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
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