Men's Basketball 2009-2010 Season Recap
The Royal Crusaders had a great season as they finished the season with a record of 11 wins and 15 loses. The Crusaders had some big wins this year against teams such as Boyce College, Free Will Baptist, and Johnson Bible College. In the Mid-East Region Division II, the Crusaders finished up with a record of 6-6. The Crusaders scored a team total of 1770 points this season. The team shot 42.3% from the field, 33.1% from three-point line, and 68.5% from the free throw line. The Crusaders average 35.8 rebounds per game, 17.0 assists per game, 10.0 steals per game, and 2.8 blocks per game this season. The Crusaders are thankful to have three young men named to the all-region teams. Brandon Johnson was named to Mid-East Region 2nd Team. Collin Hickman and Houston Sherrod were both named to Mid-East Region Honorable Mention Team. Brandon Johnson was also named player of the week for the week of January 25 – January 31. He was also was named all-tournament for the Mid-East Region Division II Tournament. We congratulate these young men on these achievements this season. The 2009-2019 Royal Crusaders' Basketball Team would like to thank our fans for coming out and supporting us this season. Most importantly, we want to give all the glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ for everything He did for us this season.
Crown vs Kentucky Regional Tournament 2/26/2010
For the first time in seven years, the Royal Crusaders advanced to the semi-final round of the regional tournament. The Crusaders traveled across town to Johnson Bible College to face the number one seed, Kentucky Christian. The gym was packed with energized fans from both teams. In the first half, the Knights of Kentucky Christian got started with an early lead. The Crusaders fought hard and were able to tie it up. There were 3 different lead changes in the first half and the game was tied twice before half time. Near the end of the half, the Crusaders fell behind eleven points. The score was 23-35. In the second half the Crusaders had a lot of work to do as they knew Kentucky Christian would come out strong. In the first five minutes of the half, the Crusaders had some big defensive and offensive plays to bring their score back within four points of Kentucky. The team kept it a seven-point game as they shot 82.5% as a team from the free-throw line. With two minutes to go the Crusaders were within five point of Kentucky Christian. The Crusaders continued to fight hard as the game was coming to an end. In the end, the Crusaders were not able to hold on and lost with the final score of 63-74. They hated to lose the game, but left everything on the floor. Brandon Johnson led the team in scoring with 19 points. The Crusaders finished the season with the final record of 11 wins and 15 loses overall and were 6-6 in conference play.
Johnson vs Crown Regional Tournament 2/25/2010
The Royal Crusaders traveled Thursday night across town to Johnson Bible College for the first round of the Mid-East Region Tournament. The Royal Crusaders were ranked as the 4th seed in the tournament and they faced 5th seed Johnson Bible College. This game marked the third time this season that these teams faced each other. The Royal Crusaders won the first two games and were hoping to get the third win, but knew they had a lot of work to do. In the first half, both teams fought hard to take the lead. The game was tied seven different times and the lead changed five times before halftime. The Royal Crusaders at one point had a five-point lead over the Preachers of Johnson. At halftime, Johnson had pulled ahead by one point to make the score 30-31. In the second half, the level of intensity increased as both teams knew this would be the last game of their season if they lost. It was a fight to the finish for both teams. At one point, the Royal Crusaders had a lead of 8 points. Johnson Bible College responded by going up 5 points with 2 minutes left in the game. The Crusaders kept on fighting, and were able to come back and tie the game with a three-point shot scored by Darren Mauk with eighty-seconds to go. The Crusaders needed a defensive stop and got it with fifty seconds left. In the next play, Brandon Johnson drove the ball to the rim. The Preachers fouled him, sending him to the line to shoot two. Brandon, a 78% free throw shooter, hit both shots to take a two-point lead. The Crusaders needed just one more defensive stop, and got it as the Preachers shot an air ball with seven seconds left in the game. The Crusader threw the ball down the court to Brandon Johnson. The Preachers again fouled him, sending him to the line for two more shots. Brandon was able to sink both shots to give the Crusaders a four-point lead. The Preachers did not have enough time to score again. The Crusaders ended up beating Johnson Bible College for the third time this season with the final score of 62-58. The Crusaders advance to the semi-finals and face the number one seed Kentucky Christian on Friday, February 26, at 8:00pm. The Crusaders had not advance to the semi-final round in the last seven years. The Crusaders are now 11-14 overall and 6-5 in conference play.
NCCAA D2 Basketball Stats Week 11
Crown @ Kentucky Christian 2/20/2010
The Crusaders traveled to Grayson, KY on Saturday to face a tough Kentucky Christian team. In the first half, the Crusaders came out and struggled to score, only scoring twenty points before half time. Ed Loney led the Crusaders at half time in scoring. In the second half the Crusaders made some adjustments, but could not match up to the 7th ranked Knights of Kentucky Christian. The Crusaders ended up losing with the final score of 48-94. Ed Loney was the high scorer for Crown who had a total of 12 points. The Crusaders finish the regular season with a record of 10-14 overall and 5-5 in the conference. The Crusaders are the fourth seed going into the regional tournament and will face the number five seed Johnson Bible College on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 8:00 pm.
NCCAA D2 Basketball Stats Week 10
Crown @ Johnson Bible College 2/16/2010
The Royal Crusaders traveled across town to face rival Johnson Bible College. The gym was packed out with great fans for both teams. In the first half the Crusaders got off to a great start by taking the early lead. The Crusaders were able to go up by 13 points at one point in the half. The Preachers of JBC fought back, tying the game several times and taking the lead once before half time. The Crusaders hit 6 three-pointers and shot 62.1% from the field in the first half. At half time, the Crusaders were up by two with the score of 46-44. In the second half the Crusaders continued to dominate the game. The Crusaders increase their two-point lead to 16 points during the half. The Crusaders stepped up the defense as they had a double digit lead most of the half. In the end, the Preachers of Johnson came back to make it a close game to the finish. The Crusaders were able to pull out the victory with the final score of 87-80. The team was led in scoring by the duo of Brandon Johnson and Houston Sherrod who each had big plays in the game and scored 18 points each for the Crusaders. The Crusaders also had 4 other players to score double figures in the game. Brandon Johnson led the team in rebounds with 15, giving him his third double double game of this season. The Crusaders are now 10-13 overall and 5-4 in the conference. The next game for the Crusaders is Saturday, February 20, 2010 versus Kentucky Christian University from Grayson, KY.
Crown @ Free Will Baptist 2/13/2010
The Crusaders traveled to Nashville, TN to face Free Will Baptist Bible College. In the first half, the Crusaders came out ready to play. The Crusaders took an early lead that they were able to hold onto for most of the half. Ed Loney led the Crusaders with 12 points in the half. Near the end of the half, the Crusaders began to struggle, and Free Will was able to take the lead for the first time in the game. The score at half time was 31-32. In the second half the Crusaders knew they had lots of work to do to get the win. The Crusaders fought to score in a first few minutes of the half and the Flames were able to increase the lead. The second half was very intense to the end. The Crusaders were never able to gain the lead back and ended up losing with the final score of 65-79. The Crusaders were led in scoring by Ethan Cook who had 16 points. The Crusaders are now 9-13 overall and 4-4 in the conference. The Crusaders will play next Tuesday night, February 15, against rival Johnson Bible College.
Ohio Christian vs Crown College 2/12/2010
On Friday night, the Crusaders took on the third-ranked team in the nation, Ohio Christian University. In the first half, the Crusaders took an early lead, but near the end of the half the Crusaders started to fall behind. The Crusaders were only able to score 29 points in the first half against the tough defense of Ohio Christian. The score are halftime was 29-48. In the second half the Crusaders continued to fight hard but just could not match up to the Trailblazers of Ohio Christian. The Crusaders lost to a well-coached and tough team with the final score of 57-92. The Crusaders had three players in double figure, Collin Hickman, Brandon Johnson, and Joshua Poss. The Crusaders will travel to Nashville, TN to face Free Will Baptist on Saturday, February 13, 2010.
NCCAA D2 Basketball Stats Week 9
Crown @ Warren Wilson 2/9/2010
The Royal Crusaders traveled to Asheville, NC to face a tough Warren Wilson College. In the first half, the Crusaders struggled to shoot from the field, but shot 100% from the free-throw line. Brandon Johnson, who had twelve points before half time, led the Crusaders in scoring. The Crusaders fell behind before half time with the score of 22-44. Being down by twenty-two points, the Crusaders had a lot of work to do in the second half. The Crusaders fought hard and were able to get back within ten points before the end of the game, shooting better than in the first half. In the end, the Crusaders could not hang on and lost a tough game with the final score of 60-74. The team was led in scoring by Brandon Johnson, who had 31 points. The Crusaders will next play their final home game of the season on Friday night against Ohio Christian University.
Kentucky Christian vs Crown 2/6/2010
After the big win on the Friday night, the Crusaders had to come back on Saturday and face the number 7 team in nation, Kentucky Christian University. In the first half, both teams came out hard. The game was tied 6 different times and the lead changed 9 different times in the first half. Near the end of the first half, the Knights of Kentucky pulled ahead to make the half time score 32-40. In the second half, Kentucky Christian pulled ahead by 20 points at one time. The young Crusader team came back and hit 7 three-pointers, fighting to get back into the game. The Crusaders were able to get within ten points of Kentucky before the end of the game. In the end, the Crusaders were not able to hold on and lost with the final score of 75-88. The Crusaders were led by Collin Hickman, Brandon Johnson, Ed Loney, and Houston Sherrod who each had double figures for the Crusaders. The Crusaders will next play Warren Wilson on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
Boyce vs Crown 2/5/2010
The Royal Crusaders played at home on Friday night against Boyce College. In the first half the Crusaders came out ready to play. The Crusaders scored 34 points and only allowed Boyce College to score 23 points in a quick first half. In the second half the Crusaders continued to build on the 11-point lead from half time. The Crusaders hit 4 three-pointers and shot 50% from the field. The Crusaders had 31 bench points and a total of 22 assists in the game. Ed Loney, who had a career high of 22 points and Joshua Poss who added 19 points for the Crusaders, led the Crusaders to the 80-60 victory over Boyce College. The Crusaders are now 9-9 overall and 4-1 in the conference. The Crusaders will face the number 7 team in nation, Kentucky Christian University at home on Saturday, February 6, 2010.
Brandon Johnson Named Player of the Week
Congratulations to Brandon Johnson for being named the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) Division II player of the week for the week of January 25 – January 31. Brandon, Freshman Forward for The Crown College (TN), averaged 25.5 ppg, had 9 rpg, 1.5 apg, and .5 blocks in a 1-1 week for the Crusaders. Brandon had a career high 37 points on Thursday night in the 81-77 victory over Free Will Baptist Bible College. Once against we congratulate Brandon on this achievement.
NCCAA D2 Basketball Stats Week 8
Crown College @ Appalachian Bible College 2/1/2010
The Royal Crusaders traveled to Bradley, WV on Monday night to face the Warriors of Appalachian Bible College. In the first half, the Crusaders got off to a great start shooting 59.5% from the field and scoring 46 points before half time. The Crusaders had 27 defensive stops with 11 steals. The team was led in scoring by Collin Hickman and Brandon Johnson who both had double digits in the first half. The score at half time was 46-35. The Crusaders continued to build on their 11-point lead in the second half. The Crusaders were able to score another 47 points before the end of the game. On the defensive side, the Crusaders only allowed Appalachian to score 24 points before the end of the game. The Crusaders ended up winning the game with the final score of 93-59. Collin Hickman, Brandon Johnson, and Steven Scoggins led the team in scoring, each scoring in the double digits. Houston Sherrod led the team with 8 rebounds and 13 assists. The Crusaders are now 8-9 overall and will next played Boyce College at home on Friday, February 5, 2010.
Free Will Baptist Bible College vs Crown 1/28/2010
The Royal Crusaders played at home on Thursday night against Free Will Baptist Bible College. In the first half, the Crusaders took an early lead, going up 43-27. The team hit six three-pointers before half time. With the 15 point lead at half time, the Crusaders came out in the second half ready to take care of business and finish the game. The Flames of Free Will were ready to play hard as well as they came out and hit five three-pointers and shot 54.1% from the field the second half, causing the game to be close. The Crusaders ended up scoring another 38 points before the end of the game, as they were able to hold onto their lead to win the game with the final score of 81-77. The team was led in scoring by Brandon Johnson, who had a career high of 37 points. The Crusaders are now 3-1 in the conference and 7-9 over all. The Crusaders will next play at Appalachian Bible College on Monday February 1, 2010.
Crown @ Toccoa Falls 1/26/2010
The Royal Crusaders traveled to Georgia to face a tough Toccoa Falls team. In the first half the Crusaders scored 23 points, but fell behind going into half time. The score at half time was 23-32. In the second half the Crusaders came out fired up and were able to tie the game several times before the end of the game. The team scored 31 points in the half, but it was not enough at the end of the game. The Crusaders lost a tough game with the final score of 54-65. Brandon Johnson and Houston Sherrod, who both had double figures, led the Crusaders in scoring. The Crusaders will face Free Will Baptist Bible College on Thursday night at home.
NCCAA D2 Basketball Stats Week 7
Crown @ Boyce College 1/23/2010
After a tough loss on Friday evening, the Crusaders had to face Boyce College in Louisville, KY. In the first half the Crusader took an early lead going up 31-20. In the second half the Crusaders continued to maintain their lead and stepped up the defensive pressure by allowing Boyce College to only score 12 points in the half. The Crusaders won with the final score of 73-32. Leading the Crusaders was Brandon Johnson with 18 points shooting 8 for 14 from the field and 2 for 2 from the three-point line. The Crusaders are now 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
Crown @ Ohio Christian 1/22/2010
The Crusaders traveled up to Circleville, OH to face a tough Ohio Christian University team. In the first half, the Crusaders got off to a rough start and only scored 24 points. The score at half time was 24-47. In the second half the Crusaders made some adjustments, but only scored 18 points. The Crusaders lost a tough game with the final score of 42-86. Leading the Crusaders in scoring was Brandon Johnson who had 8 points and 8 rebounds. The Crusaders will next play Boyce College on Saturday, January 23, 2010.
NCCAA D2 Basketball Stats Week 6
Johnson Bible College vs Crown 1/19/10
The Royal Crusaders played their first NCCAA II conference game on Tuesday night against Johnson Bible College. The Crusaders came out fired up to play in front of a gym full of cheering fans. In the first half Ethan Cook led the team with 11 points, shooting 3 for 5 from the field. During the first half the lead changed 10 times between Johnson and Crown. By the end of the half the Crusaders were able to outscore the Preachers by one-point, going into halftime with the score of 39-38. In the second half, both team fought hard to gain control and take home a win. The lead again changed 8 times during the half. The outcome of the game came down to the final few seconds, but at the end of regulation the game was tied at 77-77. In overtime the Crusaders took over, scoring another 19 points to win the game with the final score of 96-84. Leading the team was Ethan Cook with a career high of 22 points. Along with Ethan, the Crusaders had two players with double-doubles and two other players scored double digits in points. The Crusaders are now 5-7 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The next games for the Crusaders will be Friday and Saturday on the road against Ohio Christian and Boyce College.
Warren Wilson vs Crown 1/16/10
After the big win Friday night, the Crusaders faced Warren Wilson on Saturday. In the first half, the Crusaders couldn't gain control of the game, and fell short at halftime with the score of 31-39. In the second half, the Crusaders fought hard and managed to score another 31 points. It was not, however, enough to win the game. The Crusaders lost a tough game with the final score of 62-74. The Crusaders had to two players on their team to score double figures. The team also shot 80% from the free-throw line. The Crusaders hated to lose this game, but hope to learn from their mistakes as they prepare for their next game which is against Johnson Bible College on Tuesday.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College vs Crown 1/15/10
The Royal Crusaders played at home on Friday night against Georgia Northwestern Technical College. In the first half the Crusaders came out fired up to play in front of a packed out crowd. Houston Sherrod scored 3 three-pointers, and a dunk by Ed Loney helped the Crusaders take an early lead. The score at halftime was 41-37. The Crusaders played even better in the second half, with four players reach double digits in scoring. The Crusaders won this big game Friday night with the final score of 80-62. Leading the Crusaders was Houston Sherrod who had 19 points. The Crusaders will next play Warren Wilson on Saturday.
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