SFCS Varsity Crusaders Finish Season Playing Hard Against Knights & Lions

          February 22 - 2010The Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS) Men's Varsity Basketball team concluded the 09-10 season this week with losses to the St. Joseph's Knights on Senior Recognition Night and the Asheville Christian Academy (ACA) Lions in the first round of the Conference Tournament. On Tuesday night, February 16, SFCS was looking to redeem itself having been embarrassed by the Knights earlier in the year. The Crusaders came out playing hard and trailed by only one point at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, junior Garret Conover scored all seven of his points to keep SFCS within striking distance at halftime. In the third quarter, the Knights got hot from the outside early which caused the Crusaders to fall behind by double figures heading to the fourth. SFCS competed to the end and this time the outcome was much more respectable then the first meeting. The Crusaders fell to the Knights 66-46. Matt Hill in his final home game led the Crusaders with 10 points.
         On Thursday night, February 18, SFCS traveled to Asheville to take on the Lions in the first round of the CAA tournament. The Crusaders were looking to play the Lions much better than they had in their two previous meetings this year. In the first quarter, the Crusaders struggled to score early and fell behind by 8 heading into the second quarter. SFCS played ACA even in the third with Hill connecting on two three pointers late in the half that kept the team within eight at the half. In the second half, the Crusaders' zone defense was able to slow down the Lions early which allowed SFCS to pull within 4 points just over halfway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, that was as close as they would get, but the Crusaders left it all out on the floor. "The team played the best four quarter game all year," said Head Coach David Thompson. The final score was 55-47. Conover led all scorers with 14 points and Hill added 11. SFCS finished the season with just three wins on the year, but were able to defeat Spartanburg Day on the road, a team they had not beaten in 7 years. "I am proud of the way these group of guys fought all season," added Thompson. "They improved throughout the season and I look forward to working with most of them next year. Special thanks to Matt Hill and Daniel Blakely for their hard work and leadership this season which will truly be missed next year."