Press Release 8

“Moulton” break their league duck

Junior Men’s Midland Premier Division

Leicester “Cannons”54 – 72Northants “Moulton”

A week after their Cup win over Milton Keynes the Northants “Moulton” Junior Men picked up their first Midland Premier Division win of the season with a 72-58 success over Leicester “Cannons”. The win however, came at a cost after Dan Shaw picked up an injury in the third quarter of the game. Shaw top scored for “Moulton” with 23 points and hauled down 13 rebounds despite spending a lot of time on the bench because of foul trouble and his injury. Jonny Yates continued in his rich vein of form with 21 points 5 assists and 4 steals but Coach John Collins was pleased with the contributions of the whole team particularly James Caan who pulled down an impressive 7 rebounds.

The two teams were tied up at 17 all after the first period of play but a 12-6 run at the end of the second quarter gave “Mouton” a 37-28 half time advantage. The two teams exchanged baskets at the start of the third period but “Moulton” were beginning to get into their running game when Shaw picked up a nasty looking injury after being taken out on a dunk. “Moulton” regrouped and they finished the period in fine style outscoring “Cannons” 14-1 to take a 61-39 lead.

“Cannons” started the final period in determined mood and “Moulton” were outscored 12-4 in the first five minutes of the period but any chance of a shock comeback was repelled thanks to the steadying play of Yates.

Humphreys unable to prevent defeat to “Mets”

Junior Men’s Midland Conference

Birmingham “Mets”83 – 56Northants “Thunder”

Thirty points from the mercurial Philip Humphrey and excellent support play from Nick Kitchen wasn’t enough to prevent the Northants “Thunder” going down to a Birmingham “Mets” team containing a number of players with Premier League experience.

“Thunder” will be disappointed by the margin of their defeat because over the middle two periods of the game they outscored their opponents 42-31. On the other hand Birmingham took the first and fourth quarters 52-14 to comfortably win overall.

The county boys were initially intimidated by the physicality of the “Mets” and capitulated to the Birmingham team’s aggressive press turning the ball over on a number of occasions. With less pressure “Thunder” was able to compete but with the score at 51-48 at the end of the third they went back to their bad old ways in the final period.

In addition to Humphrey’s 30 points Nick Kitchen scored 18 but no other player could get into double figures.

Super ‘road win’ for Cadets

Cadet Men’s North Premier Division

York “Vikings”56 – 88Northants “Thunder”

The Northants “Thunder” cadet men made the long trip to York and returned with a very creditable win. After a delayed start the two teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter which saw “Thunder” miss a number of easy scoring opportunities and at the end of the period they trailed 15-13.

The second period saw Joseph Da Graca come into his own with a number of aggressive offensive rebounds and put backs. The “Thunder” guards Ravi Parmar, Daniel Obasa and James Rutter were also able to force errors from their “Viking” counterparts. “Thunder” took the quarter 24-17 to lead 37-32 at half time.

York came out with a press defence at the start of the third period but this merely gave the county boys easy scoring opportunities. By then end of the quarter “Thunder had extended their lead to 61-44 and victory was there for the taking as long as they remained calm. York made a determined effort to rally in the fourth quarter but the depth of the “Thunder” bench proved to be decisive and they closed out for an 88-56 win.

Coach Rob Eddon was delighted that ten of his players got themselves onto the score sheet but commented that team defence had been the decisive factor to winning the game. Merson Paul top scored for “Thunder” with 28 points including four three-pointers. Joseph Da Graca and Callum Woodhouse contributed 13 and 10 points respectively while Da Graca also hauled down 12 rebounds to complete a double, double.

“Wildcats” too strong for “Lightning”, again

Under 14 Girls Midlands Conference

Northants “Lightning”44 – 49Nottingham “Wildcats”

Hatfield “Fliers” 34 – 42Northants “Lightning”

For the second time this season the Northants “Lightning” under 14 girls lost to Nottingham “Wildcats”. In the first game Wildcats” had come from behind to win, on Sunday it was “Lightning” who closed from a 13 points deficit to within five before they ran out of time. In that game Georgia Elliott-King scored an impressive 28 points.

Immediately after that disappointing defeat “Lightning” had to pick themselves up and play the home side Hatfield” Fliers”. Going into the fourth quarter “Lightning” held a slender 28-26 advantage but some full court pressure defence saw them take the period 16-6 and win 42-34.

Elliott-King again top scored with 19 points but Coach Karen Goodrich acknowledged the importance of the rebounding of Lois Bain and Karla Pinney while Isobel Johns controlled the game well from the back court.

“Lightning Too” pick up their first win of the season

Under 14 Girls Midlands (South) Conference

Northants “Lightning Too”32 - 53Aylesbury “Dux”

Northants “Lightning Too”40 - 36Exeter “Eagles”

The Northants “Lightning Too” under 14 girls picked themselves up after a 21 points loss against Aylesbury to beat Exeter “Eagles” showing a great deal of character in the process.

Against “Dux” the Northants girls looked to be set for a very heavy defeat as Aylesbury took a 51-20 lead after just three quarters of the game. The county girls had found difficulty in coping with their opponents screening tactics but to their credit they kept battling and took the final period 12-2.

This confidence seemed carry over to the second game against Exeter “Eagles” but they still trailed 21-17 at half time. Playing back to back games was having an effect on the “Eagles” and “Lightning Too” gained the upper hand in the third period which they took 10-5 to lead for the first time in the game. This lead was held throughout the last period with Sophie Mullett looking impressive at the end of the fast break while Leah Kiere was playing well at both ends of the court and Kate Streames rebounding well.

“Eagles” closed to 38-36 as Northants seemed to doubt their ability to win the game but a vital score from Kiere proved to be decisive and “Lightning Too” held out for their first win of the season. Coach Mary McCracken was delighted with her team’s performance which saw nine of her players score led by Kier and Mullett with 10 and 8 points respectively while Hannah Nolan made a vital 6 points contribution.