Press Release 7
Moulton gain Cup revenge after League defeat at the hands of Milton Keynes
Local rivals Northants “Moulton” and Milton Keynes “Lions played each other twice last weekend once in the Premier Division and then in the 1st Round of the National Cup. “Lions” came out on top in the League encounter but “Moulton” gained revenge in the Cup game
Junior Men’s Midland Premier Division
Northants “Moulton”65 – 75Milton Keynes “Lions”
Against unbeaten Milton Keynes “Lions”, Northants “Moulton” were in contention at 64-63 with two minutes of the game remaining but were badly affected by the loss of centre Dan Shaw on five fouls. “Lions” proceeded to outscore “Moulton” 11-2 in those final two minutes to take the game by 75 points to 65.
A Milton Keynes win had looked unlikely after the first period which “Moulton” took 21-14. This seven point lead was extended to 14 points at 30-16 but then “Moulton” seemed to lose their way against the “Lions” pressure zone defence. “Moulton” had built their lead by attacking Milton Keynes but having established their lead they seemed to lose confidence and were guilty of giving the ball away on a number of occasions. The county boys also had a great deal of problems dealing with “Lions” point guard Washington who was able to penetrate the Northants defence at will.
By half time Milton Keynes had reduced the “Moulton” lead to 39-34and they finally took the lead midway through the third period. “Moulton” coach John Collins introduced Love Adesina to mark Washington and this was successful to a certain degree but they were still struggling to execute their offence and by the end of the quarter were trailing 54-49.
“Moulton” made a strong start to the final period with Milton Keynes forced to commit fouls to prevent scores, but unfortunately “Moulton” could only score once from the resulting six free throws. With “Lions” ahead by nine points “Moulton” went on an 11-4 charge to close the score to 64-63 but the loss of Shaw proved too difficult a hurdle to clear and Milton Keynes held on for the win.
In the 10 points set back Leon Henry and Jonny Yates led the “Moulton” scoring with 16 points apiece while Dan Shaw had 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points but the home side could reflect on no less than 18 missed free throws
“Sure Shot” National Cup 1st Round
Northants “Moulton”90 – 68Milton Keynes “Lions”
Less than 24 hours after the league encounter the two teams were back on court for a National Cup 1st Round tie. There was a real possibility that “Moulton” would be shell–shocked from the previous evening’s defeat but in the event they came out in determined mood. Coach John Collins put his team in a combination defence and initially this seemed to disrupt the “Lions’” offensive threat. The main difference however, was the home sides’ confidence in advancing the ball through the Milton Keynes’ press defence.
“Moulton” jumped out to a 15-6 lead before the “Lions” found any kind of rhythm but by the end of the period that lead had been extended to 12 points at 27-15. The first six minutes of the second period were absolutely decisive. The county boys played some of their best basketball of the season and a 17-6 charge took them out to a 44-21 lead and that 23 point lead was maintained through to half time when the score stood at 50-27.
Milton Keynes opened the second half with a passive zone defence and “Moulton” were guilty of over-dribbling the ball and poor shot selection. Encouraged by a number of “Moulton” errors “Lions” went on a 17-8 run and at 44-58 a shock comeback looked as if it might be on the cards. “Moulton” were able to steady the ship and by the end of the period were leading by 67 points to 49.
Any concerns about the final outcome were put to rest at the start of the final quarter with “Moulton” outscoring their opponents 16-7 and then closing out the game for a 90-68 win and a 2nd Round tie against either Cambridge “Cats” or Lincolnshire “Lynx”
In the 22 points victory Jonny Yates enjoyed a fine game scoring 25 points and dishing out six assists and stealing the ball on seven occasions. Yates got excellent support from the whole of the “Moulton” team with Dan Shaw and Jake Wyatt both scoring 16 points and hauling down a massive 25 rebounds between while Leon Henry chipped in with 12 points. Collins was full of praise for the contributions of three other players, Luke Griffiths (9 points), Richard Higgins (8 points and six rebounds) and Merson Paul (5 points and some excellent defence).
Junior Men go one and one with City of Birmingham
Like the “Moulton” Junior Men the Northants “Thunder” Regional League team faced the same opponents on two occasions last weekend.
Humphries stars again in win over COB II
Junior Men’s Midland Conference
Northants “Thunder”73 – 66City of Birmingham II
The Northants “Thunder” Junior Men recorded their second Conference win of the season coming back from a nine points deficit to beat the City of Birmingham second string 73-66. “Thunder” trailed 33-24 at half time and had been guilty of leaving their backcourt exposed to Birmingham fast breaks.
The Northants coaching staff sorted out the problem in the third period which the county boys won 28-25 to close to 58-52 and a growing feeling that they could take the game. Birmingham was running with a small squad and fatigue was a definite factor in the final quarter. “Thunder” continued to play up-tempo basketball with aggressive defence and took the lead midway through the period.
The Northants defence was now restricting Birmingham to rushed long range shots and in the final quarter the West Midlanders only managed 8 points to “Thunders” 21 as they cruised to a 7 point win.
Once again Philip Humphries was the star of the show for “Thunder” pouring in 30 points and pulling down a number of rebounds. Matt Usher and Chris Ketchell gave good support with 10 points apiece.
