Press Release 17
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Francis heroics not enough to save “Moulton”
Junior Men’s Midland Premier League
Doncaster Danum “Eagles”87 -77Northants “Moulton
Leome Francis gave his best performance of the season with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocked shots but it wasn’t enough to prevent his side going down by 10 points to Doncaster Danum “Eagles”.
When the two teams met just before Christmas “Moulton” triumphed by just two points so on the difficult Danum School court, another close encounter was expected and until five minutes before the end of the game so it proved. At that stage “Moulton” trailed by just five points and had the luxury of two free throws. In the event they missed both those shots and “Eagles” responded with a three pointer from their top scorer George Colwill to lead 80-72 and there was no way back for the Northants boys.
The game was a close run thing with “Moulton” taking a surprise 40-36 half time lead thanks to a long range buzzer beating three-pointer from Jonny Yates. “Eagles” took the initiative midway through the third period when they went on a 14-zero run which included a barrage of four three pointers. “Moulton” battled back to 65-63 at the end of the period but eventually succumbed halfway through the fourth.
Once again Coach John Collins was handicapped by the fact that both Yates and the influential Jake Wyatt got into early foul trouble which affected the rotation of his substitutes. Collins commented, “These two boys practice every day at the Moulton Academy and we encourage them to play aggressively but fairly, obviously this isn’t to the liking of a number of referees.”
As well as Francis’s 23 points haul, Wyatt had 12 points and 10 rebounds while Yates scored 11 points.
Junior Men notch a double against “Wolves”
Junior Men’s Midlands Conference
Northants “Thunder”60 - 42Worcester “Wolves”
The Northants “Thunder” Junior men duly completed a double over Worcester “Wolves” but had to survive a nail-biting final few minutes when their opponents hit three, three-pointers. Up until that barrage “Wolves” had managed just two points in seven minutes thanks to some energetic defence by the Northants boys.
The first two periods of play were close run things with the visitors just edging it 33-32. With both teams employing a zone defence scoring was at a premium but in the third quarter “Thunder” were able to exploit their height advantage to outscore their opponents 16-7 to lead
48-40. Great defence took the county boys out to 60-42 before that frenetic finish.
The win came thanks to a good all-round team effort with Phillip Humphreys returning from injury top scoring with 12 points; he also pulled down 14 rebounds a total exceeded by Qunicy Bonsu who pulled down 17.
Under 15 Boys storm past “Warriors”
Under 15 Boys Midlands Conference
Northants “Thunder”112 – 41 Herts “Warriors”
The Northants “Thunder” Under 15 boys were back in action for the first time in 2009 and overcame Herts “Warriors” with a display of aggressive defensive allied to some excellent fast break basketball.
“Thunder” established their superiority in the first quarter to lead 32-11. “Warriors” recovered to a certain extent in the second period which “Thunder” took 21-13 to lead 53-24 at half time. “Thunder” took the second half 59-17 to run out comfortable winners and keep up their challenge for an end of season Play Off place.
For “Thunder” Garnet Walters picked up a 37 points haul but the win was very firmly based on an impressive team defensive effort.
“Saints” hold on to beat brave Junior Women
Junior Women’s North Conference
Northants “Lightning”47 -57City of Sheffield “Saints”
A determined effort from the Northants “Lightning” Junior Women just failed to produce the win the team so badly wanted. With three minutes of the game remaining “Saints” held a narrow
48-47 lead but the northerners finished with a 9-zero charge to put a rather unrealistic look to the final score line.
The game was a very physical, defence dominated affair with both teams finding it difficult to score. There could be criticism of the county girl’s effort but were left to rue several missed opportunities.
For “Thunder” only Esme Kinghorn with 10 points was able to score in double figures
“Lightning” strike down “Eagles”
Under 16 Girls Midlands Conference
Northants “Lightning”58 – 40Exeter “Eagles”
The Northants “Lightning” Under 16 Girls extended their unbeaten run to three and completed a double over their West Country rivals with an 18 points win.
When the two teams met in the first game of the season “Lightning” edged the contest by just seven points but it was a much more straight forward win on this occasion despite the fact that several key players were unavailable for the game. The county girls led 28-20 at half time and extended that lead to 46-34 at the end of the third but they ended the stronger with a 12-6 charge in the fourth quarter to take the win.
For “Lightning” Lana Doran continued in her rich vein of form with 22 points, Cheryka Holmes chipped in with 10 points but probably the Player of the Game was Saschon Marshall who hauled down an impressive 15 rebounds while Holly Brown, Faye Clarke and Georgia Wiles controlled the back court.
“Ballers” Invitation Tournament
The latest “Ballers” Tournament was played at the Northants Basketball Centre last Saturday and attracted over 100 boys and girls aged 7 to 12. The event was played in two age group categories, “Budding Stars” and “Super Stars” with Redwell School from Wellingborough winning both categories.
Possibly the highlight of the morning was the games played between the very youngest players aged from 4 to 7.
The next Tournament will be played on Saturday 7th March and any groups or individuals interested in p-laying should contact Karen Goodrich on 01604 644 772
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Moulton College storm into quarter finals of the Colleges & Academies Championship
English Schools Basketball Association
Colleges & Academies Championship 4th Round
Wigan & Leigh College68 – 102Moulton College
The Moulton College ‘A’ team advanced to the quarter of the Colleges & Academies Championship despite fielding a much weakened team against Wigan and Leigh College.
Moulton’s opponents initially proved to be s difficult hurdle to overcome playing an uncompromising zone defence and breaking rapidly from that zone. For their part Moulton were below their best and seemed to be suffering from the long journey, Eventually Moulton were able to gain the upper hand and by the end of the first quarter had established a 30-23 lead but an injury to Shane D’Allessandro meant they were weakened even more.
Playing and aggressive full court pressing defence Mouton were forcing a number of errors from the Lancastrians and extended their lead to 15 points by the middle of the second period of play. They were then guilty of some undisciplined play and by half time their lead had been reduced to 10 points at 54-44.
At half time Coaches Dunning and Collins emphasised the importance of good execution on offence and protecting their backcourt from breakaway attacks. At the start of the third period they did just that and a 15-2 charge took away from the home side. Time and again Wigan and Leigh’s offences were thwarted and Jonny Yates was on hand to launch Moulton counter attacks. When initial shots were missed Moulton’s taller players even with out the injured Dan Shaw, were able to score from offensive rebounds.
Moulton took the quarter 27-13 to lead 81-57 and by now the Wigan and Leigh players were showing signs of fatigue. Moulton’s superior fitness really told in the final quarter which they won 21-11 to take the game 102-68.
In the 34 points win Jake Wyatt top scored with 25 points and he received excellent support from Jermaine Laing and Leon Henry who scored 19 and 15 points respectively. In the absence of Dan Shaw, Matt Usher deputised well with 14 points while Luke Griffiths chipped in with 14 points.
In the next round Moulton will play either York College or perennial opponents quarter final opponents Loretto College form Manchester.
THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION
Saturday 31st January
12.30pmUnder 14 Boys versus Leicester “Warriors” and Shropshire “Warriors”
2.20pmUnder 13’s versus Wellingborough “Phoenix”
All these games will be played at the Northants Basketball Centre at Northampton School for Girls in Spinney Hill Road
Spectators are welcome and admission is FREE
Northants “Ballers” travel to Coventry to play “Tornadoes” and Arden “Griffins”
Under 15 Boys versus Herts “Warriors”
Under 14 Girls II versus Birmingham “Force”
Under 16 Girls versus Mansfield “Giants”
Junior Women versus Stockport “Lapwings”
Sunday 1st February
Cadet Men versus to Derby “Trailblazers”
Junior Men versus City of Birmingham II
For further information on this Press release contact John Collins on 07801 533 151
