Brother Martin and Archbishop Shaw battled it out on the court on Friday, January 6. This game would open up Brother Martin’s second district home game of the season. Brother Martin had just come off an exciting away district game victory against John Curtis. They won the Curtis game with a three point buzzer beater from Tyler Epps.
To start their district home opener, the Crusaders and the Eagles played very intense and aggressive defense. It was a low scoring first quarter as both teams struggled to make shots. The score at the end of the first quarter was 10-6. In the second quarter, it was more of the same. The Crusaders and Eagles continued to miss several shots. Despite the lethargic quarter, the game intensified in the final minute of the second quarter. The Eagles managed to tie the game 17-17 with a only a minute left on the clock. The Eagles, with five seconds left before halftime, took the lead with an impressive layup. However, the Eagles lead would soon end. With less than four seconds before halftime, point guard Davonn Moore of the Crusaders dribbled down the court, made a behind the back move, and shot up a prayer from half court. The shot fell in. The fans went crazy with jubilation and adrenaline. The score at the end of the half was 20-19.
The half court shot seemed to give Brother Martin momentum in the third quarter because the Crusaders had an offensive outburst. Early in the third quarter, the Crusaders went on a 15-2 run to put the Crusaders up 35-21. This quarter was much more efficient and high paced for both teams. The Eagles managed to battle back as they had put their deficit within single digits with a minute and forty one seconds to go in the quarter. The third quarter would end with a score of 39-32.
In the fourth quarter, the Crusaders would continue their offensive outburst as they increased their lead to their largest margin of the night by 19 points. At that point, the score was 53-34. The game would end with a final score of 59-34. Both teams fought hard for a victory. However, the Crusaders would improve their record to 14-5, 2-0 in district play. The Eagles’ record fell to 7-13. The leading scorer for the Crusaders was Tyler Epps who had 13 points. Davonn Moore was just behind him with ten points. The leading scorer for the Eagles was Latrell Jones, who finished the game with a double-double. Jones had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Crusaders next game is against the Archbishop Rummel Raiders at Rummel on January 10, 2017 for 7 p.m. The junior varsity will play for 5:45 p.m. Go Crusaders!
Submitted by Jason Arena ’21 (News Writer- Crusader Correspondents)
