By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.–  It was one of those slow-paced and aggressive games thanks in part to the style of play that Colton plays Tuesday night.  Salem Academy chalked it up as a win nonetheless as they defeated the Vikings 32-21 in the Tri-River Conference game for their 15th win of the season and fifth in league play.  Serving as a good test of mental toughness that the Crusaders rose up to and succeeded at.

“We just had to stay mentally tough out there.  This was not our best offensive game out there at all, but we kept grinding and we had really good defense there at the end.  We executed well there in the fourth quarter with their zone defense and our zone offense.  I thought we played well as a team,” Ceila James said of the game.  “We’re trying to go 1-0 in every game so we can be number one in our conference, so this game was really good for us.  They tried to come back, but we held strong, so I thought we did pretty well.”

Salem Academy led 16-6 at halftime and kept that lead around ten for the second half, leading as much as 30-17 in the fourth quarter before Colton pulled it in to nine with a minute left in the contest.  The Crusaders held strong to ensure they came out with the victory at the end.

James finished with eight points, Lexi Herber led Salem Academy with a game-high 14 points and Haley Ferry had a game-high 14 rebounds for the Crusaders as they’ll head to play Kennedy on Thursday.  Avery Reiland led Colton seven points and had four rebounds.  Addison English had six points and six rebounds for the Vikings, who will host Blanchet Catholic on Thursday.

Photos By Jeremy