By Martin Martinson

Crusaders remain undefeated heading into Christmas

Dec 17, 2018 | 4:00 PM

The John Paul II (JPII) Crusaders junior boys basketball team continued their sizzling start to the season this weekend with a tournament win at NBCHS.

After storming out to a 61-20 victory over the Melfort Comets to kick things off Friday, the Crusaders then continued their dominance, with big wins over the Bishop Lloyd Lancers and Unity Warriors in their subsequent two games to follow.

All total, the junior boys from JPII have blown out of the gates to establish themselves a 9-0 record on the season heading into the Christmas break.

Crusaders’ head coach, Nate Jurgens said this is the second time since he became coach of the team that the Junior Boys have run undefeated to Christmas, with the other team doing so just two seasons ago. The 2018-19 rendition will hope to continue to follow in the footsteps of the ‘16-17 club, as the club only continued to build to their hot start after the holiday break en route to a perfect 19-0 record by season’s end.

When asked about the key to his team’s success through the first half of the year, Jurgens said there are three overarching themes that have led to the team’s standing atop their division.

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“First of all, they are a very team oriented group; they understand the concept of, as I always say, selfless[ness] instead of selfish[ness],” he said. “They understand that if they have a good shot, but someone on the court has a better opportunity, then they need to get them the ball. They play very team-oriented basketball.

“The second thing is that they are a great group of athletes, they push the pace and they tire out the opponent. The third is our depth. We can throw anybody out there on the floor and be confident that they’re going to go out and contribute and do their job to help the team win.”

The Crusaders’ depth was on full display in their recent three game showdown at NBCHS, allowing the team to prevail with a trio of wins to keep their victory streak alive despite having a shorthanded bench, as the team was without two of their starters for the entirety of the weekend, with an additional starter missing their final game.

While several players were required to step up for the club to offset the effects of the injury bug, one of the standouts to really catch the coach’s eye in the team’s second game was second-year player, Declan Mercer.

With one of the team’s key post players sidelined due to illness, Jurgens said the Grade 9, Mercer really personified the group’s next man up mentality.

“I definitely have to give [Mercer] credit, because he went into a position that he normally doesn’t play moving from the wing to the post, and played very, very well,” Jurgens said. “He utilized his size mismatch very well and to me that was the difference maker, Bishop Lloyd had no one who could stop him, which was a big reason for that victory in game number two.”

The Crusaders will now get nearly four weeks off over Christmas to rest up and get back healthy before their return to action Jan. 11 as the team hosts their first tournament of the season at their home gym at JPII. 

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1