Friday Night at the Fallon Family Center, the St. Dominic Crusaders took on the Duchesne Pioneers. It wasn’t a normal game though for the Crusaders. It was a special night to honor their nine seniors on the varsity basketball team.
The nine seniors on the team included David Moore, Jerimiah Neal, Ray Butler, Brayden Gardner, Jack Roppa, Ryan Cullison, Drew Gregory, Andrew Henke, and Luke McDonald along with team managers, Brett Hoff and Cooper Smith.
“This group of seniors means a lot to me. They’ve been in our program for four years and there are nine of them, which is a lot of guys that have bought into what we do,” Head Coach Kevin Roberts said.
Before the game, they had a ceremony to honor the seniors. When it came to game time though, the Crusaders were ready. After an electric starting lineup introduction, thanks to the St. Dominic student section, the boys were off and running.
“Senior night means it’s a night to celebrate how far we’ve come and to acknowledge all the work we’ve put in to get to the spot we’re at right now,” senior Jeremiah Neal said.
The Crusaders had a dominant first quarter with the boys getting an early 20 point lead. But they were not done because they would come back fired up in the second quarter, and put 20 more points on the board. The team worked well, as they challenged the Pioneer’s defense, and went in with a 41-12 lead at halftime. All nine seniors scored in the first half.
Along with the Crusaders performing well in the first half, the Crusaderettes took the court and put on an outstanding performance, while also honoring their seniors. Madison Bystrom, Kylie Dorenkamp, Willa Grawer, Faith Hookerman, Layna Hopper, Morgan Reiter, Sami Overton and Audrey Smith, were also all honored before the game.
“This night is a combination of the work they have put in and the progress they have made as a team and as individuals,” Coach Roberts said.
In the second half, the Crusaders continued to dominate Duschene. They played a really great game by spreading the ball around, which ended in different people putting the ball in the hoop. Freshman Ace Anderson, had nine points in his first ever varsity minutes, along with juniors Evan Maysent, Leo Summers, and Conor Nero all scoring four points.
To end the game, the Crusaders beat the Pioneers 74-25. Everybody on the roster scored during that game. St. Dominic looks to do the same as they play the Cadets of CBC on Wednesday. Come out and support this special group of seniors before the season ends!
