Crusaders State Runner-Up

The Robert Toombs Christian Academy Crusaders basketball team finished as the State Runner-up for the second year in a row to the Lions of Solid Rock Academy. The Crusaders won a big game on Thursday in the Final 4 against Terrell Academy where they had to make a late comeback, but in the Championship Game the Lions were just too much with their size, including two players over seven foot tall.

Vs. Terrell

RTCA took on the Eagles of Terrell at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus. At the end of the first quarter the game was tied at 11-11. In the second quarter the Eagles pushed that lead to 19-11 with 5:30 left in the first half as the RTCA offense was struggling to find its rhythm. Late in the half Jashaun Powell and MK Mc-Bride got shots to go, and by the end of the first the score was 19-16 with Terrell out in front. In the third the Eagles extended that lead to 24-16. Drew Vaughn got a shot to go making it 28-21, and it was 30-23 after a basket by Powell with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. Aaron Hankerson closed it to 30-25, and Vaughn made it 30-27 with 2:03 left in the third. By the end of the third it was 37-32 as RTCA trailed the Eagles.

It was 40-33 with 6:15 left in the game after a three from the Lions, and another three made it 43-33 with just under six minutes to go. McBride hit a shot, and then he added a three to close it to 43-40. It was 45-42 with three minutes to go after a pair of free throws by Tyler Buggs, and then he made it 45-44 with a pull up from 10 feet with 1:44 to play. McBride put RTCA on top with 1:29 left at 46-45, and two free throws by Buggs made it 48-45. It was 50-45 RTCA on top after two free throws by McBride with less than a minute to go. A long three pointer from the Eagles late closed it to 51-50 with RTCA on top, but continued from page

there were just 10 seconds left in the game. RTCA added two more free throws for a 53-50 lead, and the Crusaders held on to win the game by that score.

RTCA was led by Mc-Bride with 23 points, Buggs added 14, and Vaughn scored 9 in the win.

RTCA Head Coach Adam Callaway said, “The adrenaline was high early, and once we settled down, we started to get rolling. They played hard all game and we just worked for this win. Terrell has a very good team and hats off to them for a great game.”

That win moved RTCA into the State Championship Game.

Vs. Solid Rock Championship It was a rematch of last year’s Championship Game between the Crusaders and the Lions. Last year Solid Rock won the title game 83-68 over RTCA, and this year things, sadly for RTCA, turned out in a similar way.

RTCA played hard all game but were outmanned by the height of the Lions. With six players over 6’5” including two over 7’ tall the Crusaders had a lot to deal with in this game.

With 5:45 left in the first quarter the Crusaders were in the lead 5-4 after a basket by Hankerson, and after a three from them, McBride tied it at 7-7 with a short jumper. The Lions added a three as they pushed the lead to 12-7 with just over four minutes left in the first. It was 14-11 after baskets from Hankerson and McBride as RTCA tried to keep it close early in this game.

Solid Rock hit another three-pointer, and it was 19-11 with just over one minute left in the quarter. Powell got a shot to fall and a pair of free throws from McBride, but it was 21-15 at the end of the first.

Early in the second it was 24-18 after McBride found the mark with a three-pointer, but that was the only basket that the Crusaders made in the second quarter. The Lions pushed the lead to 29-18 with just over five minutes to go in the half. It was 32-18 with four minutes on the clock, and by the end of the first half, the score was 36-18 with the Lions pulling away from RTCA.

Early in the third the score was 42-20. They added a three for a 45-20 lead before Powell hit a basket with 5:45 on the clock. Powell made it 47-24 and Buggs got a shot to go in the lane as RTCA closed it to 47-26. It was 52-29 after a three from McBride, but by the end of the third quarter RTCA trailed 60-32.

Vaughn, Powell, and Buggs got shots to go, but it was 67-41. They were on top 71-41 halfway through the fourth. RTCA kept playing hard, but just did not have an answer. It was 80-45 with just a few minutes to play in the game. The final score of the game was 85-53 with Solid Rock taking the Championship.

McBride scored 20 points in his final game as a Crusader, Powell added 16, Buggs scored 8 in his final game, and Hankerson also added 8 points in the loss. RTCA will also be losing Jackson Newton, who although he did not score in the game, played very solid defense against the much taller centers of Solid Rock, Clayton Meadows also played good defense in his final game. Karson Evans was also playing in his final game for RTCA.

The Crusaders finished he season with a record of 21-3.