Match Report by James Bourne:
COVENTRY CRUSADERS went into the Christmas break on a
high with a dramatic 101-92 overtime victory over the London Leopards at
the Sports Centre.
The last time the two teams met ended in heartbreak
for the Crusaders when they went down by only three points in the
Division One quarter-final playoff, but they gained revenge for that
defeat with a much improved performance from the previous week’s loss at
home to the London Mets.
Coventry were still without Tim Donaldson, who
continues to struggle with a stomach injury, but young centre Ben Timms
returned to the squad.
The Crusaders made a blinding start to the game going
13-0 in front inside three minutes, catching the Leopards flat-footed.
The visitors struggled to make attacking rebounds
early on, which allowed Coventry to break easily, and they took
advantage of this with two three-point shots from Stephen Danso and one
from Kane Hudson being the highlights.
However, the Leopards began to find a way back into
the quarter as the Crusaders’ accurate shooting began to elude them. The
visitors conjured up a good 12 point run themselves as the quarter ended
with both sides on a more even footing at 23-20.
The visitors began the second quarter more brightly,
undoing the good work of the Crusaders in the first five minutes to take
a slender lead. The impressive Carl Latham-Henry, who top scored for the
Leopards with 34 points, slotted three scores in quick succession to
give the Leopards a slender lead.
The first came from free throws following a challenge
from Stephen Dasnso, the second a lay up having evaded the challenge of
Jon Olinger, and the third a three-pointer from the far left to give the
Leopards a 23-27 advantage.
Both sides traded scores for the rest of the second
quarter, with the Crusaders keeping in it thanks in part to Dave Edden,
who notched 12 points in his overall total of 23. But it was
Latham-Henry who had the final word of the half, coolly slotting home a
free throw having been fouled whilst scoring, to make the score 44-47 at
half time.
The Crusaders’ ill-discipline in their own end zone
kept their opponents in it throughout the contest, with Latham-Henry
being the main beneficiary. He netted a superb 15 points from 16 free
throw opportunities, with the team slotting home 26 from 30 overall.
The Leopards began the third quarter in a similar vein
to the second, opening up a nine point lead at 50-59 when Marlan Henry
netted two free throws.
But the home side got back into it, thanks to scores
from Simon Payne and Ryann Samuel, as well as a great defensive play
from Dan Taylor cutting out a long pass to Henry with the Crusaders
defence stretched. This left the scores at 59-61 going into the final
quarter.
The final ten minutes was a nervous affair as both
sides strived to get the win. The Leopards had only won twice out of
seven league games and had suffered a defeat in the National Cup against
Manchester Magic last week, so they needed the points just as much as
the Crusaders.
But neither side could get away from the other. The
Leopards took the lead on several occasions in the quarter, with scores
from Ronnie Baker and Chris Michaelides among others, but time and time
again the Crusaders would return the compliment. They would draw level
no less than ten times in the duration of the match.
The scores were tied at 83-83 in the final few seconds
when Leigh Greenan thought he’d scored a dramatic winner for the
Leopards; however, the buzzer had already sounded, meaning that the game
went into five minutes of overtime.
The Crusaders pushed on from this reprieve in overtime
to grab the victory, with a four-point play from the lively Stephen
Danso setting the tone at 85-87. Having missed his free throw following
a cool lay-up, Ben Timms reacted first to the rebound to make it 89-87.
Coventry didn’t look back from that, with scores from
Danso, Jon Olinger and Simon Payne sealing a tough, but deserved win.
After the game, head coach Scott Neely said: “I think
Leopards are a tough team, but full marks to our guys, they came
through, and what I told them at the end was where we put it together
and everybody’s on the same page for forty minutes, that’s when we’re
tough to play against. We can play with anybody in this league.
“Leopards were making some tough shots. I thought we
possibly could have pulled out a lead even earlier, but they were making
some tough threes, making some shots that just kept them right in it.
“What I’m pleased with tonight is that the guys were focussed. When we
had mistakes, a couple of dips, it was right back onto it and trying to
see what’s working.”
Quarter Scores: 23-20, 21-27, 15-14,
24-22 (OT) 18-9.
Crusaders top scorers: Dave Edden
23, Stephen Danso 21, John Olinger 17.
Leopards top scorers:
Latham-Henry 34, De Ferrari 17, Greenan 13.
Crusaders next home match is on the 16th
January when they face
Leicester Warriors, tip-off is 7.30pm at the
Coventry Sports Centre.
.gif)
