Robbie Parker broke the Crusaders record for most points in a game to inspire his team to a memorable victory. Scoring 40 points and taking the opposition to pieces Parker was unstoppable in the closing stages of a game that took overtime to settle an incredibly hard fought encounter. Ably supported by his team and a small band of loyal supporters, the Crusaders are now well set to push for home court advantage in the playoffs.

The first quarter looked routine for a London Mets side that are used to dominating their opposition, playing full court aggressive basketball. To make matters worse Kent starting guard Damian Lyons was struggling with a viral infection, Sam Betts was nursing a sore knee and ‘highlight reel’ JP Dimandja had to have his damaged ankle heavily strapped to even make the warm up.

London moved out to an early 10-1 lead as the Crusaders struggled to break through very physical defence. Only Danish powerhouse Soren Sorenson was able to get to the hoop but struggled to finish with Mets defenders swarming all over him. Parker started to heat up, hitting two tough three pointers after good ball movement from the away side. Sam Betts weaved his way to the key and knocked down two free throws following a hard foul in the lane. This was followed by a drive and score from Canadian playmaker Simon Mitchell and a three from Betts to take the Crusaders to within two of their strong opposition.

London stepped up the intensity in the second quarter, responding to Kent’s rally. The athletic Bola put in 9 points in less than five minutes to extend his side’s lead and another uncontested three from Noha put the Mets up 12. Despite Parker and Mitchell driving hard through aggressive defence the Crusaders were down 41-28 at half time and staring down the barrel. One positive to take out of the second quarter was that Mets seemed to struggle a little against the Crusaders’ zone defence.

Despite being down at halftime coach Olesen wasn’t unhappy with the effort the players put forward: “The reason we were down at halftime wasn’t that we weren’t playing hard, maybe a little bit of the opposite”, Olesen said. “We were matching Mets’ speed, and that was playing into their hands, because of their athleticism. Maybe they were intimidating us a little bit with their physical play so we talked about grace under pressure. What we needed to do was keep the effort at the same level but slow it down and play smarter in the second half. We also decided to stay with the zone defence even if it was about the first time this year we have not played man-to-man defence, as Mets didn’t respond well to it.”

Mets came out strong in the second half, hitting a long three and driving twice through the lane for easy scores and Crusaders now found themselves down by 20 to a side that are used to finishing off opposition ruthlessly. The run was stopped by Mike Webber who used his unique footwork to shoot over the imposing London defenders.

Three pointers from Parker and Mitchell got Crusaders back into the game, but the Mets kept going at their opponents with Bola and Noha scoring in quick succession. If the Crusaders were going to have a chance it was important to finish the quarter strongly. Sam Betts carved through the London big guys twice, getting fouled in the process. His free throws combined with a tough three point play from Parker and made free throws from Rafal Sojcynski brought the third quarter to a close with the Crusaders down 51-60.

Rafal continued his strong play of late scoring again to start the fourth. London pushed hard for the line going on a 6-0 run to put them firmly in the driver’s seat, up by 13 with only 7 minutes to play.

This was the moment that Robbie Parker put the team on his back and refused to go down without fighting. In an incredible offensive display he tore the Mets defence to pieces. They were powerless as he hit two three pointers with the opposition desperately trying to lay a hand on him. When they switched defenders to stop him shooting from distance he simply turned defenders inside out, penetrating powerfully through the lane and showing a combination of deft touches to finish of the glass and stunning drives through athletic defenders who collapsed on top of him. 10 uninterrupted points from Parker put his side to within a couple of the leaders.

Parker was supported by his team mates who were clearly fired up following his awesome display but Mets countered with four points in quick succession. A three pointer from Mitchell and a drive through traffic from a less than 100 percent Lyons kept the momentum up. Parker continued to dominate hitting another two 3-point shots. By now the Mets had just about everyone they could thrown at Parker but still couldn’t touch him.

With one minute to go he had brought his team back from the brink to go up by 1 against the Mets who had led from the first tip. London Mets athlete Bola got fouled going to the hoop and had two free throws with a minute left in the game. Coach Olesen called a time out to give him time to think about it and to organise his team. As Bola stepped up to the line he was faced with two pressure shots against the noise of the travelling Crusaders faithful. Led by the Captain’s beautiful girlfriend Chloe Taylor and Paul Betts, father of Sam they created a deafening racket that put the home supporters to shame. The pressure told and Bola failed to connect on one of his free throws.

Crusaders broke the London press again and fed Parker who was so hot by now that his shorts were smouldering. To cap his awesome fourth quarter performance he faked right and drove left, beating his helpless defender. As three big guys swarmed towards him he rose in the lane and kissed a shot perfectly off the backboard to put the crusaders back up by two. The Mets responded with star guard Noha going hard to the ring and finishing well to tie the score with less than five seconds to go.

Controversy followed as the scorers desk and referees failed to stop the game clock after the basket and call the time out that Coach Olesen had asked for. Potentially a pivotal moment in the match it meant that the Crusaders were not able to advance the ball and get a decent shot, sending the hard fought encounter into overtime.

The five of Mitchell, Lyons, Parker, Betts and Dimandja stayed in the game playing through fatigue, illness and injury. London scored first but were followed by another Parker score. By now the Mets athleticism was rendered useless by the strong play and determination of Dimandja, who, playing through the pain and the physical barrage thrown at him, continued to pull down rebounds and disrupt the opposition’s flow. The crucial moment came next.

Lyons drove towards the Mets defence drawing two defenders. Betts ran to the ball then turned on a sixpence to cut hard to the hoop. Lyons delivered the perfect pass which Betts duly finished with a typically tough finish in traffic through the foul. When Betts hit his free throw Crusaders were back up by 2. Noha then found his way through the tired looking defence to finish well at the ring.

With 26 seconds left to play nothing separated the two teams. Mitchell broke the press again and looked to waste as much time as possible. Nothing could release Parker who was totally crowded out and so with time running down Mitchell found Lyons spotted up in the corner. A sharp shot fake gave him the lane. He drove forward and rose as the entire London Mets defence collapsed around him. Despite the pressure of the game and the physical attack he had to fight through Lyons somehow managed to get off a miracle shot and ice the game with just a second and a half remaining. Tough pressure then forced the Mets to throw out of bounds and the Crusaders had won a memorable victory.

Captain Pete Ayling said, “The win was very much a team and club performance. All players made a contribution. The guys on the floor at the end played unbelievably and those on the bench were like having a sixth defender on the court. A special thanks has to go out to the fans that travelled up. They made a real difference with the game on the line. Robbie Parker played ok as well!”

By the time the game was done Parker had 40 points, 18 of which came in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter in what must surely be the best performance ever seen in a Crusaders jersey. After the game he said, “It was a really gutsy win today, it was great to see us step up late in the game again.”

Simon Mitchell was another important factor in the victory. His speed and ball handling were key to breaking the press. After the game he said, “This was one of the best comebacks I have ever been a part of. The Mets played their usual up-tempo game and led for the majority of the game. Robbie put in one of the best performances I have seen in a long time. I just got him the ball and he got the job done. It was more than one player though, a real team effort and Damian’s lay-up was a really tough move. This will carry us into the playoffs.”

With Leicester losing to Birmingham A’s, the Crusaders are now in third place on their own with a great opportunity to secure home court advantage for round one of the playoffs.