LIVONIA, Mich. - After kicking off their season with a dominant victory over Goshen College in the first game of the Bernie Holowicki Classic yesterday, the Crusaders set to play the Saint Francis (Ind.) Cougars in the tournament's finale. After getting off to a cold start, the Crusaders would come out in the second half shooting. However, a late run by the Cougars would force overtime and eventually lead them to stun the Crusaders as they took a 75-72 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first points of the game would come from Crusader forward Brendan Young, on a step-back three from the wing off of a steal from point guard Isaac Anderson. This opening play by Anderson would set the tone as far as the aggression he and fellow guard Ahmoni Weston would bring on the defensive front. On the next Crusader basket the roles would be reversed, with Young pick-pocketing the Cougars' guard and then finding Anderson on the other end of the court for a layup. After the Cougars got on the board with a three pointer, Young would match it on the next possession to give them a 8-3 lead after the game's opening minutes.

After their good start, the Crusaders would cool off, eventually being overtaken by the Cougars midway through the first half. In the half's final two minutes, the Crusaders would get a late spark to close the gap to 35-31 heading into the break.

Despite shooting 1-7 in the first half, Anderson would explode out of the break with seven-straight points including a deep three to open the half and immediately take back the lead 38-37. For the next ten minutes of play, it would be a back-and-fourth with neither team pulling ahead by more than three points at any given time. With just under five minutes to play, the Crusaders would seemingly pull away with a 66-61 lead. However, a late-run by the Cougars would force overtime with the game ending 66-66.

In overtime, time would run out on the Crusaders as the buzzer hit zero before they could get the potentially game-tying shot off, ending things 75-72.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Anderson scored 20 points, with an astounding eight steals and nine rebounds.
• Young recorded the season's first double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
• Weston also scored double-digits with 11 points and five steals.

UP NEXT:

The Crusaders will return to ACCU Arena next Friday to take on the No. 8 ranked Grace College (Ind.) Knights. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 pm on November 8th.