[19 JAN 08] CRUSADER NEWS                           

Coventry Crusaders (42) 74 -  Taunton Tigers (43) 77

The Crusaders came out just short on Saturday when Taunton came to Coventry for the first time since being promoted to Division One. 

The Tigers were first on the scoreboard and it was only after several trips up and down the court before Keith Sudler sunk the home team’s first basket and the first of his overwhelming 37 points. 

Crusaders took an early lead but a three pointer by Alastair Bird gave Tigers the edge again in the 7^th minute. After a quick exchange of baskets and leads, Crusaders finished the first quarter ahead 22-18. 

The second quarter continued the trend – with the lead swinging back and forth between the teams. Tigers went ahead when Kevin Anderson was fouled and made four out of four free throws.  

By the end of the first half Tigers had taken a 7 point lead and were starting to look comfortable with it, before Sudler hit two big 3-pointers to bring the home team within one by the interval 42-43. 

The third quarter saw the Crusaders edge ahead, with Sudler unstoppable, hitting 14 more points and giving the home side a 7 point advantage before a steady contribution and good teamwork allowed Taunton to catch to within 2 points before the period ended 64-62. 

It was a nail-biting last period and a great game for audience suspense, as both teams tried for two minutes to score, before Tigers’ Richard Anderson scored the tying basket to make it 64 all.  

After that, it turned into a game of tag, with Taunton scoring and Crusaders just a basket or two behind them all the while. With just under two minutes left, Coventry’s U-18 “big man” Dave Edden scored to bring the score even again at 74 apiece. It was to be Crusaders last score, however, as Kevin Anderson hit a shot almost immediately to take the lead that would give Tigers their 2^nd win of the season. 

The final score was 74-77 to Taunton after Crusaders fumbled their only chance of a long range 3-pointer with only second to go. 

Taunton can be pleased with their over all team performance. The passed the ball well and played together well. 

Positives for Crusaders had to be in Sudler’s 37 points including seven 3-pointers, and good performances by two junior players, Edden and Sydney Donaldson. 

Crusaders will be at home again this weekend, playing on Saturday at 7:30 at the Coventry Sports Centre against one of the league leaders Manchester Magic. 

Crusaders scorers: Sudler 37, Edden 11, Luethy 8, S. Donaldson 7, Baynes Clarke 5, Hall 2, Spare 2, Taylor 2