Crusaders fight to the end in NGU v. Anderson basketball game
Whitley Bras, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Live Video from NGU Athletics
The men’s basketball team at North Greenville University is currently 1-5 for the overall season. They played against the Anderson University Trojans on Tuesday, Nov. 20 away at
Anderson. After this game they will enter into conference play and get into the heat of the season. At this point in the year they are continuing to grow as individual players and learn how to properly mesh with the team as a whole. Although the NGU men’s basketball team did not have the ending result that they wanted for this game, they were still able to perform well and had streaks of strong passing and ability to finish important shots. The ending score of the match was 73-100 with the Anderson Trojans earning the victory.
The NGU Crusaders had a bumpy start to the game but were able to pick it up throughout the first half. The starters for North Greenville included number three, Kovi Tate, number four, Daniel Burchette, number 10, Caleb Arrington, number 15, Ryan Mobley and number 22, Roderick Howell.
The Crusaders lagged in the beginning and the Trojans were able to use open opportunities to drive the lane and earn a heavy amount of points. Anderson was climbing on the scoreboard but North Greenville was able to stay not too far behind them. Four minutes into the half the score was 14-3 with Anderson up by 11. Ryan Mobley, number 15 a sophomore for North Greenville played as a point guard during the first half as was able to earn 11 points for the crusaders. The Trojans had a strong zone defense, but Mobley was able to move the ball in order to score for the Crusaders. Another stunning player was Howell who stood as a dominant force in the center of the court. Once his teammates were able to distribute him the ball, he was able to score several points for the Crusaders from the paint. Howell scored five points for NGU throughout the game.
The team as a whole was able to make slow gains against Anderson but remained behind them on the scoreboard for the entirety of the first half. North Greenville near the end of the half came alive on defense and held strong with a zone defense against Anderson’s fast paced ball movement. Anderson made North Greenville fight for every point and during the first half NGU was willing to put the needed work into staying near the score of the Trojans. The score at halftime was 36-39 with Anderson in the lead.
The second half of the saw Anderson take off with their lead and leave NGU struggling to gain the needed points in order to close the escaping score gap by the Trojans. Howell continued to be a powerhouse player for the Crusaders along with Mobley who continued to drive the ball to create movement for NGU. Although North Greenville was not able to get the ball where it needed to be and had an inconsistent team dynamic they still pushed for the good of the team.
The score with 13 minutes left in the game was 46-61 with the Trojans in the lead. Although the Crusaders did not finish the game with a win, their statistics showed the team’s strengths. Compared with Anderson, NGU had more rebounds on both offense and defense. North Greenville had a total of 40 rebounds compared with Anderson only having 25.
Overall, the men’s basketball team was able to play an abundant number of players that do not usually get to play as well as work out some of the early season bugs. The season has just begun and there is plenty of room for growth, which is eagerly expected for the men’s team moving forward in the season. The men will start conference play in the Conference Carolinas beginning with their next game against Southern Wesleyan. Make sure to go out and support the men’s basketball team at North Greenville as they get further into their 2018-2019 season.
