Wilmore, Kent. - The Great Lakes Christian College Men's Basketball program was back on the road Friday evening to play Kentucky Christian at the Asbury University Classic. The Crusaders came into the game on a four game win streak, while KCU came into the game on a seven game losing streak, mostly due to their incredibly tough non conference schedule that included two NCAA Division I programs and four ranked NAIA programs. The first half proved to be a game of runs for both teams. The Knights from Kentucky Christian came out firing early to build a 17-12 lead over the Crusaders in the opening 6 minutes. GLCC would respond with a 18-6 run over the next six minutes. The Knights would go into the first half up 47-44. 47 was the second most points the Crusaders had allowed in a half this season. The Knights shot a blistering 49 percent in the first half compared to the Crusaders 38 percent. 

In the second half Coach Westerlund implored his team to lock down defensively and create offense out their defense. The Crusaders did just that opening the half 9-0 run. The Crusaders would hold the Knights to just four points in over the first ten minutes of the second half. Despite the tremendous second half defensive effort the Crusaders seemed to have a lid on their basket and could not get any baskets to fall. At 7:56 Coach Westerlund called a timeout to draw a play up, the Crusaders executed it perfectly to get Lance Adams a three point basket to push their lead to 5. KCU would respond though and get their lead to as big as four with only four minutes to go, but Junior guard, JaQuin Jones would refuse to allow the Crusaders to lose scoring 9 of the teams last 12 points. The Crusaders defense would get the stops they needed down the stretch to win the game 79-74 over the Knights. The win makes it five in a row for the Crusaders, and leaves them undefeated in NCCAA play so far this season.

Inside the Box Score:

• After the Knights shooting 49 percent in the first half, the Crusaders held the Knights to 34.5 percent in the second half.
• JaQuin Jones led the Crusaders with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.
• Isiah Reed picked up another double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He also chipped in 5 assists.
• The Crusaders pounded the offensive glass, grabbing 17 offensive boards. Quincy Green, Basit Seidu, and Reed combined for 10 of those offensive rebounds.
• The Crusaders out shot the Knights 79 to 66.

What Coach Says:

"I am really proud of our guys fight tonight. They really battled, and showed some real composure in the second half in a lot of different situations. They stayed calm and executed out of time outs and on the defensive side of the ball. They really did earn this win today. I was really disappointed in our first half effort. We were just sluggish for whatever reason. We were as bad defensively as I have seen us all year in the first half, but the guys responded positively to our talk at half time, and refocused." On KCU, "KCU is a really talented team. They have played a tough schedule so far. They have a lot of guys who can hit shots." On what the win means for the program, "This win is a nice one to get. It allows us to stay undefeated in the region, which is obviously big. We have to keep changing our best though. We have a tough test tomorrow against a very good Asbury team."

What's Next:

Men's Basketball will be in action Saturday, November 17th to take on Asbury University on the road at 6pm.