The Medway Park Crusaders made it two wins in two weeks as they toppled league-leaders, the Bristol Academy Flyers 84-79, at home on Saturday.

Report by Nick Moore

The Bristol side, who went into match having only lost one game from seven in their EBL Division One campaign, travelled with a full squad but could not deal with the Crusaders newly found spirit and intensity.

Crusaders point guard, Steve Vear, who looks like he has never left the court, hit 26 points point on the night, as the Medway side’s big men Joseph Schow and Adrian Fenyn combined for 31 points and 25 rebounds

The Flyers stand-out players were Tyrone Treasure and Douglas Mclaughlin-Williams – who combined for 46 points and six rebounds.

The game started in a cagey manner with both teams focused on the defensive side of their game. Neither team took control of the ball, but it was Medway’s five turnovers which meant they trailed 13-12 after the first quarter.

In the second, the Crusaders began to find their rhythm, managing to find the clinical passes on offense which allowed them to get some easy looks at the hoop.

As captain, James Harris hit two three’s, guards Tom Raymen and Dizzy Lufadeju put in some great minutes towards the end of the quarter, which helped them build up a 39-35 lead at half time.

After the break, Bristol came out firing and showed why they are currently sitting at the top of the league. They made easy work of the Crusaders defence and impressively took the quarter 24-12, meaning they led 59-52.

But, as is often the way with the current Crusaders side, they never gave up hope. Before the final quarter their coach, James Vear, demanded that his side step up their defence and played with a little more freedom on offence.

And yet again, his team responded. Fenyn and Schow became a real handful for Bristol as they went hard to the basket, and guard Luke Baker began to find his range from the three point line.

With five minutes to go the game was tied at 63 apiece. Point guard Vear then took over, going on a straight 10 point scoring run.

With two minutes left, the Crusaders streaked into a 12 point lead, but Bristol piled on the pressure, eventually closing the gap to five points. The Crusaders won the final 10 minutes 33-21, taking the match 84-79.

Coach, James Vear was incredibly proud of his team’s efforts and said: “That was a great win for us tonight, especially as Bristol are a team who will definitely be right up there come the end of the season.”

However, he still thinks that there is a lot of room for improvement, adding: “The unselfish basketball we played tonight might have been the best I have seen since I have been coaching this team.  We assisted on 28 of the 39 field goals scored tonight which just shows you how we always made that extra pass.”

He concluded by noting great performances by his forwards Schow and Fenyn, and guard Vear: “Joe nearly had a triple double and he has formed a great partnership with Adrian. Steve was great in the fourth quarter for us. I haven’t seen him take over a game like that in a long time.”

The Crusaders have a double-header of matches next weekend as they take to the road to face the Reading Rockets, the current Division One Champions, on Saturday, 17 December and the Leicester Warriors on Sunday 18, December.

Both teams sit in joint second place near the top of the league on five wins out of seven in this year’s campaign. Reading beat Leeds Carnegie 91-75 this weekend, while Leicester beat the Tees Valley Mohawks, 82-73.

Both teams will be up for their clashes with the Crusaders side, who know that this weekend will be a tough one on the road, and possibly pivotal in deciding whether they make the playoffs.

Picture by Cesar Velasco