Crusaders Drop Nail-Biter to Valley Forge

Front Royal, VA – Christendom men's basketball fell in heart breaking loss home opener to the University of Valley Forge Patriots by the score of 44-42 on Saturday, November 9th. 

 

Both teams came out with energy in the first half and the game was tied 12-12 with eight minutes left in the first half. Although neither team had been able to gain a decisive lead until this point, the Patriots began to pull away and went on a 7-0 run. The Crusaders fought to dig themselves out of their scoring deficit for the rest of the half and the score was 24-19 at halftime.

 

The Crusaders continued to chip away at the Patriots' lead in the second half. With renewed momentum, the Crusaders went on a 11-0 run, eventually tying the game at 30-30 with eight minutes remaining in the second half. The Crusaders took the lead with six minutes remaining, and the two teams battled to pull ahead of each other. In the last 30 seconds of the game, the Patriots were leading 42-38, but the Crusaders kept fighting. John Fowler (Sophomore/Tempe, AZ) scored with 15 seconds left to bring the score to 42-40, then the Crusaders fouled twice to stop the clock, putting Valley Forge in the bonus. The Patriots drained both foul shots to increase their lead to 44-40 with seven seconds left. The Crusaders pushed the ball up the court and missed a three pointer, which was tipped in at the buzzer by David Echaniz (Senior/Front Royal, VA) to bring the final score to 44-42 in a disappointing loss. Edmund Thomas (Freshman/Corpus Christi, TX) and Fowler led the team in points, posting 12 and 11 respectively.

 

Up Next: The Crusaders play at Virginial Military Institute on Tuesday, 11/12.