Press Release 14

P R E S S R E L E A S E

“Moulton” end the year on a high

Junior Men’s Midland Premier Division

Northants “Moulton” 95 - 54 Coventry “Crusaders”

The Northants “Moulton” ended 2008 with a commanding performance over local rivals Coventry “Crusaders”. The tone of the game was set in the first period with “Crusaders” totally intimidated by the intensity of “Moulton’s” switching defence and by the end of the period the home side had jumped out to a 20-5 lead.

Coventry showed their true ability in the second quarter which was tied up at 16 all but the “Moulton” offensive machine clicked back into action as they outscored their opponents 32-15 in the third to take an unassailable 68-36. During that period the sequence of Francis rebound, Yates assist, Henry lay up had become it so repetitive that it was almost boring.

“Moulton’s” superiority continued during the fourth quarter despite losing the services of Jake Wyatt through a recurrence of his ankle injury as they closed out the game at 95-54 to avenge the early season defeat at Coventry.

In the 40 plus points win Leon Henry top scored with 28 points while Johnny Yates enjoyed another fine game with 19 points, 5 assists and 5 steals. With Dan Shaw still suffering from the effects of ‘flu and Jake Wyatt picking up his injury “Moulton” needed one of their other ‘big’ men to make a major contribution and Leome Francis did just that with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Richard Higgins and Dewayne Browne also made useful contributions.

“Lynx” zone too much for Junior Men

Junior Men’s Midland Conference

Northants “Thunder” 49 - 58 Lincolnshire “Lynx”

An obdurate Lincolnshire “Lynx” side that played an uncompromising zone defence and a stall offence for the whole game proved too much for the Northants “Thunder” Junior Men. The county boys found themselves trailing from minute one failing to execute a number of fast breaks and showing no patience in their half court offence. At the end of the first period “Lynx” led 19-6 with “Thunder” needing to really step up their game if they were to get a win.

Things looked a little better in the second period with Chris Dalton scoring from mid range and hussling well on the offensive boards. “Thunder” took the period 18-10 and at 29-24 to “Lynx” at half time it looked to be ‘game on’.

The next two quarters were close but the county boys were never able to apply the necessary defensive pressure or offensive momentum to close the gap. The Lincolnshire side were able to control the tempo of the game and they ran out 58-49 winners.

In the disappointing defeat only Nick Kitchen with 12 points was able to score in double figures.

 

Nightmare first quarter costs Cadets dear

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

City of Birmingham 65 - 57 Northants “Thunder”

When these two teams met a few weeks ago Birmingham took the game by 22 points, so on the face of it this eight point set back would seem to represent a big improvement. The final score however, told only part of the story with “Thunder” trailing 17-2 after the first period and then closing the game with a 14-3 charge.

Coach Rob Eddon was forced to switch his team to a zone defence after the first quarter and by containing the Birmingham offence this seemed to give the Northants boys a lot of confidence. They took the second period 16-13 and at 34-20 felt they might be in with a chance of actually winning the game. Needing a big effort in the third period the team were guilty of poor shot selection and they went into the final period of play trailing 50-33. The two teams exchanged baskets at the start of the fourth quarter with Ravi Parmar and Merson Paul scoring ten points between them. “Thunder” switched back to a man-to-man defence and this forced Birmingham into some errors leading to the late charge which unfortunately was too little too late.

In the 65-57 loss Merson Paul top scored with 13 points, Ben Sampson combined his 12 points with 12 rebounds while Joseph Da Graca had seven boards to go with his 10 points.

 

Under 15 Boys undone by Birmingham

Under 15 Boys Midlands Conference

  City of Birmingham 37 – 34 Northants “Thunder

  Northants “Thunder” 62 – 32 Derby “Trailblazers”

The Northants Under 15 Boys bounced back from a disappointing three points defeat against City of Birmingham to comfortably beat Derby “Trailblazers” but Coach Peter Dewsnap was disappointed not to have completed the ‘double’.

Playing without the services of injured leading scorer Ben Care the Northants boys turned in a magnificent defensive display to lead the West Midlanders 29-25 at the end of the third period. “Thunder” then proceeded to totally lose their discipline turning the ball over too frequently and resorting to one versus five offences. Birmingham took the final quarter 12-5 to snatch an unlikely victory.

Immediately after that disappointing loss “Thunder” were back on court against Derby “Trailblazers”. With their heads well and truly down the county boys did well to pick themselves up and thanks to some excellent pressure defence were able to establish early superiority. Leading 29-13 at half time the county boys were able to maintain their intensity in the third and fourth periods eventually running out winners by 62 points to 32.

In the game against “Traliblazers” Cameron Emerson scored 19 points and Matthew Yates 10 while against Birmingham Garnet Walters made an impressive 17 points contribution

 

Under 13 Boys see off Birmingham but slip up against “Sharks”

Under 13 Boys Midlands Conference

  City of Birmingham 30 – 52 Northants “Thunder

  Sheffield “Sharks” 64 – 21 Northants “Thunder”

The Northants “Thunder” Under 13 Boys travelled to Sheffield for their latest tournament and returned with a win and a loss.

Against City of Birmingham the county boys convincingly won three of the four periods of play to take the game 52-30 with Sam Round scoring an impressive 25 points. It was however, a different story against a big aggressive Sheffield “Sharks” team. “Sharks” dominated the boards so were able to launch a succession of fast breaks and score from a number of ‘put backs’. In the 64-21 loss even the prolific Round was kept in control and no other “Thunder” player could make a significant offensive contribution.

Coach Mike Round was a little disappointed with the margin of defeat against “Sharks” but singled out the rebounding of Ross Cairns and the defence of Jamie Percival as positives from the day.

Junior Women too strong for Bradford

Junior Women’s North Conference

Bradford “Dragons” 55 - 113 Northants “Lightning”

Against a young and inexperienced Bradford Dragons team the Northants “Lightning” Junior Women eventually recorded a convincing win but only leading 43-33 at half time the final result was still in the balance. “Dragons” were a tall enthusiastic team who went to he offensive boards with gusto. This led to a number of ‘put back’ scores which was the main reason for the small margin of the lead at half time.

After the interval “Lightning” were able to disrupt their opponents with an aggressive leading full court men-to-man defence which forced a number of turn-overs and easy scores. Esme Kinghorn and Ayesha Hillman were the main benficieneries while Imogen Cox put on an excellent long range shooting display.

“Lightning” outscored their “Dragons” 70-22 in the third and fourth quarters to run out winners by 113 points to 55. Cox led all scorers with 30 points including an impressive eight three-pointers. Kinghorn contributed 27 and Hillman 17 while Sascha Thompson just back from contributed 12 points.