Front Royal, VA – Christendom Crusaders men's basketball (11-10) bested the Mid-Atlantic Christian University Mustangs (6-16) 71-61 on their Senior Day game Saturday, February 17th, in which they honored seniors John Paul Vander Woude, Peter Ethridge, and Andrew Heisler.
The Mustangs got on the board first with a 3-pointer, but the Crusaders quickly tied it up with a three of their own from John Paul Vander Woude (Senior/Nokesville, VA). Christendom then pulled ahead 6-3 with an and-1 layup by Bobby Vander Woude (Sophomore/Nokesville, VA). The Crusaders maintained their lead for most of the first half, going up by as much as 9 with 14 minutes to go. However, the Mustangs did not go away, and tied the game 22-22 with 8 minutes left in the half. The Mustangs then went up on the Crusaders 28-25 with 2 minutes left in the half, but Andrew Heisler (Senior/Front Royal, VA) hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. The Crusaders outscored the Mustangs in the final minutes of the first half to head into halftime up 36-32.
Peter Ethridge (Senior/Phoenix, AZ) hit a 3-pointer on Christendom's first possession of the second half, and the Crusaders continued to build on their lead from there. The Mustangs continued to play hard, and at one point cut the Crusader lead down to 51-49, but B. Vander Woude hit two clutch free throws to re-extend Christendom's lead. The game stayed tight for the rest of the second half, with the Crusaders maintaining a slim lead. With 3 minutes to go, two free throws by Heisler and layups by Peter Ethridge and Joe Ethridge (Freshman/Phoenix, AZ) extended the Crusader lead to 65-58. From there, the Crusaders played solid defense and earned the 71-61 win.
Bobby Vander Woude led the Crusaders in scoring with 27 points, followed by John Paul Vander Woude who ended with 20 points. Heisler and Ethridge contributed 8 and 7 points respectively, rounding out the Crusader offense.
Up next – The Crusaders take on the Patrick Henry Sentinels at home on February 21st at 7pm.