Match Report by James Bourne:
There were sighs of relief all round at the Coventry
Sports Centre as the Crusaders picked up their first win of the season
in a much improved team performance.
The Crusaders won 104-89 against the Sheffield Arrows
to take them off the bottom of the men’s Division One table, but head
coach Scott Neely still recognised the need for improvement from his
team.
Neely said after the game: “As a young team we really
need to learn – because you could see it getting physical – that there
were different things that were called.
“It got a bit heated because both teams were
struggling to get on the winning side, so frustrations ran high, and at
that time mentally you’ve got to be strong.”
However, Coventry fully deserved their win on the
night. They outscored their visitors in each quarter, including a
prolific return of 31 points in the second which opened up an
eleven-point lead and proved to be the cornerstone of their victory.
The star man for the Crusaders was Jon Olinger, who
notched 27 points in the match and clearly enjoyed the time and space he
was afforded by the Arrows defence. He led from the front in the first
quarter, hitting two three-point shots as well as making strong runs and
causing chaos for the Arrows whenever he had the ball in an attacking
play.
But the first quarter wasn’t all Crusaders. After
amassing an 8-2 lead thanks to a great lay-up from Stephen Danso,
Sheffield hit back with two consecutive three-pointers; firstly from
Anthony Oxley, and then from Luke Ellis.
It was a combination of accurate long shooting and
good rebound work – both in attack and defence – that kept the Arrows in
it for much of the game.
However, after Oxley hit another three-pointer from
the far left of the court to make it 14-16, the Crusaders built up a
lead to end the first ten minutes on a high. Slow reactions from the
Arrows defence off a play in the end zone allowed Will Bastin to net an
easy two points to make it 21-18, and a long range effort from Olinger,
as well as another Bastin score, enabled the home side to lead 26-22.
The second quarter started off relatively evenly, with
both sides trading scores in a cat and mouse opening period.
But after the impressive Sebastian Chitagu left
Olinger for dead in a one-on-one to inch Sheffield in front at 37-39,
the subsequent timeout sparked the Crusaders into life, and they began
to find holes in the Arrows defence.
Coventry hit 20 points in the remaining five minutes
of the first half with the Arrows making a meagre seven, which proved to
be the turning point of the game. Stephen Danso in particular was on
form for the Crusaders, hitting five baskets. This was ably supported by
good three-pointers from Ryann Samuel and Kane Hudson to give Coventry a
57-46 lead at half time.
The second half began with Crusaders holding a
half-time advantage for the first time in the League this season, and
good determination ensured that the lead would not be relinquished at
any time during the final 20 minutes.
Arguably the most impressive score during this quarter
was a fine move from the Crusaders, set up initially by good defensive
work from Dan Taylor, and finished off by Dave Edden after a casual ball
from Stephen Danso. Jon Olinger would then hit a three-pointer to give
the Crusaders a big 73-56 lead.
But the Arrows still retained some parity in the
contest thanks to better rebound work, with Sam Spare playing a bigger
part for the visitors as the game wore on. Two rebounds from him in the
space of a minute – the second coming from an Andrew Purnell shot –
reduced the deficit to nine points.
However, a great three-point shot from Kane Hudson
ensured that the game was all-but-over as a contest at 82-70 going into
the final quarter.
Sebastian Chitagu started off very brightly for the
visitors in the final ten, firstly outfoxing the Crusaders defence to
net inside the first five seconds, then nailing two free throws, as well
as scoring again to reduce the Crusaders’ lead to only six points.
It wasn’t just in attack that Zimbabwean Chitagu
impressed, either. A superb defensive leap and grab denied Simon Payne
two points when attempting a lay up.
This was only a momentary blip for the Crusaders
though, as a run of eight unanswered points dampened the Arrows’
revival. Payne succeeded with his lay-up this time round following a
quick break by Stephen Danso.
With both teams desperate to improve their
disappointing win-loss records this season, tempers became frayed in the
final minutes of the game. Disagreements between both sets of players
led to a short stoppage, but thankfully didn’t lead to anything worse.
The Crusaders broke the century mark – again, for the first time this
season – with a couple of minutes to play thanks to man of the match
Olinger’s cool lay-up when clean through, and Kane Hudson’s three-point
shot on the buzzer left the scores at 104-89 to give Crusaders their
first win of the League campaign.
Quarter Scores: 26-22, 31-24, 25-24,
22-19.
Crusaders top scorers: John Olinger
27,
Stephen Danso 16.
Arrows top scorers:
Chitagu 19, Murray 18, Eboigbe 15.
Crusaders next home match is on the 12th December when they face
London Mets, tip-off is 7.30pm at the
Coventry Sports Centre.
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