The Crusaders played powerful basketball to hang on for an impressive win against a resurgent Manchester Magic team.

The Coventry side benefitted from some great 3 point scoring from American Adam Stevens who totalled 21 points along with strong contributions from Matt Collins with 14 and Derrick Pope with 13 points.

The Crusaders jumped all over Manchester Magic in the first quarter of play scoring 22 to 9. But in true basketball fashion the Magic came rolling back to bring the score to 38 - 30 to Crusaders at half time.

In the third quarter Manchester continued to chip away at the Crusaders lead until they were only down by 4 at the next break. But the Crusaders continued controlling the pace and style of the game, with intense defence and a mixture of inside and outside shooting.

During this period the Crusaders star Adam Stevens picked up his fourth foul and Coach Donaldson took the risk and kept him on the court.

"When Adam picked up his fourth foul, I looked at substituting him, but Adam let me now he could play with four fouls. I took his word for it, and it turned out well for us" said Donaldson.

In the closing minutes of the game Manchester caught up with the Crusaders and even went ahead for the first time in the game by one point with a minute to go.

The Crusaders however kept their poise and fought back to finally take the game by a margin of three points.

The game was a great show for the fans at the Coventry Sports Centre. The crowd was behind the hometown side and the atmosphere one of the best so far this season.

"The support from the crowd was amazing! I know that makes all the difference for us and I am happy we pulled off the win" said Donaldson.