Front Royal, VA – On Friday, February 11, the Crusader Men's Basketball team brought in their sixth win of the season, defeating the Appalachian Bible Warriors, 81-70.
Six minutes into the game the Warriors hit a 3-pointer, giving them the early 7-2 lead. However, the Crusaders were unfazed, as they came storming back. With 11 minutes left in the half, a big three from Peter Ethridge (Sophomore/ Phoenix, AZ) put the Crusaders up nine, 23-14. Being down 9 Appalachian Bible fought hard, they managed to tie the score, 26-26. In the final minutes of the half, Dominic Smith (Junior/ Manassas, VA) and John Paul Vander Woude (Sophomore/ Nokesville, VA) both hit 2-point shots to give the Crusaders the 30-27 advantage at the half.
The second half brought much of the same excitement as the first, as the teams battled back and forth. Early in the half, the Warriors recaptured the lead 34-33. The teams traded buckets for the first eight minutes, neither team able to take a lead greater than five. However, with 10 minutes left in the game, the Crusaders started to string together several defensive stops which helped them gain some separation. With five minutes left, Joe Dotson (Junior/ Manassas, VA) drove to the hoop and made a beautiful bounce pass to Owen Kennedy (Senior/ Mt. Vision, NY), who finished with a ferocious slam. The dunk gave the team an 11-point lead. There was no coming back for the Warriors, as the Crusaders locked in on defense to secure the win 81-70.
The Crusaders were led by several players in particular; Ethridge led all scores with 26 points, Vander Woude followed with 19 points and Kennedy ended the game with 17 of his own.