Coming off a tough three point loss to Simonds on Monday, the Crusaders rebounded for a convincing 67-49 win over the visiting Simonds Seabees on Wednesday evening.
The Crusaders came out with great energy, jumping out to a 16-6 first quarter advantage. In the second quarter the Crusaders bench squad was able to maintain the defensive pressure to extend KVHS’s lead to 37-16 after 20 minutes.
The Seabees came out in the second half with full court pressure defense and a half court zone that was able to take away the Crusaders’ drive and kick opportunities. On the offensive side Simonds got back to what lead to their victory on Monday with Aiden Connors and Clint Myers attacking off the dribble while the Simonds big men pounding the ball inside against the smaller KVHS defenders.
The Crusaders countered with several key three point jumpers from Keegan Miller, Blake Keirstead and Ryan Pollard to keep the Seabees from having any big runs. Simonds took the third quarter 18-15 but the Crusaders still led the game 52-34 after 30 minutes.
The final quarter end up a stalemate at 15-15 with both teams showing signs of fatigue with some sloppy passes and missed fouls shots.
Leaders for the Crusaders were:
- Gavin Trites with 13 points
- Ryan Pollard with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks & 3 steals
- Blake Keirstead with 11 points
Leaders for the Seabees were:
- Ethan Szemerda with 17 points
- Aiden Connors, Marcus McMurray & Clint Myers each with 8 points
The Crusaders move to 1-1 on the season.
What’s Next
Next week the KVHS Crusaders play a pair of exhibition games with cross town rivals Rothesay High. Game times and Monday December 21 at RHS and Wednesday December 23 at KVHS. Both games tip-off at 3:15 pm.
All KVHS varsity boys games are streamed live on their YouTube channel.