It was always
going to be a challenge on the best of days, to do well against
Coventry’s visitors, but without the services of four key players,
Crusaders found themselves struggling for options as the game
progressed.
Crusaders were
on the scoreboard first, and kept within range of their London
opponents during the opening period. Calvin Fowler accumulated 9 of
his 26 points in the first 10 minutes, and 9 points again in the 2nd
quarter.
By half time the
Crusaders were trailing by 10 points and the supportive crowd at the
Coventry Sports Centre could still be optimistic about the outcome
of the game.
The second half
was a dismal affair for the home team, however. They only managed
to put 24 points on the score board in the two remaining quarters,
while the Leopards put a defensive press on them, and scored at
will.
London Leopards
put on a good display of skilful basketball and led a well-balanced
attack on Crusaders defences.
Michael Jarvis
was top scorer of the game, with 28 points. He earned 8 of those
points from the free throw line. He was followed closely in scoring
by a well-balanced game from Fowler.
In the meantime,
Crusaders had to work hard for every shot they made, and many shots
went in the basket and rimmed out again.
For Crusaders,
19 year old Roy Owen made his mark for the second game in a row,
showing his grit and skill, as he filled in for missing
team-mates.
Head coach Dip
Donaldson said,
“We had a tough
weekend but one of the good things that has come out of it was the
way Owen has stepped up. Unfortunate circumstances for one player
has given Owen a lot more court time and he has shown us what he can
do in difficult situations. When we get Twierdzinski and Oatman back
we will be that much better.
Leopards have a
great team with lots of talent. If our line-up had been different we
could have done better, but I wouldn’t be able to take anything away
from the talent and depth that the Leopards have on their team.”
Crusaders
scorers:
Spare 1, Baynes-Clarke 2, Schauly 7, Donaldson 11, Owen 16, Neely 24
Leopards scorers:
Seaman 3, Salter 8, Ogilvie 8, Campbell 13, Nicholson 17, Fowler 26,
Jarvis 28.
