NORTH ROBINSON — According to Colonel Crawford coach David Sheldon, there is a culture of winning that has permeated a good portion of the sports at the school.

He also added that acquiring that culture requires a lot of work, especially in the offseason.

“It’s not November through February,” Sheldon said. “It’s what they do in the offseason. The weight room, the individual work here at 6:30 in the morning when nobody’s in this gym. These guys have seen what it takes, and it’s just a special night all the way around.

“Just the culture; you hear that word a lot, especially in college and professional, but it’s a winning culture. It’s because of the dedication of these kids,” he added.

The 2024-25 Eagles will go down as one of the school’s best.

Crawford rolled to a 40-19 lead at the half against Wynford and cruised to a 67-36 win.

The win was the 19th straight for the Eagles, who went 14-0 in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference. It was also the fourth conference crown in five seasons for the Eagles.

Crawford lost its first game of the season and hasn’t lost since.

“When you look at this group; this three-month journey,” Sheldon said. “The ebbs and flows of a league championship is so hard. You go through sickness, you go through sprained ankles, all that stuff.”

Eagles’ point guard Brayden Holt led the way with 24 points and seven assists, but he scored 18 of his points in the first half when both teams were playing their starters.

“(Crawford is) very difficult to defend,” Wynford coach Adam Guinther said. “They can score from anywhere on the floor, and person. They move well; they’re in synch. They’re a tough out for someone.

“(Holt) is what makes them go, obviously,” Guinther added. “He sees the floor; he does a nice job of knowing when his team needs a point, or when they need an assist. He has nice balance to his game.”

And it was Holt who guided the Eagles early. The junior knocked down three of his five threes in the first half as the Eagles gained control. Crawford led 23-13 after one period and outscored the Royals, 17-6, in the second period to hold that 21-point lead at the break.

“In the first half, we were just trying to play a 2-3 zone; not come out too far,” Guinther said. “The first time we played them, they hurt us in the corners so bad. And we didn’t want to give up the corner three too much.

”But you just have to pick your poison. We’ve been mixing defenses more, but I just didn’t want to expose the corners.”

Both teams played their benches in the second half. Wynford’s Jace Stuckman scored seven in the final two frames and Seth Pope added six.

Guinther said that the plan was to play more players in the second half.

“The young kids came in and they kept working and I was proud of them,” Guinther said.

“We’re not scared of them or anything; we came in there and they are just very talented,” he added of the Eagles. “We’ve been playing better; we’ve won three of our last six. I wasn’t going to play the starters in the second half, but we went in at halftime and some of the kids wanted to. So, I let go of that a little longer than I was going to.”

Sheldon praised his bench as well. Crawford’s depth is a luxury for the Eagles’ coach. He talked about his team’s journey this season.

“The first league game; we’re at Upper,” Sheldon said. “And we’re down eight with 2:30 to go. And our motto in this program is one possession at a time. And, then the battles with Mohawk and the great teams in this league, and, to do it undefeated is a hard challenge. And to call yourself undefeated champion, to win a championship in four of the last five years, it’s a program because of these kids.”

Box score

Wynford                     13       6        7     10 — 36

Colonel Crawford    23     17      14    13 — 67

Wynford (4-16, 2-12 N10): Shots 14-32; 3-pt. shots 8 (Drew Johnson 3, Seth Pope 2, Drew Stanek, Jaron Vance, Jace Stuckman); Free throws 0-0; Rebounds 22; Turnovers 10. Scoring: Drew Stanek 1 0 3, Dawson Pelter 1 0 2, Weston Prenger 1 0 2, Jaron Vance 1 0 3, Jaxon Vance 1 0 2, Jace Stuckman 3 0 7, Drew Johnson 3 0 9, Seth Pope 2 0 6, Reed Johnson 1 0 2.

Colonel Crawford (19-1, 14-0 N10): Shots 25-53; 3-pt. shots 12 (Brayden Holt 5, Logan Goddard 3, Peyton Baker, Brady Hill, Lucas Foy, Kaden Bruner); Free throws 5-6; Rebounds 20; Turnovers 2. Scoring: Peyton Baker 1 0 3, Logan Goddard 3 0 9, Brady Hill 1 0 3, Parker Weithman 2 0 4, John DeGray 3 0 6, Lucas Foy 1 0 3, Brayden Holt 8 3 24, Kaden Bruner 1 0 3, Payne DeGray 4 2 10, Tyler Lash 1 0 2.