by Richard Creaser
copyright the Chronicle 12-9-2012
NEWPORT — The balance of the game hung on every basket as the well-matched United Christian Academy Crusaders hosted the visiting Craftsbury Academy Chargers on Saturday afternoon. An unbroken run of 11 points in the final quarter of play helped propel the Crusaders to a 46-41 win over Craftsbury.
Throughout the game fans from both schools watched as their team battled back to take or retake the lead. The Crusaders came out strong in the first quarter after allowing Craftsbury to open the scoring. UCA responded with 14 straight points before the Chargers clawed back onto the scoreboard. At the end of the first, UCA took the lead 19-13.
The second quarter belonged solidly to the Chargers despite UCA recording eight of the first nine points in that quarter. Craftsbury would record the last 14 points to take a 28-27 point lead into the half.
Coming back from the break the third quarter boasted the least amount of scoring of the entire game. Both sides managed only nine total points between them with Craftsbury padding their lead to 34-30 entering the final frame of play.
That’s when the Crusaders came to life and racked up their 11-point run including going 5 for 6 from the foul line. The Chargers battled back to within four points only to send the Crusaders back to the foul line time and again. Though the Crusaders would not enjoy quite the same degree of success as they had earlier, shooting only 3 for 9, those extra points helped round out the 46-41 victory.
Chris Delabruere paced the Crusaders with 18 points and closely followed by teammate Paul Saaman who recorded 17 points on the day. Ctaftsbury’s Kyle Adams recorded 17 points followed by Alex Vetere who scored 11 points in the losing effort.
Contact Richard Creaser at [email protected]
Photo by Richard Creaser
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