Relying on their deeper bench and solid shooting, Mankato Loyola defeated the varsity boys 68-59 on Friday.
“Our defense was really good,” said head coach Mike Meyer. “Loyola put up (a lot) of shots that had no business going in, but they did.”
The Crusaders got off to a 6-2 lead, but after a Brennan Kortuem steal, Carson Lyons drove for a layup, Kyle Connor scored on a Lyons assist, and Kale Kelley, deciphering the defense, put up a jumper from the paint for two for an 8-6 Clipper lead.
But the Crusaders scored put in a trio of threes and a two, only broken up by a Bode Bartell layup, for an 18-10 advantage.
Later in the half, Kortuem put in a jumper, and Bartell bagged a three, and the Clippers made five foul shots, but the Crusaders led 31-20 at the break.
With 14 Kortuem points, a dozen points by Carson Lyons and eight more points from Bartell, the Clippers kept up in the second half and outscored the Crusaders by a basket, but it wasn’t enough.
With 18 points, including a pair of threes, Kortuem led the Clipper effort. Also with two threes, Lyons totaled 16 points. Bartell had 15 points, including a three and four of four foul shots. Kelly had six points, Kyle Connor had two points, and Alex Johnson and Alex Kortuem each chipped in a free throw off the bench.
The Crusaders outshot Cleveland 45 percent to 35 percent outrebounded the Clippers 43-24.
“Definitely rebounding was one of the of the things I emphasized after the game,” Meyer said. “If we’re in a deficit, we can’t hope one guy is going to get the rebound. Everyone has to crash it. Some kids have that in their nature, and some don’t.”
Lyons pulled down six rebounds, passed for three assists and had three steals. Bartell had six rebounds and two steals. Brennan Kortuem had two rebounds and three steals and one block. Connor had two rebounds, two steals, two blocks and one assist. Johnson had one rebound, and Kelley had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Clippers turned the ball over 26 times, six less than the Crusaders.
Saturday’s game at Le Sueur was postponed due to a power outage. The Clippers host Nicollet tonight (Tuesday).
Opening their season with some tough competition, the 0-2 Raiders come in with losses to Cedar Mountain and to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.
Above: Kyle Connor brings the ball down court under defensive pressure.
