Faith Baptist Cold at the Start, Falls to Crossroads, 65-48

Countdown.

Ignition.

Thud.

Somebody put sugar in the Faith Baptist High gas tank Saturday night. The Contenders sputtered, shuddered and finally, stalled.

It took Crossroads all of five minutes to essentially put away the Contenders on the way to a 65-48 rout in a Delphic League game at Santa Monica High.

Crossroads, the state’s top-ranked Division IV team, came out firing on all cylinders. Crossroads (10-3, 2-0 in league play) made its first six field-goal attempts and raced to a 20-point lead in the first quarter.

“We weren’t ready,” Faith Baptist Coach Stuart Mason said.

“And if you’re not ready to play against a great team like Crossroads, then start the bus.”

Trailing, 29-9, after one quarter would be enough to put any team on ice. For Faith Baptist, it was the death knell. Among the Contenders’ starting five were three sophomores and a junior, and senior-laden Crossroads put them away in a hurry.

Crossroads, the defending Southern Section IV-A champion, made 11 of 20 shots in the first quarter, while Faith Baptist (8-7, 1-2) was still getting its collective bearings.

Crossroads’ senior trio of Travon Dugar (15 points), Bakir Allen (13) and Austin Croshere (10) were more than enough to knock off Faith Baptist, which made a frigid 16 of 57 shots (28%) overall.

The lone positive for Faith Baptist, which shared the league title last season with Crossroads, was its defense of Croshere, who is bound for Providence.

Sophomore Judd Granzow (six points) and a slew of teammates combined hold the 6-foot-9 forward to two points in the first half. Tony Hoggatts, a sophomore, led Faith Baptist with 19 points, nine in the fourth quarter.