Destruction In Derby As Magic Retain National Cup

Manchester Magic 104 – 89 Worthing Thunder

The Magic defeated Worthing Thunder to retain the EBL National Cup with great all round attacking play which was highlighted by a dominant performance from game MVP Duncan Ogilvie who poured in 26 points and snagged 17 boards for the defending champs. The Thunder were unable to cope with the combination of Ogilvie's dexterity on the inside and the sweet stroking Patrick Dwyer who was a flame thrower from downtown as he drilled four 3-pointers in the first half.  

The Magic made their intentions clear from the outset as they took a 22-17 lead following Steve Gayle's layup in the 1^st quarter. The Thunder called a timeout hoping to narrow the gap before the end of the quarter but Dwyer drained his third triple of the quarter and a foul line jumper from Tanner Adu gave the Magic a 27-19 advantage after one.  

The Magic opened the second quarter with a jumper from Andrew Mackay but Worthing went on a 16-5 run to take a 35-34 lead. The Magic appeared nervous as they missed 7 of 10 free throws throughout the run and Coach Jeff Jones called a time out with 2:26 left in the quarter hoping to rally his troops.

 The Magic clearly took their mentor's instructions on board as they stepped up their defensive intensity and forced the Thunder into careless turnovers which the Magic converted into buckets. First Steve Boonham scored a layup then Jamal Hillard, Stefan Gill and Ogilvie all converted layups in transition as the Magic turned a 1 point deficit into a 7 point lead. Another 3-pointer by Dwyer ensured the Magic went into the half time interval with a 45-37 lead and the momentum firmly in their favour.

The Thunder needed a spark in the 3^rd quarter and it was provided by their centre Cleve Woodfork who used his size and strength to get to the foul line early on and threw down a ferocious 2 handed dunk in transition. But the Magic countered as Gerami sunk a jumper from the baseline then Hilliard pulled down 1 of his 6 rebounds and converted a layup before a tip by Ogilvie who was way above the rim pushed the Magic lead upto 11. Worthing called a timeout and once again regrouped as another crushing dunk by Woodfork closed the Magic lead to 6. Stefan Gill checked into the game for the Magic at the 5:21 mark and immediately made his impact felt with a steal and layup.

The Thunder were unable to stop the bleeding as the Magic attack was relentless. The lead remained in double digits and they managed to maintain their 3^rd quarter effort as Gill drained a 3-pointer with a minute to play further sinking the Thunder who went into the 4^th trailing 78-62 and needing to play a flawless quarter to keep any hopes of victory alive.  

 Worthing opened up the 4^th on an 8-2 run as they narrowed the gap to 10 but Ogilivie drained a step back 3 to push the lead back upto 13. Over the next 5 minutes the Thunder tried in vain to close the gap but any run they started was thwarted by the Magic as Steve Gayle ghosted past the tired Worthing defenders for a layup following a steal to give the Magic a 90-73 advantage. The Magic scored 7 of their 14 free throws down the stretch and Ogilvie capped his MVP performance with a two handed flush.

The Magic got contributions from throughout the team Steve Gayle scored 11, Taner Adu had 9, and Stefan Gill added 8 to go with 6 assists and 6 steals.

In the end, the Magic were worthy winners and brought the cup back to Manchester along with the prospect of an unprecedented ‘Three-peat’ next season!

Top Scorers

Magic: Duncan Ogilvie 26, Patrick Dwyer 21, Jamaal Hilliard 16,

Thunder: Cleve Woodfork 26, Pat Bates 18, Daniel Hildreth 12

Barkers (Tarring) Worthing Thunder were unable to claim the one piece of silverware missing from the trophy cabinet when they fell just short of defeating the previous holders Manchester Magic in the final at Derby.

With star American guard Demetrius Scott still seriously hampered by a sprained ankle it was always going to be tough to win the game, but with Magic's American captain Patrick Dwyer hot from 3 point range in the early stages and MVP Duncan Ogilvie being difficult to stop around the Thunder basket, Worthing were unable to assert themselves on the game.
Trailing 25-17 at the end of the first quarter, Scott was introduced, and combining well with Daniel Hildreth in the backcourt defensively, the team clawed its way back into the game.  With Cleve Woodfork and Pat Bates on good form inside, Thunder gained the lead at 35-34, but a run of four straight turnovers run back at them for 8 points gave Manchester back a lead that they never relinquished.

Thunder held on to the Magic, giving the fans hope that they could comeback and claim the victory, but a debatable technical foul on Woodfork (his fourth foul) late in the third quarter meant he had to sit out of the game at a vital stage.

Magic had done their homework on James Mooney and did not allow him any space to get his shots off, so Thunder found themselves struggling to score, whilst Manchester continued to crash the offensive boards profitably. 

Scott re-entered the game in a final throw of the dice, but at only half speed he was unable to fire the comeback required to get Thunder back into the game. 

Magic were deserved winners in the end, but with Scott hopefully back to full fitness, the National Trophy semi final between the two teams at the Worthing Leisure Centre on 3rd February looks like it could be a classic.

Magic One Win Away From Cup Repeat

Juma Ngqobongwana                                                                                                             

Manchester Magic 105 – 69 Luna Mansfield Stars

The Luna Mansfield Stars had beaten three Division One teams to reach the semi finals of the National Cup  – the Manchester Magic made sure that they were not the fourth.

The Magic duo of Steve Gayle and Duncan Ogilvie combined for 52 points to lead the defending champion Magic to within one victory of repeating their National Cup glory.

The Stars were the first Division Three to reach the semi finals of the National Cup however this proved to be one game too many as they were unable to cope with the speed of Gayle and the sheer athleticism of Ogilvie. The home team went on a 9 – 3 run in the first 2 minutes and opened up 18 – 7 lead on Orlan Jackman’s soaring breakaway jam halfway through the 1^st quarter but Mansfield managed to narrow the lead to 10 by the end of the quarter thanks to 7 points from U.S. forward Rob Stockwell. 

The Stars competed well in the first half but struggled to cope with the Magic’s accuracy as they shot a blistering 70% from inside the arc while also connecting on 7 shots from downtown. At the half the Magic lead had swelled to 59 – 38 as they continued to punish their opponents missed shots by counter attacking with gusto.

The 3^rd quarter saw Stockwell again dominate the scoring for the visitors as he displayed a nice array of post moves to score 12 points and eventually scored 23 in the contest. But the quarter belonged to Steve Gayle as the home town guard repeatedly used his pace to get ghost past the Stars defenders for layup after layup. By the end of the 3^rd quarter the lead had ballooned to 28 points and Coach Jeff Jones was able to rest most of his starters for the final 10 minutes.

The Stars demonstrated tremendous hustle throughout the game and out rebounded their hosts 45 – 43 with 21 of those coming on the offensive end but found the Magic in simply irresistible shooting form as they also converted on just under 80% of their free throws. The Magic have enjoyed another splendid cup run and are in a great position to retain the National Cup when they face Worthing Thunder in a repeat of last years final.

Top Scorers:

Manchester Magic: Steve Gayle 31, Duncan Ogilvie 21, Taner Adu                       Luna Mansfield Stars: Rob Stockwell 20, Sam O’Shea 20, Dan Watts 11

Barkers (Tarring) Worthing Thunder qualified for their fifth straight major EBL final with a comfortable win at Bracknell Sports Centre over an Atlantis Reading Rockets side that were missing head coach Dave Titmuss through illness but were always kept at arm's length by a Thunder side to set up a repeat of last season's National Cup final against Manchester Magic. 
Once Worthing had leapt into an early 19-11 lead, the visitors managed to hold the home side at bay, with only Danny Carter (12 first half points) keeping Reading in the game as the teams changed round with Thunder 45-37 up. 

The third quarter saw Worthing, on the back of 4 James Mooney three-pointers extend that lead to 19 at 68-49, before Carter's 10 points in an 18-6 reply spanning the final break brought the gap back to 7 at 74-67.  Following a Worthing time-out, a double-digit lead was soon re-established through Cleve Woodfork, leaving Thunder to progress to the first major final of the season.    
After the game, Thunder coach Rob Newson was full of praise for his team:  'In the end it was a convincing win. Whilst we were always aware that Reading would never lie down, we maintained a healthy lead throughout and never looked like losing the game. We were much improved from weeks previous in terms of teamwork and our defence stifled Reading and forced turnovers and bad shots from them.

"Despite a heavy foul count in favour of the Rockets we carried a lead into the break, which we built on with some excellent defence, transition offence, and great shooting from James Mooney in the 3rd period.  Reading mounted a late charge in the fourth, but Cleve put that to rest with a dunk off an assist from JB (James Brame) to ice it and we closed out the game. A fantastic win for us on the road; we've done it the hard way so far and it doesn't get any easier. But we will be ready, come January 13th." 
For Thunder, James Mooney had 6 rebounds and 3 steals to go with his 28 points, Cleve Woodfork added 8 rebounds to his 17.  Reading's Carter shone with 26 on 11/17 shooting as the rest of the team went 14/55 from the floor and were 4/25 from 3 point range.  Andy Harper went 10/10 from the line to partially make up for his 2/15 floor shooting. 
Scorers - Thunder - Mooney 28, Woodfork 17, Demetrius Scott 12, Pat Bates 11, James Brame 10, Daniel Hildreth 2, Okolie Ugbana 2, Dan Midgley 2, Ryan Marrast 2, Ciaran Burns 0, Ian Berry DNP. 
Rockets - Carter 26, Andy Harper 15, Bryan Taylor 13, Steve Vear 13, David Watts 9, Dan McKay 2, Richard Wellings 0, Simon Kearney 0, Adam Kelly 0, Jo Perera 0, Steve Tolloczko DNP.

National Cup semi final

Reading Rockets 78      Worthing Thunder  86

In what was effectively a neutral venue, at Bracknell Leisure Centre, Reading Rockets lost their National Cup semi final to the undefeated Worthing Thunder in what was certainly not their best performance of the season.

Rockets’ shooting was way down on their normal percentage and Worthing punished them with Worthing’s Mooney top scoring with 28 points including four threes and he was the major difference though Danny Carter worked hard and diligently to try to keep Rockets in the tie with 26 points and 6 rebounds. 

Top scorers for Rockets     Danny Carter 26, Andy Harper 15 with Bryan Taylor and Steve Vear both on 13 points

Sunday saw two unbeaten EBL Division 1 teams clash at Ware in the National Cup Quarter Final.  A tense and tight battle was eventually won by Worthing, which sets up a mouth-watering semi-final clash away to Reading Rockets on the 9^th December. 

As on Saturday, Thunder started the brightest, with captain James Brame and American Demetrius Scott combining for 18 of the teams’ first 22 points as they led 22-11 midway through the first quarter. James Mooney then hit 3 three pointers in six minutes as by the fifth minute of the second quarter the gap had extended to 14 at 41-27. 

Sam Salter, Carl Latham-Henry and Antonio Bright forged a 13-2 run to reduce the deficit to 43-40, from which point neither team managed to gain a significant advantage for the remainder of the game. 

With Thunder up 2 at the half it was anyone’s game and it became more physical as it went on, with 50 fouls called in total, 4 of which were technical fouls.  However, both teams were having off days from the foul line, as down the stretch Leopards missed 9 of 16 free throws, Thunder doing even worse missing 10 of 15.  In the end, Thunder held onto the victory as Antonio Bright and Lee McCarthy missed 4 free throws in the closing seconds and Carl Latham-Henry’s buzzer beater fell short. 

Said a relieved Rob Newson after the game:”Leopards were a team playing with a lot of confidence, having picked up some new players and on a 4 game win streak. However, we came out strong again and quickly gained a double digit lead through some great shooting from JB (James Brame).  Early foul trouble forced our Americans to the bench and Leopards got themselves back into the game, within 2 at half time.  Cleve (Woodfork) picked up his fourth foul early in the 3rd; forcing Okolie Ugbana to play most of the 2nd half and he did a great job defensively. The game was scrappy at both ends and Leopards tied it up late in the fourth when Gareth Laws made his free throws.  Again, we kept our heads and 2 players stood out down the stretch; JB made the go-ahead 3 pointer whilst Demetrius (Scott) made some big defensive plays in the last minute, stealing the ball on the last play to secure the win.

Considering the absence of Pat Bates and 2 long road trips, these are 2 big wins for us and I'm extremely proud of the fight & composure they showed down the stretch in both games.”

Scorers: Thunder – Demetrius Scott 23, James Brame 20, James Mooney 16, Cleve Woodfork 8, Dan Midgley 6, Ryan Marrast 3, Ciaran Burns 2, Okolie Ugbana 1, Ian Berry DNP. 

Leopards – Carl Latham-Henry 22, Gareth Laws 14, Sam Salter 13, Antonio Bright 10, Lee McCarthy 8, Matt Collins 8, Matt Eames 2, Lukas Volskis 0, Leigh Greenan 0, Fola Adeleko 0, Ben Warden DNP.

Leopards                77 (16,43,61)

Worthing Thunder 79 (29,45,60)

Poor foul shooting cost Leopards as their National Cup dreams were ended by league champions Worthing Thunder on Sunday.

The Big Cats missed 11 of their 19 fourth period foul shots, including four in the final 20 seconds as they came agonizingly close to ending Thunder’s unbeaten start to the season.

Carl Latham-Henry led the Big Cats with 22 points, while Gareth Laws hit 15 and Sam Salter 13, but the result left coach Jon Burnell a disappointed man:

“All the signs are good for our team, but I’m absolutely gutted about the two point loss. We played pretty well, and we are beginning to get where we need to be if we are going to win games like this. I’m really disappointed, because it was a real chance to win something.”

In common with the previous night’s win at Coventry, the Big Cats had a poor first period, and although a Salter trey gave them a 7-6 lead after three minutes play, a 16-2 run from the visitors put them in control at 22-11 with three minutes of the period remaining.

A Laws three-pointer broke the run, but a basket from Cleve Woodfork and a James Mooney trey sent the visitors into the first break with a 29-16 lead.

Latham-Henry started the second period with a pair of baskets to cut the deficit to nine before Matt Collins scored his first points in a Leopards’ vest with a trey.

The hosts still trailed by 14 midway through the quarter, but Bright, Latham-Henry and Salter all contributed in a 13-2 run to drag themselves back into the game, and scores from Lee McCarthy and Salter cut the deficit to two at half-time.

Demetrice Scott scored the first four points of the second half to extend Thunder’s lead to six, but five Latham-Henry points in a 9-2 run put Leopards into a 52-51 lead with just over five minutes of the period gone.

The rest of the period proved to be a nip-tuck affair, but late treys from Collins and Bright sent Leopards into the final break with a 61-60 lead.

Scott and Dan Midgley put Worthing into a three point lead with the first scores of the fourth period, before Salter leveled things with another score from the Lane of Plenty.

A Leigh Greenan basket put Leopards ahead as the midway stage of the period approached, but four points from Midgley and a James Mooney free-throw saw Thunder open a 72-68 lead.

One-from-two foul shooting from both McCarthy and Lathem-Henry halved the deficit before James Brame scored a trey two and half minutes before the end to give Thunder a 75-70 lead.

McCarthy scored proved to be game’s final field goal to cut their lead to three, but missed the bonus shot after being fouled by Ryan Marrast.

Laws was fouled while taking a three pointer for the second time in the game, and sunk two of the three foul shots to make the score level the score at 75 before Scott sunk three out of four free-throws after being fouled by Collins and Bright.

As they game went into the final 20 seconds, Bright was fouled by Midgley, but missed both free-throws, and after McCarthy had collected the rebound he was fouled by Okolie Ugbana.

However, he emulated Bright by missing both shots, leaving Laws with no choice but to foul Marrast to stop the clock.

Incredibly the Canadian/British dual national also missed both shots, and although Latham-Henry managed to get a shot off on the buzzer, it fell short and Leopards’ cup hopes came to an end.

Leopards: C Latham-Henry 22, G Laws 15, S Salter 13, S Bright 9, L McCarthy 8, M Collins 6, L Greenan 2, M Eames 2, L Volskis.

Dunkin Duncan Dominates Leeds As Magic Cup Defence Continues

By Juma Ngqobongwana

On Sunday the Magic welcomed Leeds Carnegie for the 3^rd round of  their National Cup defence.

The travelling Leeds fans were very vocal early on as they attempted to spur their team on to pull off an upset. The players fed off the crowd’s energy early on as they raced out to an 8 – 2 lead.

The Magic remained close, showing good form from the foul line as they hit 4 straight and connected on their first 8 attempts from the stripe. Leeds remained ahead thanks to a 3-pointer by Akin Fagbohun but the Magic went on an 11 – 3 run in the final 4 minutes, capped by a driving lay up from Steve Gayle to give them a 21 – 16 lead at the end of the first period.

The home team carried their momentum into the second quarter as they opened up with a 10 – 3 run to push their lead to 12 on a pretty turnaround jumper from Orlan Jackman. Andrew Mackay then hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and Gayle streaked away for another layup as the Magic appeared to be cruising to victory. However Fagbohun had other ideas as he helped his side to put a run together. The Leeds forward converted two tough layups and drained his second 3-pointer of the game to pull his side to within 7 as halftime loomed. But the Magic swung the around and found Mackay in the corner who calmly drained a 3-ball right in front of the home bench as the halftime buzzer sounded to send the Magic into the locker room leading 44 – 34.

The visitors were not discouraged as they opened the third with another rally as their shots again started to drop. Ben Lesinki provided a spark off the bench as he nailed two 3-pointers as part of a 12 – 4 Carnegie run and closed the gap to 2 points. But the run appeared to tire the Leeds players out as they began to turn the ball over and that allowed the Magic to get easy buckets in transition. The main beneficiary was Duncan Ogilvie, who treated the spectators to a slam dunk showcase as he scored on 4 consecutive possessions with a variety of dunks including a break away jam that Zoltan Supola did his best to avoid! No other Magic player scored a field goal for the remainder of the quarter but they continued to convert from the charity stripe and by the end of the period the Magic had used a 22 – 5 run to open up a 19 point lead with one quarter left to play.

The fourth quarter started with the Magic still on the offensive and went on a 7 – 2 run punctuated by another putback jam from Ogilvie to increase the lead to 24 points. Leeds continued to exhibit their never say die attitude and led by Supola they went on one final run. He used his speed and smooth handle to get to the basket and had two 3-point plays on back to back possessions as the visitors tried to reduce the deficit. With the clock winding down Leeds were forced to foul to prolong the game and this tactic had limited success as the Magic missed 9 of their last 17 free throws. However the Leeds comeback fell short and they were beaten by a final score of 91 – 77. Duncan Ogilvie top scored with 28 points along with 8 boards and 4 steals. Steve Gayle also performed well with 8 assists to go with his 16 points. The Magic will hope to use their two victories his weekend as a spring board towards their next home game against  Reading on November 24^th  as they look to avenge the trophy loss they suffered last month. 

Top Scorers:

Magic – Duncan Ogilvie 28, Steve Gayle 16, Andrew Mackay 11

Carnegie – Zoltan Supola 25, Akin Fagbohun 19, Charis Sisou 11

Coventry Crusaders (37) 63 - Luna Mansfield Stars (38) 77

Crusaders Ousted from National Cup

Luna Mansfield Stars have knocked their second Division One team out of the Cup as of Saturday night when they came to Coventry and handily beat the Crusaders.

The Stars successful progress through the cup is commendable to the programme they have going there, and their talent and their passion will help them in the next difficult quarter finals round.

The Stars were the first on the scoreboard.  Watts was sent to the free throw line early in the game, scoring both.

But Ed Baynes Clarke and Ben Clarke both quickly put Crusaders points in the basket to start Coventry’s campaign.

For the first five minutes the game was a close-fought encounter, but the Stars started pulling away with a pile of points contributed by Richards and Stockwell. By the end of the first period the visitors had sprung ahead of Crusaders 17-28.

The second quarter started off with Crusaders cutting their deficit to 8 points before Stars surged forward again.

Then the Crusaders went on a 14-3 run, however catching up with Luna Mansfield just before half-time. Stars’ Middleton went to the line with a few seconds left on the clock, scoring one, to just give them the edge before the interval 37-38.

In the third period both teams struggled to score. Crusaders had contained Stars to just 10 points in the 2^nd, and then to 9 points in the 3^rd.  Their own ability to take advantage of the situation did not really help them, however, as they only scored 12 in the quarter.

Coach Neely used the second half to bring on Juniors (U-18’s) Dave Edden and Tim Donaldson, both making their first appearances in a Division One home game.  They joined their Junior’s team mate Sydney Donaldson who was in the starting line-up.

When the 4^th quarter started Crusaders had regained the edge 49-47, but as soon as the last period began Stars scored again, tying the game and then again to go ahead.

Stars had to know that they were in with a real chance of continuing their National Cup pursuit, as they then went on a run, scoring nine unanswered points to put them up by 55-68 with under three minutes to play.

Although Ryan Luethy hit a couple of baskets and on-form Clarke made a 3-pointer, the Stars were in it for the win, by then, and kept the pressure on, increasing their lead and running out deserved winners 63-77.

Crusaders never looked like their heart was in it the way the Mansfield team did. Somehow they lacked the passion that was required to keep a close game, a close game.  Neither did they seem to take the challenge of a Cup game seriously.

Crusaders Scorers: Linacre 2, S. Donaldson 4, Hall 5, Edden 5, Baynes Clarke 10, Luethy 17, B. Clarke 20

Stars Scorers: Middleton 3, Richards 8, Watts 11, O’Shea 13, Shaw 19, Stockwell 23

In a real cup tie atmosphere in a packed arena, Reading Rockets stirred themselves to a magnificent second period which they took by 66 - 21 to outplay a gallant Mansfield Giants, maintaining their unbeaten record and moving into the Quarter final of the National Cup with a 104 - 56 victory. 

Top scorers    Danny Carter 25, Andrew Harper 18, Steve Vear 17, David 'Tintin' Watts 16 and Simon Kearney 14

Barkers (Tarring) Worthing Thunder moved into the quarter finals of the National Cup with a comfortable 113-63 win over Kent Crusaders at the Worthing Leisure Centre on Sunday. 

Having struggled to find a rhythm early on, Thunder moved through the gears during the game, winning all four quarters and cruising to victory with a 39-18 final period.  With Cleve Woodfork sitting out due to Worthing being from a higher league than their second divsion opponents, Ryan Marrast moved into the starting five, scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, but it was captain James Brame who put the first four points on the board on his way to 22 in the game. 

James Mooney led all scorers with 23, with the solidly consistent Demetrius Scott adding 6 rebounds and 6 assists to his 21 points.  Dan Midgley had 15 rebounds to go with his 18 points and Pat Bates had 8 rebounds and 3 blocks along with 14 points as 6 players made it to double figures. 

With Robbie Parker and Sam Betts missing for the visitors, it was left to Mike Webber to lead them in scoring with 15 points.  A solid if not spectacular performance from the reigning Division 1 champions as they head for an away clash in the last eight. 
Scorers:  Thunder - Mooney 23, Brame 22, Scott 21, Midgley 18, Bates 14, Marrast 11, Berry 2, Burns 2.
Crusaders - Webber 15, Findley 13, Harris 12, Dimandja 10, Broadmore 5, Lyons 4, Wadey 2, Rosenthal 2.

Crusaders lose league opener and crash out of cup

On Sunday the Crusaders travelled to Worthing where the Division 1 champions Thunder played host to the third round National Cup fixture.  

Coach Olesen said about the fixture: “It was never going to be an easy game. Worthing has beaten Division 1 teams by up to 39 points this year, so we knew they were good.” 

The Crusaders came out unimpressed despite Worthing’s status as one of the best teams in the UK, as they managed to keep within striking distance far into the second half.  

“We didn’t play particularly well against Worthing, as we missed a lot of open shots and layups, and didn’t hit a three pointer after the first period, but I think it speaks volumes that we were able to keep it within 17 points until 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Unfortunately Worthing then scored nine unanswered points, and we lost belief in that the come-back we have been so good at this year was possible.” 

The end of the game turned into a rout, as the tired Crusaders, who turned up with only 9 available players, allowed the hosts to take the last period 39-18, for a final score of 113-63. 

Last weekend Steve Findley was the hero as he hit the winning three pointer against Plymouth Cannons, but after the loss at Worthing he commented: “Our lack of aggression in the third quarter really hurt. I feel like I let down the team today in that respect.”  

Crusaders coach Mads Olesen reflected on the weekend’s losses with some degree of optimism: “It’s not like we’re back to square one. The players have shown me what they can do – now it’s my job to get them to do it every game, for 40 minutes. As we don’t have a game next weekend, we’ll work that much harder in training to reach that goal and get back to our winning ways.” 

Steve Findley saw it much the same way: “Each player needs to display more self belief and aggression, and it has to be there for every game. When that happens I believe this team can compete with anyone.”

w/e 28/10/07

On Sunday, Worthing Thunder earned the right to host Kent Crusaders next Sunday (4th November) by defeating Westside 88-66 in Uxbridge. 

Despite losing guard Daniel Hildreth to a turned ankle, a 28-10 first quarter proved decisive for last year's beaten finalists to progress to the third round.  With guard Demetrius Scott forced to sit out due to the fact that Thunder were playing a team from a lower division, his fellow American Cleve Woodfork took centre stage, scoring 14 points in that first quarter on his way to a personal tally of 28.  

Ably supported by James Mooney (23) and James Brame (13), a 12-0 run to end the game gave Thunder a 22 point victory.  For Westside, Ola Ogidan impressed with a game high 32 points. 

Other scorers - Pat Bates 12, Dan Midgley 7, Daniel Hildreth 5.
Westside - Ogidan 32, Avokkyyah 13, Baker 8, Mayers 6, Dewey 4, Gozdziak 2, McKay 1.

Missed Free Throws hand Mansfield the win 

Brookes Sport Oxford              77            -            78            Mansfield Giants 

A hugely entertaining game kicked off the new season at Oxford Brookes University this Saturday, with a first round National Cup encounter between Brookes Sport Oxford and Mansfield Giants.  

Brookes, playing without last season’s league MVP Tom Davies, were under no illusion that the strengthened Giants team were going to prove tough opposition, having already disposed of Division 1 teams in their pre-season build up. 

The nip and tuck affair started slowly with defensive intensity being shown by both teams until back to back 3 pointers on consecutive offences by Brookes student Phil Smith opened up a 7 point lead. This lead was maintained until the start of the 10^th minute before costly fouls and turnovers allowed Mansfield to draw level, and ultimately take the lead 22-24 on a half court heave that netted Giants’ Ben Coy with a rare 3 pointer. 

The 2^nd and 3^rd periods were similarly tight, with the lead changing hands 8 times and neither team able to break the deadlock, and heading into the final stanza, Giants held a slender 1 point advantage 59-58. 

As was the case in the first period, Brookes once again took the initiative and opened a 7 point lead which they maintained heading into the final minute. From this point on however, Brookes were guilty of the old adage of “playing not to lose” instead of going for the win, and with every ensuing foul by Giants, Brookes were unable to convert their free throws.  

With each miss compounded by Giants’ scores, Brookes were left to rue what might have been when a score by Hasse regained Giants the lead with less than 20 seconds to play; their first lead since the end of the 3^rd quarter. With 1.5 seconds to play, an unsportsmanlike foul was called against Mansfield giving Brookes yet another opportunity to draw level. Another opportunity missed at the foul line. 

Brookes managed to connect on only 1 of 6 attempts at the foul line in the final 30 seconds of the game, and only 3 of their 11 in the entire 4^th quarter, in what ultimately decided the outcome. 

Mansfield now face a tough encounter in the next round away versus West Herts Warriors of Division 1, while Brookes are left to work on their Achilles heel until their next game in 2 weeks time. 

Brookes:            Armstrong 17, Robinson 14, Kelly 13, Gillet 13

Mansfield:          Richards 21, Renton, 14, Coy 12

Saints vs Heat (National Cup 1st Round)

The City of Sheffield Saints got their new season underway with a 35 point win over Huddersfield Heat in the National Cup on Saturday night.  Chris Law opened the scoring for the Saints but the game was close early on and Carl Seamarks put the visitors ahead 12-7 after five minutes.  However, all five of the Saints starters made scoring contributions and the first quarter ended with the home team trailing 19-22.

Enter Garnet Gayle.  A solitary 3 pointer from Jason Swaine was all Huddersfield could muster for the first 4 minutes of the quarter and the Saints dominated the boards at both ends of the floor, going on an 8-0 run.  Swaine and Seamarks kept the Heat in the game but 10 unanswered points from Gayle and Tilly Hackett put the Saints up 37-32 going into half time.

Summer signings Rick Marsh and Pawel Szafraniec worked hard on the inside and as the Saints defence stepped up, scores from Pete Olusoga and Law kept the Saints ahead 63-51 heading into the final quarter.

One of the standout performances of the night came from another new signing, Tom Hope.  With 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals on his debut, Hope worked tirelessly in the second half and, as the Heat ran out of ideas, the Saints went on an incredible 28-4 run, finishing the game 96-61 winners.

After the game, player coach Pete Olusoga said “Everyone worked hard tonight and it was a solid team performance to kick off our season.  Everyone who came off the bench made a positive contribution and it was good to see all 12 players on the scoresheet.  We’ve still got a lot to work on but this was a great start for us”.

The Saints now host Luna Mansfield Stars in the 2^nd round of the National cup on 21^st October but have to face the Heat again in 2 weeks for their first league game of the season.  The Saints next home game is against Liverpool on Saturday 20^th October at All Saints School.  Tip off is 6pm.

CoS Saints: Hackett(17), Gayle(16), Szafraniec(13), Olusoga(11), Hope(9), Law(7), Kerrigan(6), Turner(4), Fooks(4), Marsh(4), Allott(3), Andrew(2)

Huddersfield Heat: Swaine(20), Seamarks(17), Woodward(6), Perez y Medina(6)

Bradford Dragons make a winning start to the new season. 

Bradford Dragons senior men’s team made the long journey to Durham on Saturday to play the Durham Wildcats in their new home court in front of a 500 partisan home crowd in the first round of the Sureshot Cup.

After an opening Wildcats scoring spell, it was Dragons who stepped up the defensive intensity to gain control of the game. Dragons stayed in front and controlled the game throughout to win 82 to 78 at the buzzer.

New Captain Hungarian Istvan ‘PD’ Dohar led from the front with 21 points, including 5 big three’s from beyond the arc. He was matched by returning Latvian point guard Daumants Pabrieza who hit 20 points and local Bradford player and original Bradford Dragon, Craig ‘Big Bird’ Wilson who had his most outstanding game to date in a Dragons kit with 18 points and a shed load of rebounds.

Dragons now travel to Sheffield on Sunday 21/10/07 to play EBL division 1 outfit the Sheffield Arrows in round 2 of the Sureshot Cup. 

Dragon’s Coach Chris Mellor said after the game, ‘This was a good solid start to the season, everyone did a good job and it was a good team effort and team performance that took us to this win’.

Dragons now have a further two weeks of practice before travelling to play Liverpool away on Saturday 13/10/07 in the first EBL game of the season.

The new look Dragons team play Mansfield Giants at home on Saturday 20/10/07 at 6.15pm in the new Dragon’s lair at the Zara Sports Centre, Belle Vue Girls School, Thorn Lane, Bradford BD9 6NA.

Trailblazers Knocked out of National Cup at 1^st Round Stage 

Derby Trailblazers              76             (13, 43, 63)

Mansfield Stars             82            (27, 48, 63)

Derby Trailblazers have been knocked out of England Basketball’s National Cup competition at the first round stage. Mansfield Stars were 82-76 winners at Moorways on Saturday night.

Problems with recruitment and player registrations meant Derby were forced to field a much weaker side than they had hoped. Local legend Tim Lascelles was called out of retirement for the game and a number of Trailblazers youngsters were also drafted into the senior team. Amongst them was 16 year old England International Mikey Manghum, recently back from representing his country in an international tournament in Macedonia.

Derby started poorly and were trailing 42-26 by the 6^th minute of the second quarter. But a Mansfield time out sparked Derby into life as their shooters finally began to perform. Jamie McGaffin, Simon Allaway and Mikey Manghum all connected from long range, with Manghum nailing a huge three-pointer on the half time buzzer, off an assist from Player Coach Clarence Wiggins.

Four minutes into the third quarter, Derby took the lead thanks to a pair of free-throws from Simon Allaway. For the remainder of the period, Blazers were either ahead or the scores were level, leaving the home crowd expectant as the match entered the final quarter tied at 63-all.

However, the fourth quarter belonged to Mansfield’s Rob Stockwell. Derby were unable to stop him from scoring and the American hit three more three pointers on his way to 33 points and 16 rebounds, despite having been on four fouls since midway through the third quarter.

Tim Lascelles finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, to which he also added a team-leading 5 assists. Mikey Manghum hit a pair of three-pointers on his way to 8 points and 4 assists.

Trailblazers Player coach Clarence Wiggins was full of praise for the 16 year old debutant. “Mikey rose to the challenge magnificently,” Wiggins enthused. “He’s going to have a great future in the game. And I must also say a big thank you to Tim Lascelles who used his experience to lead by example, despite not knowing he would be asked to play until the 11^th hour.”

“We now need to accelerate our search for quality big men and complete the signings of our two overseas players. Hopefully we’ll have several extra players on board before next weekend.”

Mansfield: Rob Stockwell 33; Sam O’Shea 15; Matt Shaw  11; Martin Richards  9; Aaron Maher 8; Dan Watts 4; Gary Collins 2

Crusaders Defeat Sevenoaks

Steve Findley lead the scoring with 17 points with Robbie Parker and Mike Webber adding 12 points each as the Body and Mind Crusaders overcame the Sevenoaks Suns 73-40 to advance to the next round of the National Cup.

Head coach Mads Olsen commented on the game ”It's nice to start the season with a win, and we have to be happy about the result. We set a defensive club record, and we have made great strides defensively from the two games we played last weekend”

Crusaders held a young Sevenoaks team to just 40 points wich broke the previous club record for lowest points allowed in a game (45) versus Solent in the 05/06 season.

Crusaders started the game strongly and with Steve Findley scoring 8 points in the opening quarter the home team jumped out to a 12 point lead. The Suns were held to only 10 points in the 1st quarter with Damian Lyons, Jeff Wadey and Rikki Broadmore playing aggressive full court defense, disrupting the Sevenoaks guards. Despite sending Sevenoaks to the free throw line 7 times in the first period they only made 4 of these.

Sevenoaks opened the 2nd qurter scoring 2 points to take the score to 22-12. But Crusaders again behind their strong defensive play put together an 8-0 run to lead by  18 points with 6 minutes left in the half. Sevenoaks managed to find some rythem offensively and the two teams traded baskets up to half time leaving the score at 43-23.

The 3rd quarter saw Crusaders again come out strong on defense giving up a number of cheap fouls early handing the Suns 12 more shots from the free throw line in the quarter. The game was over as a contest by this point and Crusaders used the opportunity to run through different offensive sets, coach Olsen said ” In the second half we were looking to run set offense, to prepare for the upcoming Patrons Cup and Division 2 games. Sevenoaks playing hard even if they were behind gave us exelent opportunity to test some things out. We didn't score as much as we could have, but it was very valuable to us long term". Despite this Crusaders still won the quarter 14-11.

The home team finished the game well wining the final period 16-6 with Lyons pulling the strings on offense. Lyons finished with 10 assists, just one behind the club record held by Gary Davison. The final score ended 73-40.

Coach Olsen had this to say about Sevenoaks performance ”Sevenoaks played a good game. They are a well coached team with a lot of young players who will only get better in time"

Crusaders will now meet Worthing Thunder in the 3rd round of the National Cup.