DETROIT, Mich- Wednesday afternoon was set to be the elite matchup in NCCAA play to this point of the season with #4 GLCC taking on #1 Grace Christian in the rematch of last years National Title game. The game was played at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the Detroit Pistons. The Crusaders jumped out early on the Tigers and never looked back. GLCC took a 19-6 lead over the Tigers in the opening minutes and kept that intensity for the entire game. GLCC first half attack was led by Elijah Kess 7/9 from the floor including 6/6 from three as well as Isiah Reed's 3/5 from three. Crusaders shot a season best 9/11 from three in the first half while forcing 10 first half turnovers against the Tigers to take a 49-35 lead at the break.
In the second half the Crusaders came out again firing on all cylinders. The Tigers were able to cut the lead to though to 12 multiple times, before the Crusaders blew the game open with a 23 point lead with three minutes left to play in the game. Elijah Kess continued his hot shooting scoring a career high 35 points on 12/16 shooting and 9/10 from three. Isiah Reed also played a stellar game scoring 16 points on 5/8 shooting while grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out a season high 7 assists. The Crusaders would go on to win 90-78 to knock off #1 Grace Christian. This is the second time the Crusaders have knocked off Grace as the #1 team in as many years.
Inside the Box Score:
- Crusaders shot a season best 13/21 from three compared to the Tigers 5/17 from deep
- GLCC dished out 22 assists compared to 12 turnovers while the Tigers had 9 assists on 16 turnovers
- Grace edged GLCC on the boards 38-36
- Seven of the eight Crusaders who played in the game scored.
What Coach Says:
"I am really proud of our guys. They executed our gameplan and scout perfectly. They were ready mentally and physically. It is always unique playing at LCA but our guys handled the challenges with that in stride and played with an ELITE energy. Grace is a very good team, and we did our job. I thought we handled their adjustments and runs well." On Elijah Kess, "I mean what can you say? Kess was a flat out dude today. He is one of the most competitive kids I have ever coached, and works as hard as anyone. He was ready for this moment. He showed why he is one of the best guards in the country today. They just could not stop him." On team performance, "I mean in a win like this it is easy to see Kess 35 standout, but we had a lot of guys do their job. Isiah Reed played his best game of the year with a 16 7 7 stat line. Evan Anderson, DonTre Garrett, and Marcus Riley battled inside. Trent Temple, Jahmal Eggleston, and JaQuin Jones did a great job finding gaps in the zone. My coaching staff Coach Harr, Coach J, Coach Lance did tremendous job helping prepare our guys. Our bench was energetic and engaged. It was a total team effort. I am proud of our guys." On what it means to beat #1 team, "I mean for us we respect Grace they are a very good team. We are happy to get the win. We know the team we are today cannot be the team we are tomorrow. We will keep changing our best, and were back at it tomorrow getting better."
What's Next:
Men's Basketball will hit the road again, this time to Somerset, Kentucky to take on Campbellsville University Somerset on Sunday December 8th. Tip off scheduled for 3:30pm