Menu
Saxony Lutheran downs Malden 58-53 for third place at Bloomfield Christmas Tournament
BLOOMFIELD -- After watching a near upset of second-seeded Kennett slip through their fingers in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament semifinals, sixth-seeded Saxony Lutheran regrouped to end their week on a high note.
Sophomore Nathan Ruark's 17 points led the way on Wednesday as the Crusaders downed fifth-seeded Malden 58-53 to claim third place in the tournament.
"My whole pre-game speech last night was about handling adversity," Saxony head coach Kevin Williams said. "It's not what happens to you, it's how you react to it. Because I knew Kennett was a good team and I knew they were going to come out and knock us in the teeth and they did.
"I was worried about a letdown tonight. It may not have been the same energy and maybe not the same enthusiasm, but they responded. Even after a little bit of a rough first half they settled down and made better basketball plays."
The 54-47 loss to the Indians not only dashed Saxony's title hopes, but it also represented the Crusaders (11-1) first loss of the season after winning 10 straight to start the year.
It looked like they might be in store for a second consecutive defeat when Malden (7-4) used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to build a 36-32 lead going into halftime.
Malden extended that lead to as high as eight points, 45-37, with three minutes to go in the third quarter only to see momentum swing in Saxony's favor soon after.
A basket by Ruark in the final minutes of the quarter ignited a 14-0 rally by the Crusaders that stretched well into the fourth with a Graeson Meystedt 3-pointer putting the team ahead 51-45 with 4:39 to play.
Saxony's run stretched to 17-3 on a Corie Williams with 3:23 to play, keeping their six point edge intact.
"Will Rogers got it going," Williams said of the run. "He's pretty hard to guard. Once he gets going and makes some shots that stretched that defense. People start helping uphill. Nathan Ruark was a soldier getting to the basket and getting us some easy ones.
"Jalen hit a couple threes and and Meystedt hit some. There's just a fun group to watch."
A 3-pointer from Malden's Shamaudre Barber and a pair of free throws from Trevor Ison closed Saxony's lead to a points, 54-53, but defensive mistakes took their toll on the Green Wave down the stretch.
Following a jumper from Williams to extend the Crusaders' lead back to three, 56-53, Malden turned the ball over on their next possession on a bad pass.
Saxony ended another four Green Wave possessions in the final minute-and-a-half with defensive rebounds to continue killing the clock and preventing a comeback.
A pair of free throws from Ruark with 17 seconds left iced the game was followed by a Crusader board on a missed 3-pointer by Malden to ice the game.
"We struggled defensively from the beginning until the end," Green Wave head coach Andrew Halford said. "That's what hurt us. Our breakdowns gave them open looks and easy layups.
"When you're down three, they're at the free throw line on a one-and-one and they miss and they get the ball back, that's a big play for them."
Along with key rebounds late, Saxony was aided by a strong night from behind the arc where they hit seven 3-pointers, including three in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Williams contributed three of those on the way to a 12 points, all coming in the first half. Ruark led the way with 17 points and Rogers scored 13 points thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers.
Saxony struggled from the charity stripe, going 8 of 22 (36 percent) compared to Malden's 12 of 18 (67 percent) effort.
Ison led the Green Wave with 19 points while Nikylus Thompson contributed 12 point to their cause.
| Malden | 13 | 23 | 9 | 8 | -- | 53 |
| Saxony | 17 | 15 | 11 | 15 | -- | 58 |
MALDEN (53) -- Dushawn Butler 9, Nikylus Thompson 12, Tyler Ison 1, Ned Lee 3, Shamaudre Barber 9, Trevor Ison 19. FG 18, FT 12-18, F 19. (3-pointers: Butler 3, Barner 1, Ison 1. Fouled out: none.)
SAXONY (58) -- Williams Rogers 13, Keevin Dykes 2, Nathan Ruark 17, Graeson Meystedt 7, Corie Williams 7, Jalen Williams 12. FG 19, FT 8-22, F 15. (3-pointers: Rogers 2, Meystedt 1, Corie Williams 1, Jalen Williams 3. Fouled out: none.)