The Crusaders  played the Mintuemen White team for 5th place in the Nationals this afternoon (loser takes 8th place).  72 teams from the varsity level earned invitations to the National Championships and the Crusaders would either be the 5th best team or 8th best team in the country.  They had played the Minutemen twice before and had a 1-1 record.  The Crusaders came out loose....so loose they played "knockout" when it was time to warm-up!  The game was terrific with Tyler and Brian really elevating their games while Kyle, Luke and Brandon carried the offense.  Elvis was again was "steady eddie" and Kareem body checked their big man who was down for a 10 count.  JD continued to be the best 6th man in the tournament and Jake and Justin played their usual intense games.  The Minutmen are an excellent team and the score bounced back and forth. 

As had become the norm for the Crusaders this week, the game went to overtime where once again the score went back and forth.  With the Crusaders missing foul shots you had to hold your breath each time they went to the line but Michael hit two clutch free throws with 7 seconds and Kyle stole the inbounds pass to clinch the 5th place result for the Crusaders!!!!  THATS RIGHT.....THE CRUSADERS TOOK 5TH PLACE IN THE 2009 DII NATIONALS!.  72 of the top teams in the country attended the tournament and the Crusaders were the 5th best.  Not bad for some local boys from upstate NY. Congratulation to Kevin and the players for once again letting the entire country know that the OC Crusaders are one of the premier AAU Basketball clubs in the country.  I will add to this story and upload tons of photos tomorrow or Monday!

With the loss to the GOSH team yesterday, the Crusaders still had a chance to finish in the top 5 teams in the nation but they would have to win two tough games. The first was against the North Carolina Gaters.  The Crusaders came out sluggish and were quickly down by 12 points.  Kyle and Luke gave the team some offense while Elvis was also playing well and this helped the Crusaders cut the lead to 5 by the end of the quarter.  Brandon and Brian stepped it up in the 2nd quarter, Luke hit a three and Kareem and Justin turned up the defensive heat and this resulted in the Crusaders cutting the lead to 1 at 25-26 but a run by the Gators led to a half time score of 41-33 Gators. 

After an inspirational half time speech the Crusaders came out fired up and made a short run. Everyone contributed with JD getting hot, and Kyle and Luke still shooting well and the Crusaders cut the score to 54-49 at the start of the fourth quarter.  With more clutch shooting, and with Mike and Jake bringing stability on the floor, the Crusaders took a 60-58 lead half way thru the 4th quarter.  Our boys had a hard time closing out the game as in the last 20 seconds they missed several foul shots.  With 2 minutes to go the Crusaders led 68-66 and with 32 seconds they led 70-67. The final score was Crusaders 73-Gaters 67. Now they move on to the 5th place game (5:30pm this afternoon).

The quarterfinals of the National Tournament started hours before the tip off against  the GOSH (Great Opportunities Start Here) team which is from the Yonkers/Mt. Vernon area.  Luke (Crusaders starting point guard) was taken to the emergency room after the early game with severe back pain.  After spending a few hours in the hospital receiving intravenus fluids, he was back at the gym.....in uniform.....ready to play!  While nobody expected him to attend the game, there he was in the starting lineup!  The game had the potential for a big blowout however the Crusaders put up a courageous effort that made everyone in attendance root for them.  The GOSH Warriors took an early lead and the score at the end of the first quarter was 35-26 GOSH.  While it was obvious that the Warriors had more athletic players, it was also obvious that the Crusaders had better coaching and more heart.  Sometimes "heart" just isn't enough and it was hard to overcome the fact that Luke was not 100%.  In addition the Crusaders did not get the breaks that they would need to beat a very good team like GOSH.  At the 3 minute mark in the 2nd quarter the Crusders were down by 10 and thiings looked bleak...but then.....how many times have you read that same thing earlier in these blogs?  Not one player on the Crusaders gave up.

The Crusaders came out fired up for the second half, led by Kyle.  While the GOSH team was excellent, it was apparent to everyone that the real warrior on the court was Kyle. He dove after loose balls, he was knocked down time after time, he was double and triple teamed and yet he led by example and the Crusaders cut the lead to 37-35 midway thru the 3rd quarter.  The game would stay close until the final buzzer. At the start of the 4th quarter the score was 44-44 and everyone on the Crusaders had contributuions.  With 4 minutes left in the game and the score 48-51 GOSH Mike hit a huge 3-pointer to tie the score at 51.  The game was played even from that point out however the Crusaders could only muster one more point while GOSH was able to score 4 points and the Crusaders lost 55-51.  Next up is the consolation round which starts at 11:30am today followed by another game at 5:30pm. 

With a birth in the "Sweet 16" the Crusaders faced the Central NY Youth Basketball Club - Niagara in this mornings game. The game was held at the Disney Complex.  This was another back and forth game with each team getting and then losing a small lead.  JD and Elvis got some early baskets that helped keep the Crusaders in the game while Kareem had an another outstanding game under the basket.  The Crusaders jumped out to a 4-0 lead but the score quickly moved to 7-7.  After an evenly played quarter the Crusaders led 12-11.  Tyler gave a great defense effort and Mike played another great game. This plus Kyles strong play and Lukes 120% effort helped keep our boys in the game and at half time the score was 28-27 Niagara.   Brandon was all over the court and also had a key basket as the Crusaders really turned up the heat in the second half.  Justin, Brian and Bradon pressured Niagara's guards and the Crusaders held a slim 47-44 lead at the start of the 4th quarter.  After two 3-pointers by Niagara the game was tied 54-54.  Brian and Kyle hit key fouls shots coming down the stretch.  To give you an idea of the last minute of the game, the scores were 63-59 Crusaders with 52 seconds, 65-62 Crusaders with 35 seconds, 67-62 Crusaders with 31.6 seconds, 67-64 Crusaders with 22.5 and the Crusaders won 68-64.  The Crusaders now face the GOSH Warriors who are from Yonkers, NY tonight at 7pm.

The Crusaders faced off against the Memphis Hotshots in a game for the ages!  The Hotshots had size and speed and was clearly a tough matchup.  The game got off to a fast start for both teams as the Crusaders had to play hardnosed defense in order to stop this fast-breaking team.  The Crusader big men had to really get physical in order to push the Hotshots out of the paint.  At the end of the first quarter the Crusaders found themselves down 12-18 as a foul allowed the Hotshots to make two free throws with 0.00 time on the clock.  The Crusaders were able to get the score to 18-18 with 4:49 to go in the half but the Hotshots had several fast break points and built a lead of 20-27.  A quick flurry but the Crusaders resulted in their being down 29-32 at halftime.  It was clear to everyone in the gym that this was going to be our toughest game to date.

In the third quarter the Hotshots lead grew to 9 points (41-32) but the Crusaders turned up the defensive heat and the third quarter ended with the team from Memphis leading 41-36.  Kyle and Brandon hit big 3-pointers early in the 4th quarter and along with the excellent defense played by Kareem, Luke, Brandon, Brian, Mike, Elvis, JD and others....the Crusaders fought back to take their first lead at 49-47 with less then 5 minutes to go. The Hotshots, clearly frustrated would not give up and with 2 minutes to go the score was tied 54-54.  The Crusaders got a basket from Brian and took a 58-56 lead but the Hotshots came back and tied the score at 58-58.  Luke drove to the basket with 10 seconds to go but his shot missed and the Crusader big men missed three attempts at putbacks and the game went to overtime.  The was the Crusaders second overtime game of the tournament.  In the 4 minute overtime the Crusaders took the lead at 60-58 but then the Hotshots scored two baskets and Brandon hit two foul shots and the score was 62-62.

With 57 seconds left Brandon hit two more foul shots, Kyle made another clutch basket and led 66-64.  The lead stayed the same as the Hotshots had several attempts to score and after a time out with 3.2 seconds left, the Hotshots go off a clean 3-point shot that rimmed the basket but did not go in.  The Crusaders won the game and will move on to the Sweet 16 (top 16 teams in the country). They play a team from Niagra ,NY on Friday at 11:30am.  After the game the Crusader players and parents went to the Olive Garden to celebrate the teams success.  Everyone is having a great time down here and it's been a great experience for everyone.

This morning we went over to see the game between the two teams that placed second in their respective pools whereby the Crusaders will play the winner later today at 5:00pm.  The game was between the Southern Louisiana Ballers and the Memphis Hotshots.  The team from Memphis won and moves on to play our team at the Disney Complex.  Click on the link below to view the Pool Results from the early rounds of the tournament.

http://www.aauresults.org/boysb/pdfnat/2009/20091248999528.pdf

The Crusaders are proud of all of the players that have participated in our program over the years.  We stress teamwork, commitment and self improvement to our players, coaches and parents.  Click on the Headline below to read the inspiring story of former Crusader Robert Toste who is currently basketball playing at Hamilton College and exemplifies what we are about.

Game #2 of the 2009 AAU Nationals was vastly different from game #1.  The Crusaders took the floor against Maine Express and before you could blink your eyes...the Express had a 17-5 lead. Worse....our boys were a "turnover machine".  After a time out, the Crusaders scored 16 straight points to take a 21-17 lead.  Luke and Kyle led the way but Brandon also hit several baskets.  The Express were a well coached team with a definite size advantage and a will that matched the Crusaders.  The Express came back to take a 5 point lead but the Crusaders cut it to three at the half (36-31).  The Express held a 57-52 lead at the start of the 4th quarter as JD came up big on the offensive end and Tyler and Kareem were playing strong under the boards.  Kyle Bradley fouled out with 2:50 left in the 4th quarter and this was a big hit for the Crusaders to take.  They were down 69-64.

Fomer Orange County Crusader Player and Coach, Kieran Begley has basketball in his veins.  We would like to think that our club had something to do with this. Kieran played on our boys teams from the 14U division to the 17U division. He went on to play in college, coach our 14U team, and then go on to coach in college.  Does it get any better then that?  Click on the photo to the right to visit the SUNY Morrisville website and view more information on their Assistant Mens Basketball Coach!

Sunday morning arrived with the 17U boys having to visit the Amateur Athletic Unions National Headquarters for team registrations.  The team received their site admission cards and complimentary t-shirts.  The coaches has to verify that all paperwork had been submitted and confirmed and the tournament rules were reviewed.  We had a chance to meet Stan Quash who is the director for AAU Boys Basketball. Kareem, Elvis and Mike arrived late yesterday and Kyle, Tyler and Brian are due to arrive tonight.  The Times Herald Record has a great story yesterday on Brian and also on our club. To view the story click on the link below:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090725/SPORTS31/907250331

Well......I am just a few days away from heading down to Florida with our 17U Boys team to participate in the 2009 AAU National Championships!  Most of the team is leaving on Saturday, July 25th for the Disney Sports Complex where the tournaments home site is located.  For more information you can visit the following link:  http://www.aauresults.org/boysb/re_nationals.php?s=49&lkid=&y=2009   The details for our Jr. Boys Division were posted today on the AAU National Website.  The team will start off by competing in a four team pool. After three games they will be re-seeded based on their record after three games. The top team in the pool will move on the Championship bracket with the chance to become the National Champions.  The rest of the teams in the pool will move into the Classic Bracket.  The schedule for the pool play is as follows:

Monday @ 9:20pm vs the So. Louisiana Slidell Hawks

Tuesday @ 9:15pm vs the Maine Express

Wednesday + 12:45pm vs the Connecticut Gold (North)

Scott

The 2009 season is behind us now (except for the Boys 17U team-see article below) and as always, it was an unforgettable experience!  The Tom Dowd tournaments (Pre-Season Tune-Up, Girls Memorial and Boys Memorial) were all a great success.  We had more then 200 teams compete in what it the main fundraiser for the Tom Dowd Scholarship.  Next, our Crusader teams all played terrific, won their fair share of games and represented our club in such a way that we were all very proud of them!  We hope all of the players and parents had a good experience and we look forward to seeing everyone next year!

The OC Crusaders are once again being well represented at the AAU National Championships, being held at the Disney Sports Center later this month.  The Crusader boys 17U team (Junior Boys), coached by Kevin Houston have qualified to participate in this 64 team select tournament which will result in the 2009 Division II National Champions!  The Crusaders have had an outstanding season, winning multiple tournaments and competing at the highest level in others.  In each event the team participated in a different player stepped up as this group displayed what talent, good coaching and a commitment to teamwork can produce. Congratulations to all of the players, coaches and parents and good luck in Disney!

When:     July 26th thru August 1st

Where:    Disney Sports Center at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

What:      AAU Division II National Championships

17U Boys Team Roster

WOW!

The 2009 Tom Dowd Memorial AAU Basketball Tournament was one of our best events ever!!!! There were 125 teams that played over 200 games on 13 courts in two days and all but one of the games came off as scheduled (one team could not play one game on Sunday).  The secret to our success was good matchups, great gyms, certified referees, excellent teams, proffessional photos for sale, and of course........award winning concession stands!  Congratulations to teams such as the Husson Valley Wolves, Newburgh Boys & Girls Club, BC Eagles, Playmaker Academy, Long Island Lightning, Edge Athletics, Back to Basics and Brooklyn Patriots for having teams that won their pools.

...and the Crusaders continue to roll!  Back in the late 90's when our club was in it's infancy.....we were happy if we could keep the margin we lost by under 20 points.  We lost by scores like 107-38 and 77-21.  Boy what ten years can do for a club! From last years 17U Boys AAU National Champions to all of the success we are having in 2009 - Tom (Dowd) would be shocked if he could see us now!  Last week our 17U Boys team coached by Kevin Houston entered the Junior Boys DII AAU District Qualifiers held in Long Island.  32 of the best 17U teams in the region went head to head....and after a week of games.....the Crusaders faced the Newburgh Boys & Girls Club for the NY DII Championship! While Newburgh took the game, the Crusaders faced off against Newbugh the following week for the opening game of the Tommy Dowd Tournament and this time the Crusaders got their revenge, winning on a 3-point buzzer beater by Luke Houston

The 2009 Tom Dowd Memorial Girls Tournament Schedule and Team Key is now posted.  Click on the link in the menu to the left.........

 For the Boys Tournament (May 29-31) - we only a few openings as we now have over 115 teams registered.  We will be using 13 courts for this event and look forward to seeing all of you again!  Tom Dowd was our clubs first coach back in 1997.  He coached our boys 13U team even though he did not have a child on the team (his son TJ was younger). He continued to coach for us until September 11th, 2001 when he became a victim of the attack on the World Trade Center. He was only 37 years old.  This tournament is the main fundraiser for the Tom Dowd Memorial Scholarship.  To date we have awarded over $50,000 to qualifying high school seniors.

Help support the Monroe Woodbury Baseball Booster Club and have a chance to meet the JONAS BROTHERS!.  Raffle tickets are on sale for four tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert at the IZOD center on July 14th, 2009. Click on the handout below for more details!

The 2009 AAU season "officially" kicked off with the holding of the Tom Dowd Pre Season Tune-Up!  The tournament took palce March 27-29 and featured some excellent teams includiing Hoop Nation, Kingston Komets, Rockland Rockets, BC Eagles, Yorktown Emeralds  and others!  The tournament was well organized with all games running on time, games played on great courts, with certified referees, and tournament supplied staff to keep the official book and clock!

The division championship games were very competitive and went down to the wire! In the 10U bracket, the Rockland Rockets beat the Kingston Komets in a real thriller! This game was played on the main court at the Crusader Field House.  The OC Crusaders 12U team coached by John Coffey won the 11/12U division, and the OC Crusaders 13U team won a tough game against Hoop Nation held on the main court at Monroe Woodburys middle school! In the 14U division the Rockland Rockets edged the Kingston Komets in a close game. Overall everyone seemed to have a great time!

CRUSADERS AAU BASKETBALL SPRING BREAK MINI CAMP (Boys & Girls)

THE CAMP PLANNED FOR THIS WEEK HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WE DID NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH REGISTRATIONS! CONTACT CINDY FOR REFUNDS DUE (CINDYTAGS@YAHOO.COM)

O.C. Crusader players are once again making an impact on the local basketball scene (CLICK ...

Crusaders Donate To Local Food Pantry (click headlne)

Click On Photo Of Jim Taravella For More Photos

The Crusader Field House located at Monroe-Woodbury High School was the site of the 2nd annual "Jim Taravella Invitational".  Eight local High School varsity basketball teams converged on the gym for four quality games all  taking place on Saturday, December 20th.  Jim Taravella was Monore-Woodbury's varsity basketball coach who unexpectantly passed away in December of 2006. He was only 57 years old. In addition to the games, the Orange County Referees Association presented Coach Bill Earl (Monroe-Woodbury) with a $250 donation to the Jim Taravella Scholarship Fund. Click on the photo to the left for more pictures and see the link in the menu to the left for more information on the tournament results.

2008 was the most exciting in Crusader history!  Of course our top story was that our boys 17U team won the 2008 AAU DII National Championship played in Florida!  This was on top of our boys 16U team being the runner up in the 2008 National Classic Championship played in Arkansas! 

For lots more on our 2008 championships click the link in the "National Champions" link in the menu to the left! 

Both our girls teams and our boys teams experienced great success and we had more then our share of tournament wins!  Most importantly all of our players improved their basketball skills.  The Tom Dowd Tournaments were the best ever and more then 185 teams participated.  We gave out over $15,000 in scholarships, grants and donations.

CRUSADERS GO NATIONAL

 The Crusaders are receiving both local and national attention.  ...

Photos From The 2008 Tom Dowd Tournament

Additional Photos From The 2008 Tom Dowd Tournament (Girls & Boys)

The 2008 Tom Dowd Scholarship Winners Honored At Dinner

Each year during the Tom Dowd Memorial Tournament, we sponsor a "mens ...

Things kicked off on Saturday morning with 16 games starting at 9:00am.  Game continued every hour and 15 minutes with the last game on Saturday tipping off at 8:15pm.  Between games there were great concessions including ice cold drinks, hot dogs, pizza, nachos and cheese, bagels, chips and candy and much more!  There were collectable t-shirts, raffle tickets and 50-50 tickets for sale at each and every site!

Every game was included two certified basketball referees on the court and over 85 different referees worked games during the tournament.  There is no "running time" in the Tom Dowd Tournament. Each game included 16 minutes of "stop clock" time and there were several overtime and even double overtime games and more then 275 games were played in less the 72 hours

Teams came from all over the tri-state area to compete in this annual event that is the main fundraiser for the Tom Dowd Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Some of the participants with multiple teams entered included the Pocono Trailblazers, Brooklyn Patriots, Edge Athletics, Rockland Rockets, Elite Basketball, The NY Phantoms, Newburgh Zion Lions, Westchester Hawks, Long Island Lightning, Rockland Falcons, Crush Athletics, Boys & Girls Club of Mt. Vernon, Minutemen, Suffern Storm, Rockland Falcons, Playmaker Academy, Teaches Hoops, BC Eagles and many more!

Orange County Crusaders WOW Them at the GymRat Tournament!

Sunday, July 29

Wednesday, June 6

Sunday, April 29

Jim Taravella

Jim Taravella was the boys varisty basketball coach for Monroe Woodbury High School. He had been the JV coach for 17 years prior to being named the head coach in 2001.  In 2005 he was named the Times Herald Records Coach of the Year as he led the team to the Section Nine Championship.  He unexpectantly passed away during this 2005/2006 season and we miss him very much.  Please visit the "In Memory Of Jim Taravella" link in the menu to the left and learn more about our "Coach".

 

This season some of our teams will compete in the AAU regional qualifiers! This will be the first time teams from our club have participated in these events and we wish our players and coaches good luck!  Visit our "Albums" link and take a look at the many photos we have posted

Attention Monroe Woodbury Seniors:  Visit the "Tom Dowd Scholarship" link to see if you qualify to apply for this scholarship.....if so download the 2007 application, fill it out and send it in by April 15th!

Looking for scimmages?  You can contact us at orangecountycrusaders@gmail.com

Sunday, February 11

Friday, January 26

Sunday, February 11

Sunday, February 11

The 2006 Boys Varsity Team

2005 Varsity Team

Thursday, December 14