Crusaders boys’ varsity basketball narrowly wins semi-final game
Central Valley. The final score was 40-38.
| 11 Mar 2025 | 11:14
Last Thursday night, March 6, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders boys’ varsity basketball team hosted the Tigers of Kingston in a Section 9 Class AAA semi-final game. The #2 seeded Crusaders came into the game with a 6-2 league record and the #3 seeded Tigers had a record of 5-3 in league play this year. The two teams split their home and away series during the season with the Crusaders dropping a 53-42 loss at home and taking a 49-45 victory in Kingston later in the season.
In the first quarter the Crusaders jumped out to an 11-4 lead with Fabric Ndja scoring four of his 10 points in the game. The Tigers responded and cut the lead to two by the end of the quarter. In the second quarter the Crusaders achieved a 26-17 half time lead with Jamir Johnson scoring four of his nine points in the game.
After the half the Tigers’ defense took over and cut the Crusaders’ lead down to two points by the end of the third. The Crusaders’ defense matched the Tigers’ intensity in the fourth quarter and the game was tied at 35 with 3:00 left in the game.
With the game and the season on the line, Jamie Reich hit a three-point shot with 1:12 left in the game to put the Crusaders up 38-37. The Crusaders went on to a 40-38 victory.