LuHi Poly Preps For Sacred Heart
BROOKVILLE, NY - The Long Island Lutheran Crusaders could've easily overlooked Saturday's game they hosted against Poly Prep in lieu of Monday's game against nationally ranked Sacred Heart (CT).
It's happened before when a team gets so hyped about an upcoming game that they take their current challenge for granted until after they lose and it's too late.
"I wasn't going to let that happen," said LuHi head coach John Buck. "Poly Prep was undefeated. I highlighted their win against [NYCHoops.net ranked] Paul Robeson. They are a good team that's well coached."
The Blue Devils were indeed 11-0 before the start of the game but other than Robeson, the Brooklyn, NY school's wins were against unranked or other Class B level teams. The Crusaders promptly educated Poly Prep on the differences in the level of play of the higher divisions, administering a Class AA, 74-45 beat down.
The Crusaders pounced on Poly Prep as Charles Manning '16 (8 points) and Chris Coalmon '17 (14 points) scored from the perimeter. Lutheran got push back in the opening quarter from Blue Devils' Najee Taylor '16 (16 points) and Josh Brownridge '16 (9 points) but Devonte Green '16 (23 points) and Donatas Kupsas '18 (15 points) closed out strong, giving LuHi a 17 point lead.
David Dixon '16 (8 points) who tried to spark Poly Prep with a dunk late in the first quarter, continued in the second but the Blue Devils were no match for the bigness and precision of the Crusaders. Poly Prep was also no match defensively.
Brandon Jacobs '17 (9 points) did a solid job running the point for LuHi while also shutting down the opponent's counterpart J.D. Levine '16 (0 points) on defense. With a minute left in the first half, the Crusaders improved its advantage to 20 points.
The Blue Devils improved its offensive output in the second half, but a porous defense only resulted in uneven exchange of baskets in favor of the home team. In the final quarter, Poly Prep's deficit increase to 30 points with two minute left to play.
Soon after, both teams subbed out as the ending became a foregone conclusion.
Buck credited the play of Kupsas and Green adding that "Chris Coalmon brought great energy. Charles Manning brought great energy. Brandon Jacobs continues to steady us."
Next up for the Crusaders is the Big Apple Basketball Invitational at Baruch College. Coach Buck said that he and his coaching staff will start prepping for the nationally ranked competitor on Sunday. "We haven't talked specifics about Sacred Heart but we know they haven't lost in two years and we want the opportunity against a great team like that."
