Coventry Crusaders (48) 94

Kings Lynn Fury (35) 76

Coventry Crusaders celebrated their second win in 6 days on Saturday, as they out-manned Kings Lynn Fury for the second time this season. The battle for the 8^th place play-off spot is heating up among the bottom few clubs. 

In fact, it was a highly successful weekend for the club as not only the men’s Division One team won, but also the boy’s Cadet and Junior teams both chalked up winning totals as well. 

It was veteran player coach Dip Donaldson who got the home side onto the scoreboard first with an “and one” situation. 

Richard Milbourne soon tied the score with a three pointer but that was all the Fury managed to do, and it was well into the 8^th minute of play before Lawrence Summers put them back in the running. 

In the meantime, Crusaders had not been idle, and stormed ahead on 12-0 scoring spree. 

Summers almost single-handedly got Kings Lynn back in the game, with a combination of shots, free throws and even a three-pointer to total 10 points at the first break, equalling Sam Oatman’s strong start for Crusaders. The Crusaders led after 10 minutes 25-15. 

During the second quarter the Crusaders kept a 10-point barrier between them and their visitors throughout most of the period.  Oatman continued to score adding another 10 to his running total up to half time. 

Although Summers continued to score for Kings Lynn with another 9 points, it wasn’t enough to gain any ground, and Crusaders built on their lead going into the break with a 48-35 lead over Fury. 

After half time, Fury’s Hank Rivers went to the free throw line and made two, quickly followed up with another basket by him and one from Summers.  They had cut the Fury’s deficit to just 7 before the Crusaders had even had a chance to score. 

A basket by 19 year old Malik Omar complimented by two 3-pointers by Neely gave the Crusaders a 15-point buffer, and although Fury did cut it back to 10 they never could reclaim the lead or get any closer.

The third finished with Crusaders maintaining at 66-56, although Rivers had successfully put in 12 points of his own for Kings Lynn. 

The final period saw Omar getting loose for Crusaders.  His 6’11 frame was no match for the shorter Fury team, and he dominated the final quarter with 14 well-earned points. 

Although Fury again made steady in-roads on trying to catch up to Crusaders, they never got closer than 10, and in the final two minutes, the Crusaders added another eight points to give them a respectable win at home in front of a very enthusiastic crowd, 94-76. 

Player coach Dip Donaldson said,

“I was pleased with our composure as a team and the leadership that Sam Oatman showed in controlling our team, making sure we executed our offence and defence.  His leadership is crucial to the team’s success. 

We knew coming into this game that Summers and Rivers were going to be very difficult to contain, so we did our best to not allow them to get into their rhythm.  We did just enough to do that – we wanted to make sure they had to work for every basket.” 

Crusaders scorers: Spare 2, Ndoumbe 5, Donaldson 10, Neely 22, Oatman 24, Omar 31

Fury’s scorers: P. Milbourne 4, Bamfield 6, R. Milbourne 10, Rivers 27, Summers 29