiers, Crusaders regained possession of the ball, resulting in Matt Collins retrieving the lead for the home side with a well taken shot from a ball in-bounded by Derrick Pope 41 - 40. 

More end to end basketball kept the crowd entertained and the scoring tight, however, again a few silly mistakes from Crusaders saw them give away some easy turnovers from what should have been some simple scoring opportunities for them.

Crusaders appeared to forget how high these young athletic London lads can jump, and with too many long passes intercepted, Crusaders were unable to take any more than a single point lead into the final period 57 - 56.

The last thing Crusaders needed was North West London taking control in the opening seconds of the forth quarter. Nevertheless long range shooting from former Crusader Milek Jivens followed by another from Maitland, saw the visitors do just that.

Seconds later Manny Sharland picked up his third foul as tried to stop Maitland repeating his three point score. However, the young Londoner who was to maintain his 100% free throw shooting throughout the game took his three points from the line to stretch the visitors lead 59 - 65.

Once ahead Wolverines kept their foot firmly on the gas with fast breaks and accurate shooting, while at the same time preventing any second chances from Crusaders missed shots.

In the opening five minutes only Graves could break through the tight ring of North West London's defence barriers. The outcome saw Crusaders now trailing by 10 points 63 - 73.

A final burst from the home side to get back on terms saw 8 quick points from Dip Donaldson, whose 21 on the night was best for Crusaders.

And although Crusaders narrowed the gap to 6 points through Graves’ steal and lay up, there was no stopping the Wolverines, who smoothly passed the ball around the perimeter to play down the clock before converting their remaining shots.

The crowd were fired up though as Crusaders still refused to give in, and when Dip Donaldson brought the score to 79 - 85 with 17 seconds left there was still a slim hope for Crusaders if they could regain possession.

Twice Matt Collins fouled Maitland to regain that possession; however Maitland's accuracy from the free throw line stretched the lead further.  Until a well taken three on the buzzer from Collins brought his own tally to 14 points and the deficit back to single figures 82 - 89.

After the game Derrick Pope was obviously very disappointed with the result, and felt that inconsistency resulted in the worst Crusader performance since their defeat at Worcester last month.

Meanwhile Matt Collins was pleased to get his first game back at Crusader out of the way. However, having been out with injury for a while he realises it will be a little while longer before he is back to full fitness.

"I will be back to full strength in time for the play offs and at this stage that's the important thing."

Coventry Crusader Scorers 

Dip Donaldson 21, Larry Graves 19, Matt Collins 14, Derrick Pope 12, Alaster Spires 10, Manny Sharland 4, Sam Spare 2

NW London Wolverines Scorers

Aguara 28, Maitland 27, Jivens 15,  Garbiba 14, Madike 5