Temple Christian has never fielded a track team but if Friday night’s boys basketball game was any indication, the raw talent would certainly be there.
The speedy Temple Christian Crusaders swarmed Crestline Bulldogs on Friday night at Temple Christian’s Chuck Riffle Gymnasium and came away with a 63-51 victory.
Temple Christian’s roster is relatively undersized compared to most opponents. However, the four-guard front went full court and full speed throughout the game. Crestline ball handlers had little breathing room as a swarming rotation of Ben Grover, Darien Davis, Nick Standridge and Jacob McClelland met the ball early and often.
The Crusaders raced out to a 17-10 lead in the first quarter and did not give up that lead for the rest of the game.
“We’ve got guys that are in really good shape so they like to play, go hard at it all the time,” said Crusaders’ head coach Brad Humble.
Temple Christian’s 1-3-1 press hustled to the ball and frequently got it back in their hands, forcing 29 turnovers in the game.
“Our effort is really good as far as on the defensive end, as well as any balls that are on the court. We’re making sure we’re getting down, getting the balls, digging them out,” said Humble. “I’ve been really happy with the effort we’ve given.”
On the other side of the court, Crestline’s head coach Colby Bright said the turnovers were simply too much for his team to overcome.
“We’re at team that we’ve got great athletes. The problem is we don’t know how to play basketball very well yet,” he said. “So we’re dribbling into traps and nobody is moving to the open spot. You’re not going win a game with 29 turnovers. It’s just not going to happen.”
The Bulldogs were within eight points with just under 2 minutes to play but leading scorer Nate Coffman fouled out with 1:41 to play and at the 1:31 mark, starter Codi Cooke joined him with 5 fouls. Crestline had 24 team fouls. Temple had 20 team fouls.
Temple was plagued by missed free throws and missed several contested short range shots down the stretch. They finished with a 50 percent mark from the charity stripe on the night.
“Free throws, layups – those are huge,” said Humble, noting that it needs be an area of improvement for his squad. “We’ve got to finish games better and we will. It’s early in the season. (We’re) just trying to figure out our combinations and make sure we’re doing the right things.”
Jordan Spencer led the Crusaders with 16 points, Nick Standridge followed with 13 points and Ben Grover tossed in 11 points.
Guard Jacob Trent put up 10 points to Crestline’s effort. The squad got a solid performance from big man Nate Coffman who led all scorers and the Bulldogs with 22 points.
The team will face Bucyrus on Saturday.
“We’re going to have the advantage again tomorrow with our size. The thing is, we’ve got to be able to get it into our post,” said Bright. “If we’re turning it over 28 feet from the basket, we can’t capitalize on that. So it’s a matter of taking care of the basketball and bouncing back.”
“I mean, they’re used to losing – 3-20 the past two years in a row. We’ve got to learn how to win.”
Rough Start: With two games delayed already in the season, Friday night actually served as a season opener for the Bulldogs.
“Most teams have got three or four (games) under their belts. We have the pre-game jitters. I wish we would have played last Friday just to get all of that out,” said Bright “But it happens tonight, we’ve just got to bounce back and win.”
Temple Tradition: Temple fields just a soccer and basketball program for boys varsity sports. The school, like local private school counterparts St. Peter’s and Mansfield Christian, will celebrate a winter homecoming as they host Reimer Road next weekend.
Christmas break for colleges and homecoming weekend means several former Crusaders, some of whom attended Friday’s matchup, will return to Temple practices to assist the program. The Crusaders hold open practices that allow alumni to spend time with current players and pass on some advice.
