Crusaders lose to Newburgh Goldbacks

Central Valley. The Crusaders held Newburgh at bay until the third quarter.

| 14 Feb 2024 | 09:48

On Monday, February 12, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders boys’ basketball team traveled to Newburgh to take on the Goldbacks in an important league game. The Crusaders came into the game with a 14-4 record after dropping their last game against Green Tech 74-50. The Goldbacks took the court with a 6-10 record after losing to Arlington 59-48. The Crusaders beat the Goldbacks when the two teams met earlier in the season 68-58.

The Goldbacks took an early lead and held it through most of the first quarter. That was when CJ Pearson hit a big 3-point shot and helped the Crusaders run off the last 7 points to grab a 22-20 first quarter lead. In a hard fought second quarter, Kyle McDermott scored 7 to hold off the Goldbacks and the Crusaders had a 37-32 half time lead.

That was when the Crusaders’ offense stalled and the Goldbacks took control of the game. The Goldbacks held the Crusaders to 2 points as they ran off to a 52-39 third quarter lead. In the fourth quarter, Jankarlos Mendoza scored 11 of his 23 points in the game but the Crusaders were unable to catch up to the Goldbacks.

The Crusaders 68-57 loss brings their record to 14-5.