Middlesbrough
Lions welcomed Gateshead Hawks
to Eston Sports Academy on the
back of a great over time win at
North Shields Storm the previous
week. The Lions are beginning to
find their feet in the National
League and if the youngsters
could bring a performance
similar to North Shields then
another exciting game was in
store.
Patrick O’Connor, James
Williamson and Dan Wright
rejoined the line up after
missing the Storm game but had
to settle for a place on the
bench as the five players in Dan
Brown, David Budd, Alan Slasor,
Daniel Chirnside and Shane
Beadle who had played so well
recently kept their starting
place.
Gateshead have struggled this
season and are in a similar
position to Lions in respect of
their young and nationally
inexperienced players were
struggling against the big and
physical players in teams such
as York, Newcastle and
Sheffield, so this game
represented an opportunity for
them to aim for their first win
of the season.
Lions began with a bang as David
Budd collected the ball at the
top of the 3 point line to fire
away the first shot of the game
for a 3-0 lead. Peter McIntyre
stepped up for Gateshead with
two big moves inside the paint
and this exchange of lead would
continue for the following four
minutes as Chirnside for Lions
and Adam Blake for Hawks added
further buckets. In the fifth
minute, the introduction of
O’Connor led to two lovely shots
from the talented guard which
extended the home lead to 4pts,
13-9. Hawks had opportunities to
re-take control, but failed to
take advantage of some poor
fouls from Lions as the visitors
missed 4 of 5 free throws, Blake
converting only 1 of 3. Philip
Findlay finished well for
Middlesbrough with a floating
shot off the baseline drive and
after being fouled on the next
play, converted both attempts to
take Lions to 18. The impressive
Blake though hit a late shot to
tie the game at the end of the
first quarter.
In
the second period Hawks captain
placed a firm grip on the game
as the court leader controlled
the offence, directing the ball
around the floor before driving
to the hoop for an And 1 play.
Lions fouls were becoming a real
concern for Coach Thomson with
O’Connor and Chirnside in early
trouble. In the second minute,
Gateshead’s 3pt lead was due to
disappear as Lions finally found
some form instigated by Budd and
O’Connor who combined for 10pts
in a three minute period. At the
mid way point, Dan Wright
entered the game and proved his
worth with a strong offensive
rebound and the presence of mind
to pass the ball to the open
Budd when the defence collapsed
on to him. Wright has been
earning more and more minutes as
the small forward continues to
improve. Brown then got in on
the scoring for Lions to provide
a real problem for Coach Tellyn,
as he watched his brave troops
begin to slide with only Blake
and Tellyn providing a scoring
threat as Lions entered half
time with an 8pt advantage,
31-39.
Gateshead opened the third
quarter with a nice shot inside
the key from Ryan Heslop, but
this was matched by the ever
impressive Chirnside with a shot
just outside the key. Chirnside,
despite his foul trouble was
proving a key player at both
ends of the court and his
growing confidence and court
awareness is a crucial part of
the Middlesbrough outfit’s
recent good performances. The
remaining five minutes of the
third quarter were a period of
time the visitors would be happy
to forget as Lions produced a
devastating 20-5 run, their
useful press again providing the
goods with Chirnside in
particularly good scoring form
as the big man notched 8pts.
There was concern for the home
team when point guard; Dan Brown
twisted his ankle, an injury
which would require the guard to
attend hospital after the game.
Chris Chapman replaced Brown and
stepped up with a superb drive,
providing Middlesbrough with
scoring options from many
players. Gateshead’s only scorer
in this period was Blake and at
the end of the third, this stat
would see Middlesbrough take a
21pt lead into the final
quarter.
Jack
Tellyn found the net with a nice
drive for Gateshead, but
O’Connor made a sweet jump shot
off the dribble in response for
Lions. Chapman continued to play
good defence as the guard picked
up some good minutes and a steal
in the third minute allowed him
to run the court for another
basket. Coach Tellyn called a
time out in the fourth minute to
steady the ship and even though
the visitors were 23pts down,
67-44 the calm nature of the
Hawks chief would have a
positive effect on his players
as they re-entered the game with
a 9-0 run instigated by Tom Drew
while Blake delivered the other
7pts. The character shown by
Gateshead was excellent and they
continued to push their cause.
Lions though had just enough to
maintain a comfortable lead,
after they regained their
composure following the 9-0 run
by Hawks and in the sixth
minute, Alan Slasor produced an
And 1 play along with the bonus
free throw to take the lead to
21pts, 78-57. The momentum
stayed with Lions as the game
drew to a close, James
Williamson and Umer Khan both
playing their part in the final
stages. Some good free throw
shooting from Tellyn in the last
seconds reduced the Lions lead
to 19pts, which is how the score
would finish.
A well deserved win by
Middlesbrough places the
Teesside outfit into fourth
place in the National League,
1pt ahead of Durham Wildcats.
The
MVP was a hard decision due to
the number of players performing
so well. Patrick O’Connor and
Daniel Chirnside led the team
with O’Connor hitting 24pts and
dishing 9 assists while
Chirnside clocked 16pts with 20
rebounds. Shane Beadle had a
quiet game with only 5 rebounds,
but the big man continued his
impressive steals with 4.
Chapman also impressed while
Budd produced 3 blocks, 4
assists and 3 steals to add to
his 22pts. It was encouraging to
see the Lions scoring so well,
with four players hitting double
figures, including Dan Brown who
sat out the final 13mins of the
game.
In the end the award went to
Patrick O’Connor who not only
finished Lions top scorer but
provided a further 18pts for his
team mates with his 9 assists.
For Gateshead, Jack Tellyn was a
constant threat while the
impressive Adam Blake was a
constant thorn in the side of
Middlesbrough and would finish
games top scorer on 34pts with
20 rebounds, 4 steals & 2
blocks, a close contender for
MVP despite being on losing
team.
