Connor Worley is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Northwest Christian for AZPreps365.com.

Arizona Lutheran guard Jackson Indahl stepped to the free throw line and calmly sank two shots. 

His free throws put the Coyotes ahead 14-13, poised to continue their momentum resulting from Northwest Christian’s rudderless offense plagued by turnovers and Arizona Lutheran’s tough defense.

With 1:30 left in the first half, the Crusaders needed life.

So, Northwest Christian’s transition offense answered. 

In that span, the Crusaders' rebounding and quick transition up the floor paved the way to a 7-0 run to give them a 20-14 halftime lead.

That run proved to be the game’s difference as Northwest Christian (7-9) wouldn’t yield the lead again on its way to a 43-34 win over Arizona Lutheran (12-6) on Tuesday.

“We just had a spark in us and coach was just telling us to hustle,” senior center Elijah Hamstra said about the team’s surge to close the first half. “

Coach Jason Cook attributed the Crusaders’ second quarter spark to his team’s defensive consistency despite their bevy of offensive turnovers. 

“We got a lot of our energy off of just playing good defense,” Cook said. “I feel like for their offense, they'd have to run it for like a minute [to get an open shot].”

Northwest Christian built on its halftime momentum by opening the third quarter with rapid ball movement and an efficient outside-inside game plan.

Junior guard Logan Moser and senior guard Jeremy Proch combined for three 3-pointers in the quarter. The Crusaders’ outside shooting allowed junior center Andrew Best to repeatedly establish position and receive passes deep in the paint for easy layups. 

“I was able to seal people and our guards were able to give me the ball where it needed to be,” said Best, who finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. “And then whenever I saw them [double team me], I was kicking it out.”

Cook said when the team effectively moves the ball inside and hits their outside shots, it naturally forces the defense to make a decision on what part of the court to defend.

“That's good that we hit some outside shots because that helps the pressure on our bigs and making sure we get them the ball,” Cook said. “[The bigs] are the biggest guys out there. They need to touch the ball.”

Moser’s impact permeated throughout the game. Along with creating opportunities behind the 3-point line and finding open post players in the paint, his aggressive defense set the tone in Northwest Christian’s 2-3 zone. 

“When [Moser] is hitting shots, we’re a whole different team,” Cook said. “Our offense really comes and goes with how he shoots the ball.”

Moser finished with a team-high 10 points, hitting three of his five shots from the 3-point line.

“He’s probably the best scorer on the team,” Hamstra said of Moser. “He’s a great player and a big part of our team’s offense.”

Despite the Crusaders' second half improvements, they weren’t able to completely put the game out of reach.

Arizona Lutheran junior guard Tanner Plitzuweit’s game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and four assists kept the Coyotes within 15 points for most of the half.

It wasn’t until Northwest Christian senior guard Rocky Maniaci forced a turnover after hitting the hardwood multiple times chasing after Coyote passes that the Crusaders put the game away.

The Crusaders will be on their homecourt at 7:30 p.m. Friday as they face Pusch Ridge (10-4). The Coyotes wrapped up their regular season against Northwest Christian and await placement in the 3A state tournament.