File photo by Taunya Brunton

The Crusaders closed out a three-game road trip with a pair of games on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

On Friday, they stretched their winning streak to seven straight with a hard-fought one-point win over Yreka (70-69), before falling on Saturday by a score of 52-43 to a quality Redding Christian team that improved to 12-2.

Liam Dyer continued to lead the way offensively for the Crusaders on Friday and finished with a team-high 31 points and eight rebounds, while the in-form Carson Costa added 14 points and eight boards.

“The points and rebounds from Liam and Carson were huge for us,” said assistant coach Pat Shanahan, who added “Glad we were able to come away with the win against a good Yreka team …We showed a lot of grit down the stretch.”

Prince Latimer added 12 points and three steals in the win, while teammate Garret Shanahan finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

Latimer’s “aggressiveness on offense and defense” was a big factor in the win, according to the coach, as was the play of several of his teammates, including Garrett Shanahan, Tyler Hinrichs, Trenten Hagler and Luke Brunton.

“It’s a good experience for our team to have these tight games,” added Pat Shanahan, whose team opens what is expected to be a very competitive Little 4 on Friday night.

The Crusaders were unable to stretch their winning streak on Saturday, with Dyer sidelined because of an injury.

In his absence it took the Crusaders a while to settle into the game offensively and that proved costly against a quality team like Redding Christian.

The offense did, however, get going in the second half.

Costa continued to impress and finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Garrett Shanahan had a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 12 boards.

“Carson was a threat offensively and willed a few rebound into his hands,” the coach said. “Garrett was active and effective on both ends of the floor.”

The coach added that they had multiple other contributors, including Brunton and Burke Morrow.

Likewise with Hagler, who added seven points and five rebounds.

But it was the team defense that really impressed.

“Defensively, we coaches are so proud of our guys, in particular in the toughness department,” Pat Shanahan said. 

Hinrichs and Hagler set the tone for the defense with tough defensive assignments and “executed extremely well,” according to Pat Shanahan.

The coaches were also impressed with how the players responded in the second half.

“This was a loss but after a less-than-average first half we responded with one of the best third quarters thus far this season,” Pat Shanahan said.

The Crusaders, who also defeated Eagle Point in their road trip opener on Thursday night, closed out the trip 2-1 and are now 9-3.

“Overall a good road trip,” the coach added. “And we now prepare for league play starting next week.”