Thunder Rolls On

What started out brightly for Crusaders turned into a nightmare, as Worthing plundered the Crusaders on their home court last Saturday. 

The Crusaders began with the first 7 points on the board, and maintained a well-balanced attack throughout the first quarter.  Crusaders last minute signing Malik Omar, used his 6’11 frame to put in a couple of baskets, rebound well, and make four free throws in the opening period on his way to being the game’s top scorer with 25 points. 

It seemed to take the Thunder the better part of the first half to adjust to the confident Crusaders, and Omar’s presence inside.  Although Crusaders were up 23-18 at the end of the first quarter, Worthing managed to catch them after a couple minutes into the second quarter. 

When Ivanovski hit a three to put them ahead 31-35 in the 7^th minute, Worthing continued their run, surging forward, as Crusaders seemed to freeze with a really bad series of turnovers and missed shots.  Crusaders went into halftime down 33-50 and had to be wondering what had suddenly hit them after such a promising start. 

The rest was history, as far as Crusaders were concerned.  They had good spells, but the depth of the Thunder bench along with the defensive pressure they continued to apply throughout the game, wore the Crusaders down. 

Although there were a couple of potentially volatile situations between the two sides, they were averted by awarding free throws, and things continued well for the Thunder. 

Crusaders did not play well individually or as a team in the second half, and the score at the end of the game, although it does not record their fine beginning, reflects just how badly things progressed as Thunder rolled out of Coventry with a 67-105 win. 

Sam Spare went off during the second half with an ankle injury to add to Crusaders injury-laden season, but was hoping to be able to play in Sunday’s fixture against Solent Stars. 

Dip Donaldson said, “Worthing were just too dominant for us and made us lose our composure, making mistake after mistake, and then players just dropped their heads and almost completely gave up.  That is not a characteristic I am happy with.  They showed us why they are one of the top teams in the country, a very talented team, and you have to play a near perfect game to beat them.”

Crusaders scorers: Spare 2, Ndoumbe 4, Hopkins 4, Oatman 5, Baynes Clarke 6, Donaldson 8, Neely 13, Omar 25 

Worthing scorers: Hildreth 3, Shotton 4, Burns 7, Marrast 8, Midgley 12, Bates 12, Brame 14, Invaovski 14, Ott 15, Avant 16