Crusaders squeak by Middies
Middletown. After a back-and-forth game, MW pulled off a three-point victory on Dec. 11.
| 17 Dec 2025 | 07:15
Charlie Theokas (#23) of Monroe-Woodbury crashes through a Middletown defender to score in the first quarter. (
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The Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders traveled to Middletown on Thursday Dec. 11 to take on the Middies in an important early season league match up. The Crusaders came into the game with a 1-0 record after beating Valley Central in their home opener 50-41. The Middies record was 2-0 after beating Roosevelt in their last game 69-41.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 10-5 early lead (with Kristopher Bjaelker scoring 6 of his 7 game points) before the Middies rallied and cut the lead down to 16-13 by the end of the first.
In the second quarter, the Middies kept coming on and took a 21-20 lead with 5:00 left in the half. That was when Jamir Johnson got hot and scored 8 points - including two big 3’s - and the Crusaders wrestled the lead back to bring the score to 30-29 at the half.
In the third quarter, the two teams exchanged the lead with Chiedozie Nwigne helping the Crusaders keep pace scoring 4 of his team high 16 game points. With the score tied at 36 at the end of the third, the game was going to be a real early test for both teams.
The Middies took a 41-38 lead with 5:00 left in the game. That was when senior Fabrice Ndja took over and scored 8 of his 11 game points, including several key free throws to lead the Crusaders to a 50-47 victory.
The Crusaders followed up their victory over Middletown on Saturday when they beat the Blue Devils of Colombia 54-25 to bring their record to 3-0 on the season.
They will next travel to North Rockland to face the Raiders.