Tonight the KVHS Crusaders defeated the visiting Simonds Seabees 81-77 to sweep the season series. The Crusaders improve to 5-1 in Southern Conference play to remain one game behind undefeated Rothesay Redhawks.
This game started much like the previous game at Simonds with the Crusaders jumping out to an early lead, although both teams were shooting much better than during the first match-up. The Crusaders led by 9 after the 1st quarter (24-15) and by 10 at halftime (41-31).
At the start of the 3rd quarter, it looked like the Crusaders were going to change the script from the first game as they pushed their lead up to 18 points, but Ethan Szemerda decided he had enough of that and started draining 3 pointers and scoring tough runners in the lane over KV help defenders. The quarter ended with KV clinging to a 3 point lead 64-61.
As expected, the game slowed down in the 4th quarter with both teams struggling to make a significant run. Whenever a team got a stop, the other team did the same. If someone hit a 3 pointer, the other answered with one of their own. The Crusaders won the final quarter 16-15 to walk away with a hard-earned victory (81-77) and hold the tie-breaker advantage over a very talented Seabees squad.
The Crusaders’ leaders were:
- Gavin Trites with 28 points (12/18 FG), 3 assists, 3 steals and 7 rebounds
- Ryan Pollard with 20 points (9/15 FG), 4 assists, 8 rebounds
- Dallen MacDougall 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
The Seabees’ leaders were:
- Ethan Szemerda with 30 points
- Aiden Connors with 19 points
- Isiah Slawter with 13 points
What’s Next?
The Crusaders will now host the 34th annual My Physio Riverboat Classic this weekend. The action starts Thursday with the girls hosting Moncton High Purple Knights at 6:00 pm followed by the boys hosting Saint John High at 8:00 pm.