Boys Basketball
St. Mary’s 74
Glide 59
On Wednesday the St. Mary’s Crusaders headed several hours North up the I-5 corridor for their third straight road game to face the Glide Wildcats. The visiting team won the tip off and got a quick bucket from Christopher Kranenburg, who got his first start of the season with Tyson Delplanche out with an injury. Although Glide was eventually able to settle the tempo of the game, they never closed the point gap fully and the quarter came to an end with the Crusaders up 17-13.
The second quarter began with Glide slowly finding better looks as senior Cody Pope attacked in the paint. The Wildcats patiently chipped away and took their first lead with two and half minutes to go until half time, going up 26-24. Shortly after, Crusader guard Kayden Walker hit a big three point shot and continued to hit bucket after bucket to keep his team in the lead, which they never gave up again. Glide did manage to keep it close however and finished the half down by one point, 33-32.
The Crusaders came out in the second half with a focused determination and slowly grew their lead. They played a very patient quarter, working the ball around and executing a variety of solid offensive schemes to get good looks and buckets. Senior Noah Friesen attacked the basket, finishing at the rim possession after possession while Kranenburg was a monster on the boards, ensuring the Crusaders rarely got only one look at a bucket. The third quarter ended with St. Mary’s up 53-45.
The last quarter proved to be all St. Mary’s. The Crusaders were able to get every player in on the action, with the entire team contributing in significant fashion, as they handily put the game away. The final score was a 74-59 Crusader victory. Senior guards Walker and Friesen were huge for their team, scoring 25 and 30 respectively. Head Coach Kyle Walker was pleased with his teams’ effort, adding, “It was a very important win for us. Glide is a very good 1-8 team. This is the kind of season where every single game is a big one. Hopefully tonights’ win gives us some momentum moving forward.” Next up for St. Mary’s is a rematch from earlier in the season as they host North Valley at home this Friday.
Crusaders Scoring
Noah Friesen- 30
Kayden Walker- 25
Christopher Kranenburg- 6
Kent David- 4
Nolan Hensman-3
Jaden Foster- 2
Amit Lad- 2
Heemir Patel- 2
Brian Pannell
