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 The day began with a matchup with the defending 1A 7th grade state
champions from Joliet Laraway.
The Crusaders jumped out to an early lead, with the score 13-6 after
one quarter. The Lancers from Joliet had a different plan as they
chipped away at the lead to pull to with two at halftime. The third
quarter began with a couple of quick scores from the Crusaders, who
ultimately won the game 45-31.
The Crusaders were led in scoring by Dylan Singleton with 20 points,
Alex Janssen with 10 points and Andrew Graue with 8. Rounding out
the scoring was Nathan Fulscher with 3 and Trent Koehler and Jared
Merriman with 2 a piece.
Championship game:
Because the Crusaders were victorious in the first game of the day,
they lived to fight a battle against Pontiac St. Mary's at 6:30
p.m., and what a battle it was.
St. Mary's held a decisive height advantage in the game, and early
on it looked like that might be too much for the Crusaders to
handle. Early in the game, there was no answer for St. Mary's
biggest player, and the Crusaders found themselves down one after
one quarter and two at halftime.
As soon as the whistle blew to begin the third quarter, Dylan
Singleton quickly established that he was not going to let his team
lose this game. A couple of steals followed by quick layups began a
24 point second half for Singleton.
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The rest of the Crusaders played solid, if not flawless, basketball
to seal the win.
Dylan Singleton ended the night with 29 points followed by Alex
Janssen with 14. The rest of the Crusader scoring saw Andrew Graue
and Nathan Fulscher score two apiece. CCS/NHM/ZLS now has a date
with Normal Epiphany in the Thursday evening state championship
game, to be played at East Peoria Central Junior High School. Tipoff
is at 7:30 and the boys would greatly appreciate any fan support
they can get.
[Coach Andy Fitzpatrick]
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