(BOYS) Barn burner as Holy Cross drops to Belmont in Thursday evening matchup
Belmont Bull Dogs v. Holy Cross Crusaders
Written by Scott Leigh
On a chilly Thursday evening at the base of Fromme Mountain, the Belmont Bulldogs have sailed over from Victoria to match up against the Surrey-based Holy Cross Crusaders.
The Crusaders wasted no time setting the pace, coming out to start the game in a full-court press and testing the Bulldogs sea legs. A physical, high-energy start to the game has resulted in offensive challenges for both teams. The full court press showed early signs of success, leading to a Belmont turnover on the inbounds after a made 3 by #6 Roque. We were lining ourselves up for a fun matchup: size versus speed - who will prevail?
#5 on Belmont, Adarkwa-Nti, showing off his handle with the in-n-out crossover ankle breaker, leaving his opponent on his rear. The high-pressure, fast-paced play of Holy Cross made the lives of the Bulldogs difficult. The Crusaders found great success breaking their opponents down on the perimeter and making buckets on the inside or finding the open man for easy threes. With the Crusaders quickly running the score up to 18-9, the Bulldogs were going to have to find a way to slow down the penetration from the perimeter or else it would be a long night for them. #13 Francis for the Crusaders heated up from deep with a couple of back-to-back threes, extending his team’s lead.
If the first quarter is any indication of the end result, it seemed speed might prevail over size, at least tonight.
End of the first quarter: Holy Cross is up 33-15.
One thing is for sure - mullets are trending in Victoria. Let’s see if the Bulldogs can use some of the mullet-power to make a push to start the second quarter. Rivera, #8 for Holy Cross, is doing his best to maintain his team's lead with another 3 from the corner. Sheets, #15 for Belmont, is doing his best to keep his team in this with a power move down-low and-1 finish, followed by an alleyoop dunk with the nice assist from #7, Bryden. An energized push from Belmont started the third quarter and had the lead down to 11 - they are going to need to maintain this energy and hope the hot shooting from Holy Cross cools off, and Sheets is working hard to make that happen!
The push by the Bulldogs was impressive, led by their fearless leader Sheets, they have tied up the game 46-46 with 2 minutes to go in the half! As Belmont hoped for, the Crusaders’ shooting has cooled off significantly in the second Q and Belmont has taken advantage of it; to the Bulldogs’ credit they have not given up even after being down double digits for a large majority of the game thus far. To say Belmont is fired up heading into halftime is an understatement, with a 4 point lead heading into the locker room.
Halftime score: 50-46 for Belmont
Halftime Facts:
Holy Cross has a 4.4 star rating on Google Reviews
Belmont has a 3.7 star rating on Google Reviews
As we entered the second half, Belmont was going to be looking to their experience to assist them in continuing their run. When I talk about experience I am talking about the historical institutional experience they have over Holy Cross; with Belmont being founded in 1947 and Holy Cross much more recently in 1982.
#6 Roque stayed hot from deep for the Crusaders, with three 3s within the first 3 minutes of the second half, and the Bulldogs energy had not dropped after their halftime orange slices - it appears we are now settling in for a competitive second half of basketball! #7 Bryden of the Bulldogs is showing off his full skill-set, with strong defense and a number of crafty finishes around the bucket. The balanced attack from the Crusaders is impressive, most recently with #5 Best trying to live up to his name, by knocking down a deep 3 and extending his team’s lead to 7 late in the third quarter.
#0 Black for Belmont, looking like a young Richard Hamilton with his facemask, had not found the range yet today but continued to find ways to make an impact with his defense and leadership. Sheets has continued to impress, taking advantage of his size inside but also comfortably handling the ball and breaking down his opponents off the dribble - a force the Crusaders had to look to slow down. A buzzer beater 3 by #13[1] Francis of the Crusaders pushed their lead to 5 heading into the 4th.
End of third quarter score: Holy Cross up 71-66
The Belmont bench was fired up - with a very loud “De-Fense” chant as the team looked to mix it up and drop back into a zone D. The adjustment has been effective, flipping the script and allowing the Bulldogs to take the 5-point lead early in the final quarter. The Crusaders stuck to what was a successful, high pressure full court press - looking to put the Bulldogs ball handlers in difficult situations and ultimately force some turnovers; the tactic has been effective.
Things heated up as we entered the last 5 minutes of this competition. Both teams were hungry for a big early season win, and the importance of the win is evident when you see the intensity of the two head coaches. No quit in these Bulldogs I tell ya - they stayed active on the offensive glass and gave themselves multiple possessions while simultaneously running down the clock. On one of those extra possessions, Bryden finished strong inside, earned a foul and made them pay by knocking down the free throw to complete the 3-point play. It took some time, but it appears the Bulldogs found their sea legs ladies and gentlemen! Two and a half minutes to go, and Belmont is up by 8.
This was an incredible matchup; back-and-forth with both teams holding significant leads at times. Ultimately, the Bulldogs ran away with this high scoring affair. Mullets and size prevail over speed.
Sheets, finishing the game with an impressive 43 points.
Final Score: Belmont 95: Holy Cross 87.
No Regrets.
[1] Editor’s note: best number ever!