Despite 33 points from Robbie Parker the Body and Mind Kent Crusaders went down to the Leicester Warriors by 2 points on Saturday. In a game that went right down to the wire Crusaders 43% from the foul line (13/30) prooved to be the difference between the two teams. Head coah Mads Olesen said ” We knew that we were smaller than Leicester, and we would have to fight hard to even out the rebound difference. It’s dissapointing that we go out and do exactly that by working extremely hard, only to be let down by missing 17 foul shots.”

Crusaders can take alot of positives from the game with several other players contributing. James Harris had 13 points with 75% from the 3 point line, Steve Findley collected 11 rebounds in limited playing time, while Rikki Broadmoore handed out 11 assists. However Crusaders will need to spread the scoring load, relying too heavily on Robbie Parker, who had a great game.

Crusaders took an early lead in the frist quarter with some early scores from Parker but closed out the opening period down 6 points (11-17), as they kept fouling and putting Leicester on the line. The home team gained momentum goin into the second, as they went on a 12-5 run behind balanced scoring and great defense. The Crusaders couldn’t keep the momentum going, and finishing the half with a slender 3 point lead.

Leicester rallied in the second half behind star player Steve McGlothin who lead a 12-4 Leicester run to start the 3rd quarter. McGlothin finished with 14 rebounds and 19 points on 66% floor shooting, as Crusaders struggled to cope with his presence in the post. Coach Mads Olesen commented “We didn’t do a good enough job of keeping the ball out of Steve McGlothins hands. His immediate defenders did well, but with a man of his size and experience you need to make sure the rest of his team does not get into a position where they can pass him the ball. We didn’t do that consistently”. On the back of McGlothin Leicester could take a 6 point lead into the final quarter.

The 4th quarter saw Crusaders pass up a number of opportunities to take the lead holding Leicester to only one basket in the first 4 minutes. However, the home team missed 5 out of 6 foul shots in this period, and could only come within 3 points of the visitors, 51-54. Crusaders managed to tie the scores at 60 with 2 minutes to go in the game, behind balanced scoring from Harris, Findley, Betts and Webber, but despite 2 tough jump shots from Robbie Parker in the last two minutes of the game, couldn’t gain the lead. The final score finished with Leicester winning 71-69.