Match Report by James Bourne:
COVENTRY Crusaders lost 64-89 to the Taunton Tigers at the Sports Centre
on Saturday to give their Division One play-off chances a hit.
Head coach Scott Neely was frustrated at his side’s “lack of focus” at
the start of the second half, saying: “We had a stretch at the end of
the first half when we should have been more solid, we should have
executed better, and then start of the second half, they were the more
aggressive team.
“The offensive rebounds, that’s a lack of focus, and once they get that
momentum, it’s tough to drag it back.”
American import Chris Page was always going to be the danger man for the
Tigers. He scored 31 points in the Crusaders’ narrow 87-82 defeat in
November, and he went better this time around hitting 37 points,
including five throws from outside the arc.
Coventry however started brightly, with Matt Smith being a nuisance
inside and drawing fouls. He scored 11 of the Crusaders’ 15 points in
the opening ten, including three from four free throw opportunities.
With three minutes of the quarter to go, the Tigers began to open up a
gap, thanks to a fine three-pointer from Kevin Anderson and a shot from
Page to make it 10-19.
But Smith had the final say, drawing the foul after laying up a pass
from John Olinger and slotting home to leave the scores at 15-21.
The second quarter saw the Crusaders dominate and enjoy their best
period of the match. Dave Edden had an inspired five minute spell
putting up six unanswered points, including two free throws following a
Richard Anderson foul, as well as a superb play, using his strength to
lay up with the entire Tigers’ defence on him.
However, the turning point of the match came in a five minute passage of
play between the second and third quarters.
The Crusaders let slip a five point lead going into half time, going
from 32-27 to 34-36, thanks to two smart three-pointers from Page and
Simon Kearney.
The visitors outscored the Crusaders by 28 points to 19 in the third
quarter, with Page in particular slotting home from distance after the
defence forced the ball outside, much to the frustration of the
Crusaders. One such example opened up a 12 point lead for the Tigers at
38-50 halfway through the quarter.
John Olinger kept up his good form from the free throw line, making four
from four in his 11 point haul; however, the Crusaders couldn’t keep up
with the Tigers.
The closest they came was a nine-point deficit thanks to a Ryann Samuel
rebound, but an Adam Rickwood lay up ensured a 53-64 scoreline going
into the final quarter.
Danger-man Chris Page was off the court for ten minutes, having been
taken off as a precaution by coach Tom Kambouris as he was on four
fouls, but the Crusaders couldn’t capitalise for most of the fourth
quarter.
The Crusaders’ ill-discipline proved fatal, giving away 12 free throw
opportunities, from which the Tigers scored nine.
Adam Rickwood and Paul Yabsley benefited, as did Page when he was
brought back on. Page scored the final six points of the match,
including two free throws, to put gloss on a fine individual performance
and make it 64-89, a lopsided final score that showed a frustrating
night’s work for the Crusaders.
After the game, Tigers’ head coach Tom Kambouris declared himself
pleased at his team’s record against the Crusaders.
Kambouris said: “It’s really tough to beat a team four times in one
season. I think Coventry is an organised team, they’re better this time,
and it’s one step forward for us in winning what we call ‘character
games’, trying to grit out and be more competitive than other teams.
“There’s probably six teams that are looking for that
fourth spot right now. We want it, and we’re going to try to do whatever
we can to get it,” he added.
Quarter Scores: 15-21, 19-15, 19-28,
11-25.
Crusaders top scorers: Matt Smith
16, John Olinger 15,
Dave Edden 8.
Tigers
top scorers: Page 37,
Rickwood 13, Kearney 10.
Crusaders next home match is on the 27th
February when they face
Manchester Magic, tip-off is 7.30pm at the
Coventry Sports Centre.
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