Crusaders denied on the buzzer; BASKETBALL: WEEKEND ACTION.

Coventry Crusaders  77

Worthing Thunder  78

JUST FOUR points separated these two teams over two hours of cut- and-thrust action - but the Bupa Crusaders finished the weekend with nothing to show for their efforts.

Saturday's home reverse was particularly hard to take, as Crusaders were denied by a controversial buzzer shot seconds from time after seeming all set to snatch the decision.

The home side had led 19-15 at the end of a tight first period, and they stretched that advantage to eight in the second before a 12-point surge by Paul Mundy-Castle saw Thunder haul themselves level on 36-36 at the midway interval.

It was just as close in the third quarter, Crusaders' team effort negated by Mundy-Castle's individual scoring power, and they went into the final phase on 52 apiece.

Worthing were four points clear with 31 seconds to play when Crusaders Eduard Girbal was fouled while attempting a three-pointer and he calmly sunk all three attempts from the free-throw line.

When Girbal then stole the ball and opened the path for Marvin Harrison, the home supporters hailed what seemed to be a decisive 77-76 turn-round. But Worthing in turn stole the ball five seconds from time and the officials ruled that their final throw had just beaten the buzzer.

Girbal was able to reflect on another excellent performance in place of injured point guard Matt Collins while Derrick Pope contributed 23 points to the home cause and there were fine all-round efforts by Manny Sharland and Dominic Davis

But they were foiled by the firepower of Mundy-Castle, whose 36 points dominated the visitors' contribution.

Crusaders scorers: Rhooms 2, Donaldson 4, Sharland 8, Harrison 11, Davis 11, Girbal 18, D Pope 23. Thunder scorers: Smith 2, McGee 6, Harriott 13, Moore 20, Mundy-Castle 36

Worthing Thunder 82

Coventry Crusaders 79

SUNDAY'S instant return at Worthing Leiesure Centre proved just as frustrating for the Bupa Crusaders as they surrendered a 42-34 half-time advantage.

They confined Mundy-Castle to just two points during the opening 10 minutes of play, and led 26-18 by the end of the first quarter. maintaining that cushion in the second as Sharland and Colin Rhooms kept a tight rein on the Thunder danger-man.

They lost their grip in the third, Gaylon Moore and Cory McGee both scoring heavily to nudge Worthing into a 59-57 lead.

But coach Dip Donaldson entered the fray to play the power game on the inside - rattling up a quick eight points and combining well with Derrick Pope. And 17 seconds from time, Marvin Harrison went to the line with Crusaders just 79-78 adrift and scored one out of two free throw attempts to tie the game.

But with overtime looming, McGee found space to unleash a three-point shot which again left Crusaders reflecting on what might have been.

Coach Donaldson admitted: "I was extremely disappointed because we have let ourselves down. It is so frustrating to know that I'm not getting the best out of all the players.

"There were those on the team who played extremely well tonight - in fact, I think it WAS the smartest game we've played all season.

"We are capitalising on the things we've learned, and certain individuals are really stepping up. That's what I want to concentrate on, because the fact that other players are not contributing like they should is very frustrating.

"If we can continue to learn and improve like we have in the past couple of weeks, there's still a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for us."

The back-to-back defeats mean Crusaders have now slid into fifth place in the NBL Conference as they prepare for Saturday's trip to Inter-Basket London

Crusader scorers: Sharland 4, Rhooms 7, Harrison 7, Donaldson 8, Scott 8, Davis 13, Girbal 13, D Pope 19.

CAPTION(S):

UNLUCKY: Derek Pope scored well in both matches