In exhibition play on Wednesday evening, the KVHS Crusaders started out hot from beyond the arc in their first visit to the Sonic Dome of the season, taking the opening quarter 30-16. Keegan Miller, the senior co-captain, got the visitors started with some deep threes to stretch the Sussex defense then Blake Keirstead came off the bench to kept it going in the second quarter. KVHS finished the first half with a 47-32 lead.
The Sonics turned the tables in the third quarter, running their Wheel offense to perfection for some easy layups and some long range bombs of their own. Sussex won the 3rd quarter 24-19 to cut the Crusader lead to 66-56.
The two teams traded baskets to start the 4th quarter but with about eight minutes to play, Ryan Pollard and Keegan Miller reentered the game and quickly pushed the Crusaders’ lead back to 16 points, causing the Sonics to burn a couple of time outs. The teams traded possessions over the final few minutes for a final score of 83-69 for KVHS.
Leaders for the Crusaders were:
- Keegan Miller with 18 points on 6 of 12 from three
- Gavin Trites with 17 points
- Ryan Pollard with 15 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks
Leaders for the Sonics were:
- Matthias Muscroft with 17 points
- Kristian Jones with 17 points
- Ben Hookey with 15 points
The Crusaders improve to 4-1 overall on the season.
What’s Next
The Crusaders will complete the home and home series when they host Sussex on Saturday January 2 at 1:00 pm. On Monday, January, KVHS will resume Southern Conference league play with a visit to Harbour View.