CCS loses heartbreaker to Grace Christian
By Brandon White bwhite@henderson
dispatch.com; 252-436-2840
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HENDERSON — Fresh off its first win of the season, the Crossroads Christian men’s basketball team tried to to keep the momentum going on Friday in what proved to be an intense duel between the Colts and conference rival Grace Christian.
CCS controlled the contest through the first half, but an efficient second half from Grace Christian enabled the Crusaders to take the lead late and obtain a 75-68 victory, dropping Crossroads to 1-7 on the year.
Grace Christian “is a great team,” head coach Scottie Richardson said. “In my scouting report, it says they are very disciplined, very organized, well-coached and they are not going to give up. That’s their identity and, unfortunately, we’re still trying to find ours.”
Points were at a premium during the first quarter as solid defense on both sides limited the offenses, but Crossroads managed to find their way around Grace Christian enough to hold an early 16-10 lead.
Missed opportunities for Grace Christian gave CCS the opening they needed to make an offensive push, and were able to pull away by double digits.
Grace Christian tried to chip away at their deficit, but were unable to accomplish that before halftime as CCS led 38-22.
Fortunes began to turn for CCS when they began missing shots around the rim. Grace Christian capitalized and proceeded to outscore Crossroads 22-10 in the third quarter, putting themselves within striking distance of the lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Richardson anticipated his players enduring some fatigue playing two games earlier in the week, but he knew that the Colts would have to find a way to curtail Grace Christian’s scoring run in the final quarter if they wanted to come away with a win.
“We had legs, but we just started getting gassed,” Richardson said. “The second team did the best they could, but Grace versus Crossroads is a conference rivalry that is built on momentum. Whoever has that momentum is going to excel, and every game we’ve had with Grace has been like that. That’s what you love about rivalry games, but [Friday] was about Grace.”
The Colts and Crusaders wrestled for the lead during the opening portion of the fourth quarter, but Grace Christian gradually gained the upper hand and forced Crossroads to get more aggressive with the ball as time ticked off the clock.
A technical foul on Richardson following a disagreement with the officials on a charge assessed to CCS effectively sealed the victory for the visitors, who knocked down free-throws and withstood full-court pressure to claim their 11th win of the season.
Richardson said that CCS is still adjusting to new rules designed to protecting players from COVID-19 such as mask mandates and mask timeouts, but he credited Grace Christian head coach Jesse Wilson for ensuring that his players would be ready for pivotal matchups like their meeting on Friday with a rigorous schedule to open their year.
“That was Grace’s 20th game this year,” Richardson said. “Most schools have played around five games so far, but Grace’s philosophy early on was to play four games a week. They are battle-tested, but our conference is tough this year and any team can win it. We get to host the tournament this year, so we’ll see these guys again.”
By Brandon White bwhite@henderson
dispatch.com; 252-436-2840
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
HENDERSON — Fresh off its first win of the season, the Crossroads Christian men’s basketball team tried to to keep the momentum going on Friday in what proved to be an intense duel between the Colts and conference rival Grace Christian.
CCS controlled the contest through the first half, but an efficient second half from Grace Christian enabled the Crusaders to take the lead late and obtain a 75-68 victory, dropping Crossroads to 1-7 on the year.
Grace Christian “is a great team,” head coach Scottie Richardson said. “In my scouting report, it says they are very disciplined, very organized, well-coached and they are not going to give up. That’s their identity and, unfortunately, we’re still trying to find ours.”
Points were at a premium during the first quarter as solid defense on both sides limited the offenses, but Crossroads managed to find their way around Grace Christian enough to hold an early 16-10 lead.
Missed opportunities for Grace Christian gave CCS the opening they needed to make an offensive push, and were able to pull away by double digits.
Grace Christian tried to chip away at their deficit, but were unable to accomplish that before halftime as CCS led 38-22.
Fortunes began to turn for CCS when they began missing shots around the rim. Grace Christian capitalized and proceeded to outscore Crossroads 22-10 in the third quarter, putting themselves within striking distance of the lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Richardson anticipated his players enduring some fatigue playing two games earlier in the week, but he knew that the Colts would have to find a way to curtail Grace Christian’s scoring run in the final quarter if they wanted to come away with a win.
“We had legs, but we just started getting gassed,” Richardson said. “The second team did the best they could, but Grace versus Crossroads is a conference rivalry that is built on momentum. Whoever has that momentum is going to excel, and every game we’ve had with Grace has been like that. That’s what you love about rivalry games, but [Friday] was about Grace.”
The Colts and Crusaders wrestled for the lead during the opening portion of the fourth quarter, but Grace Christian gradually gained the upper hand and forced Crossroads to get more aggressive with the ball as time ticked off the clock.
A technical foul on Richardson following a disagreement with the officials on a charge assessed to CCS effectively sealed the victory for the visitors, who knocked down free-throws and withstood full-court pressure to claim their 11th win of the season.
Richardson said that CCS is still adjusting to new rules designed to protecting players from COVID-19 such as mask mandates and mask timeouts, but he credited Grace Christian head coach Jesse Wilson for ensuring that his players would be ready for pivotal matchups like their meeting on Friday with a rigorous schedule to open their year.
“That was Grace’s 20th game this year,” Richardson said. “Most schools have played around five games so far, but Grace’s philosophy early on was to play four games a week. They are battle-tested, but our conference is tough this year and any team can win it. We get to host the tournament this year, so we’ll see these guys again.”
