Front Royal, VA – Christendom Crusaders Men's Basketball team lost a tight match 69-60 against the Penn State Mont Alto Nittany Lions on Wednesday, February 1st.
Despite the Crusaders efforts, the Nittany Lions gained a 11-point lead early in the first half. In the 14th minute of the game, John Paul Vander Woude (Junior/Nokesville, VA) drained a three to give the Crusaders much needed momentum. The Nittany Lions continued to hold a lead on the Crusaders, but at about the halfway mark in the first half, Christendom's Bobby Vander Woude (Freshman/Nokesville, VA) continued to push the Crusaders forward with a corner three. Aggression on defense continued the Crusaders' drive towards a comeback. This left the Nittany Lions with only a 6-point lead over the Crusaders. Seconds before the end of the first half, a deep shot from Senior Joe Dotson (Senior/Manassas, VA) brought the Crusaders within two points of the Lions, 28-30.
With a comeback in sight, the second half brought new aggression from the Crusaders. Seconds into the game, the Crusaders took the lead for the first time in the game 31-30 with another three by J. Vander Woude. The Crusaders lost the lead, but not for long, thanks to crucial layups by Joe Castellan (Freshman/Front Royal, VA) and Dotson. Despite a hard-fought game and impressive battle, the Crusaders were not able to take down the Nittany Lions. The game ended with the Nittany Lions over the Crusaders 69-60.
Leading the team in points with 25, J. Vander Woude had an impressive game putting in eight 3's. Christendom's Andrew Heisler (Junior/Front Royal, VA) also played a major role in the game having a total of 11 points and 5 rebounds.
Next Up: The Crusaders will take on the Appalachian Bible Warriors at home on Friday, February 3 at 7:00pm.