Men's Basketball Drops 3 Straight in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla - Men's Basketball came down to Florida to get out of the Michigan cold with high hopes to gain momentum as second semester kicks off academically January 11th. The Crusaders played three games across the state of Florida in West Palm Beach, Lakeland, and Jacksonville. Unfortunately the Crusaders would come up short in all three games dropping to 0-3 on the trip and the season record to 2-11 on the year.

Keiser Game:

The GLCC Crusaders kicked off their trip against Keiser University and NAIA program who has gone to national tournament each of the last four years. The Crusaders would come out hot and competitive going toe to toe with the Seahawks. The Crusaders would take a narrow halftime lead of 1. In the second half the evenly matched game continued. It was so evenly matched it went to overtime where ultimately the Crusaders fell 90-85. GLCC was led by Isiah Reed's 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. TQ Belcher made his debut in the Crusader uniform scoring 18 points. The Crusaders were plagued by foul trouble with 26 fouls including three players fouling out.

Southeastern Game:

In the second game in as many days the Crusaders took on another Sun Conference opponent and another team that went to the NAIA national tournament the previous year. The Crusaders would play highly contested first half with the Fire but the Fire would take a 41-38 lead at the break. In the second half GLCC offense would stall and their defensive details deteriorated. The Fire would build their lead to win by 16 80-64. The Crusaders would struggle from the floor in the second half shooting just 32 percent. Isiah Reed continued his strong play scoring 22 points on 8/13 shooting and 6/8 from the floor TQ Belcher chipped in 18 points on 6/11 from the floor with 8 rebounds.

Trinity Baptist Game:

GLCC came out against NCCAA opponent Trinity Baptist. The Crusaders would come out flat and the Eagles took advantage. In the first half Crusaders saw their largest lead at 6 but the Eagles would battle back to take a 32-32 tie into the locker room. Out of the break the Eagles would hit 4 of 5 three to see their lead balloon to 12 points, from that point the Eagles built the lead to 24 with six minutes to go. At six minutes the Crusaders picked up their urgency defensively and were able to get it as close as 9 with three minutes to go, but could not get it any closer. Whitney Harris would lead Crusaders with 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

What Coach Says:

"This trip had some bright moments where we showed we can play with anyone, but it also revealed when we don't play hard it doesn't matter who you play you will get beat. We need to have better urgency and focus on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively our ability to put rim pressure and middle attacks is going to be key moving forward. This trip did not go the way we would have liked but we know we have to get better, and we are going to work to create that environment to get better and to bring competitive spirit each day."

What's Next:

Crusaders will take on CU Harrodsburg January 14th at 12:00p for the Crusaders first NCCAA Mideast Region Game.