The Varsity Crusaders enter tonight's matchup against Fayetteville Academy with a record of 12-2. The Eagles enter with a record of 14-6. The eagles 6 losses have been against quality opponents such as Trinity Christian who bases their play around sophomore guard Kwe Parker who ranks at #24 in the 2016 recruiting class according to ESPN Recruiting Nation. The Eagles have a talented roster of their own. Zane Waterman, a 6-8 200 pound senior small forward, has committed to play college basketball at the University of Manhattan. He is ranked #30 in the 2014 ESPN Top North Carolina Recruits. Waterman scored 45 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a win earlier this season against rival Village Christian Academy. The senior is averaging 30.8 PPG and 13.2 RPG in conference play this season. The Crusaders will counteract the talented senior with a force of their own. The Crusaders will rely on the offensive play but especially the defensive play of sophomore Quate McKinzie. McKinzie is averaging a double double with 14.8 points per game and 11.6 rebounds per game. The sophomore also averages 3.4 blocks per game.
The Crusaders look to defeat the Eagles twice this week as they take on Fayetteville Academy Friday as well as tonight's matchup. The Crusaders, Village Christian, and Fayetteville Academy are all tied for first in the NCISAA Cape Fear Independent Conference.
Andrew Miller
HCA Insider
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Monday, January 27, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Varsity Lady Crusaders Remain Undefeated
The Varsity Lady Crusaders entered Friday night's matchup against the Fayetteville Christian School Warriors looking to remain undefeated. The Crusaders started off slow by only finding themselves up by 7 at the end of the first quarter 13-6. Daisha Jordan scored six points in the first to help the Crusaders gain the early lead. The Lady Crusaders continued to fight into the second quarter. Emily Benton, found a way to contribute in the second quarter by scoring 10 points to give the Crusaders a 25-14 lead heading into the half.
The Crusaders continued to work hard on offense by moving the ball effectively and attacking the basket. Harrells Christian found themselves leading at the end of the 3rd quarter 35-21. The Crusaders maintained their 14 point lead throughout the fourth quarter to seal the win 52-38. Senior forward, Chloe Campbell, found the basket 3 times from the field and made four free throws to total 10 points to help the Crusaders clinch their ninth win of the season and remain undefeated.
Freshman center, Emily Benton, was one rebound shy of recording her second triple-double of the season with 16 points, 10 blocks, and 9 rebounds. Senior guard, Daisha Jordan tied her season high in scoring with 19 points. Jordan found all of her points from inside of the three point line. The senior guard usually thrives from behind the arc.
The Varsity Lady Crusaders next matchup against Wilmington Christian at 6:00 on Monday January, 13 at home.
HCA Athletics Insider,
Andrew Miller
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Thursday, January 9, 2014
Varsity Men vs Fayetteville Christian Preview
The Varsity Crusaders enter Friday nights match-up against Fayetteville Christian coming off a Conference loss to Village Christian Academy. The Crusaders fell short 66-60 after a heated game that led to a fight at the end of the game provoked by a Village Christian fan who was eventually ejected. The Crusaders failed to produce on offense and missed multiple free throws at the end of the game which could have reduced the lead. The loss handed the Crusaders their second loss of the season. (7-2) Overall (0-1) Conference.
The Warriors enter the Match-up with the Crusaders with a record of 5-3. Fayetteville Christian is 1-0 in conference play after defeating Cape Fear Academy in their previous conference opener 57-51. The Warriors are led by a group of 6 seniors who provide leadership and experience to the Warriors' team.
The Crusaders come into the game led by their leading scorer, sophomore center , Quate McKinzie. McKinzie averages 15.3 points per game (PPG) and 11.8 rebounds per game (RPG). He is coming off of a 19 point performance against Village Christian. McKinzie also managed to pull in 9 rebounds for the Crusaders in their previous outing. Harrells Christian is also boosted by the play of senior forward, Graham DiPinto. He averages 14.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG. DiPinto did not disappoint in his last game by scoring 23 points and grabbing 9 boards.
The Crusaders look to even their conference record and get back on track in Friday night's game against an experienced, talented Fayetteville Christian team.
Article By:
HCA Athletics Insider,
Andrew Miller
Follow HCA Athletics on twitter: @hca_athletics
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The Warriors enter the Match-up with the Crusaders with a record of 5-3. Fayetteville Christian is 1-0 in conference play after defeating Cape Fear Academy in their previous conference opener 57-51. The Warriors are led by a group of 6 seniors who provide leadership and experience to the Warriors' team.
The Crusaders come into the game led by their leading scorer, sophomore center , Quate McKinzie. McKinzie averages 15.3 points per game (PPG) and 11.8 rebounds per game (RPG). He is coming off of a 19 point performance against Village Christian. McKinzie also managed to pull in 9 rebounds for the Crusaders in their previous outing. Harrells Christian is also boosted by the play of senior forward, Graham DiPinto. He averages 14.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG. DiPinto did not disappoint in his last game by scoring 23 points and grabbing 9 boards.
The Crusaders look to even their conference record and get back on track in Friday night's game against an experienced, talented Fayetteville Christian team.
Article By:
HCA Athletics Insider,
Andrew Miller
Follow HCA Athletics on twitter: @hca_athletics
https://twitter.com/hca_athletics
Follow HCA Athletics on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmoSQOwcMB_jc2ZEQyNJ7UA
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
HCA Varsity Men vs Village Christian
Rivalry renewed! The Varsity Men stepped onto the court Tuesday night with confidence and enthusiasm. The Crusaders came into their conference opener with a record of 7-1. The Crusaders suffered their only loss of the season against a talented West Brunswick team in the Cape Fear Holiday Tournament over Christmas break. Village came into the high powered game with a record of 10-4.
The rivalry game did not take long to heat up as the Knights came out with intensity and found themselves up by three points in the first two minutes of the game, and gaining momentum. Their fight and intensity was soon halted after a technical foul called on a Village player who argued with the official even after he was told to calm down. Zack Carlton went to the line and drained both free throws to narrow the gap to 1 making the score 3-2. The two teams continued to battle to to end of the first quarter where the Crusaders found themselves leading by 1 point 14-13. The Knights continued to full court press the Crusaders on every play as they had done in the first quarter. The Crusaders repeatedly found ways to break the press which led to Quate McKinzie's two dunks and 11 points heading into the half to give the Crusaders momentum and a narrow lead 24-23.
The Crusaders came out of the locker room after halftime with confidence. The two teams continued to execute on offense and find a way to score. Graham DiPinto constantly found a way to score whether on offensive put-backs, isolation plays, or from behind the three point line. The Knights did not let up by continuing to apply full court pressure. The Crusaders found a way to fight through the pressure and continue to score. Quate McKinzie capped off a fastbreak with a put-back dunk after a missed layup attempt. View here: http://animoto.com/play/MrC9xZcwycCAslPFsKgiUw.
The Crusaders carried their momentum to the end of the third quarter with the lead 46-45. The teams continued to trade points until the Knights drained a three to extend their lead to 3 points 62-59. After the made three pointer the Knights called a timeout. The Knights then started to pull away and found themselves up by six with a 66-60 lead. With 16.5 seconds to play Crusader Head Coach, Clayton Hall, called a timeout. A fan in the stand made a comment towards the Harrells bench. The coach responded by saying stop making unnecessary comments to my players. The fan then came down from his seat, in the stands, and stormed towards the Crusader bench. The police soon intervened and ejected the fan from the game. The Knights the nwent on to seal the victory 66-60.
The Knights never stopped pressing the entire game which elevated the tempo and allowed both teams to get out on the fastbreak. The Crusaders were lead by Graham Dipinto who registered 23 points and 9 rebounds. Quate McKinzie followed behind him with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Article associated with HCA Athletics
Written by: Andrew Miller
Follow HCA Athletics on social media
Twitter: @hca_athletics
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YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmoSQOwcMB_jc2ZEQyNJ7UA
The rivalry game did not take long to heat up as the Knights came out with intensity and found themselves up by three points in the first two minutes of the game, and gaining momentum. Their fight and intensity was soon halted after a technical foul called on a Village player who argued with the official even after he was told to calm down. Zack Carlton went to the line and drained both free throws to narrow the gap to 1 making the score 3-2. The two teams continued to battle to to end of the first quarter where the Crusaders found themselves leading by 1 point 14-13. The Knights continued to full court press the Crusaders on every play as they had done in the first quarter. The Crusaders repeatedly found ways to break the press which led to Quate McKinzie's two dunks and 11 points heading into the half to give the Crusaders momentum and a narrow lead 24-23.
The Crusaders came out of the locker room after halftime with confidence. The two teams continued to execute on offense and find a way to score. Graham DiPinto constantly found a way to score whether on offensive put-backs, isolation plays, or from behind the three point line. The Knights did not let up by continuing to apply full court pressure. The Crusaders found a way to fight through the pressure and continue to score. Quate McKinzie capped off a fastbreak with a put-back dunk after a missed layup attempt. View here: http://animoto.com/play/MrC9xZcwycCAslPFsKgiUw.
The Crusaders carried their momentum to the end of the third quarter with the lead 46-45. The teams continued to trade points until the Knights drained a three to extend their lead to 3 points 62-59. After the made three pointer the Knights called a timeout. The Knights then started to pull away and found themselves up by six with a 66-60 lead. With 16.5 seconds to play Crusader Head Coach, Clayton Hall, called a timeout. A fan in the stand made a comment towards the Harrells bench. The coach responded by saying stop making unnecessary comments to my players. The fan then came down from his seat, in the stands, and stormed towards the Crusader bench. The police soon intervened and ejected the fan from the game. The Knights the nwent on to seal the victory 66-60.
The Knights never stopped pressing the entire game which elevated the tempo and allowed both teams to get out on the fastbreak. The Crusaders were lead by Graham Dipinto who registered 23 points and 9 rebounds. Quate McKinzie followed behind him with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Article associated with HCA Athletics
Written by: Andrew Miller
Follow HCA Athletics on social media
Twitter: @hca_athletics
https://twitter.com/hca_athletics
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmoSQOwcMB_jc2ZEQyNJ7UA
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