[16 JAN 10] CRUSADER NEWS

 Coventry Crusaders (44) 86

Leicester Warriors (38) 70

Match Report by James Bourne:

COVENTRY Crusaders got their play-off ambitions back on track with a hard-working 86-70 win over Leicester Warriors at the Sports Centre.

A great 25-point haul from American debutant Matt Smith was the main highlight in a winning performance, but head coach Scott Neely recognised that his team could play better.

Neely said after the match: “It’s a good win, because I felt to hold them to the points we did was good. Our offensive execution at times was good but we gave the ball up too much, which was unnecessary.

“I did expect them to be a team that fights, and they were fighting for it, but I thought our guys responded well. So we were playing well and physically, and not letting them get many offensive boards. Tonight we did a better job of taking care of our rebounds.”

The win, the team’s third in four league outings, puts them nearer a play-off spot but with an inferior points difference and with rivals having games in hand, a win at home to the bottom side Tees Valley Mohawks next week is vital to maintain the push.

Crusaders had the edge in a bright opening period, with Matt Smith being a nuisance for the Warriors defence throughout. His initial score after a fine long pass from Jon Olinger and then adding the free throw after being fouled by Mindaugas Janiska was indicative of the play, opening up a 6-2 lead early on.

The home side kept up this slender lead throughout the quarter thanks to scores from Ryann Samuel, who impressed with his defensive plays early on, Dave Edden and Stephen Danso among others.

But a brilliant spell from Simon Payne, including two sweet three point shots, opened up a 24-15 lead for the Crusaders towards the end of the quarter.

However the team were making sloppy errors. After Payne missed his free throw to increase the lead to ten points, a mix up in the Crusaders defence allowed Janiska to slam dunk. This was followed by Tom Fowler scoring another breakaway from a misplaced pass to leave the scores at 24-21 at the end of the first quarter.

The Warriors started the second quarter more brightly and managed to hold the lead at 26-28; however, this was one of only two times they would do so in the whole match.

Matt Smith was still playing well, both in attack and in creating chances for his team mates. Coach Scott Neely praised Smith’s passing abilities, and a fine example of this was a lovely reverse ball through to youngster Ben Timms who laid up just before the Warriors defence could get to him.

Jon Olinger hit two good three-point shots to help increase the Crusaders lead, with the second following a fine defensive play from Dave Edden. A breakaway score from Ryann Samuel following another quick pass from Edden helped the score to 37-30, a lead that the Crusaders never looked like relinquishing.

The final score of the half was arguably the best score as the Crusaders outplayed the Warriors in a fine four-man move. A long ball from Olinger found Edden, who held the ball up superbly to find Simon Payne, who then found Smith to lay up and help give the Crusaders as 44-38 advantage.

The second half started evenly with both sides trading early scores. However, after Olinger nailed his free throws, the Warriors came back at the Crusaders, with three consecutive scores from Carl Pearson leaving them three points behind at 55-52.

But a timeout called with five minutes left sparked Coventry into life, with Stephen Danso impressing, scoring two and setting up another for Ben Timms. The Warriors’ indiscipline cost them too, with seven out of eight free throw opportunities scored by the Crusaders in the third quarter, whereas the away side hit none from two.

A long three pointer from Matt Smith helped give the Crusaders more breathing space at 66-57 going into the final ten minutes.

Following last gasp collapses against the Taunton Tigers and London Leopards, it would have pleased Scott Neely to watch his team see out the final quarter with ease.

Jon Olinger was impressive from the free throw line, hitting all six attempts he was given. This, as well as a great three pointer from wide left, helped give him a score of 11 points from the quarter – the same as the entire Warriors team.

Warriors coach Karl Brown applied a more offensive style in the final quarter, with Ramiah O’Neill missing a three pointer by a distance when he had options inside.

But consistent scoring from the Crusaders, including shots from Dave Edden and Stephen Danso, helped comfortably see off the threat of the visitors, and Edden had the final say in an 86-70 win.

Quarter Scores:  24-21, 20-17, 22-19, 20-13.

 

Crusaders top scorers: Matt Smith 25, John Olinger 17, Stephen Danso 16.

 

Warriors top scorers: Pearson 16, Reynoso 12, O'Neil 8.

 

Crusaders next home match is on the 23rd January when they face Tees Valley Mohawks, tip-off is 7.30pm at the Coventry Sports Centre.

  Main Menu | News | Crusaders vs. Leicester Warriors  16 JAN 2010