In a game with both sides
sporting depleted numbers for
various reasons, Lions pulled
through in rampant fashion to
pass the 100 points mark. Redcar
will take consolation in hitting
the Lions for 69, especially
with having only 5 players.
The game began well for Lions as
Rob Bryson won the tip to send
Daniel Cooper free for the fast
break. This was followed up by
Bryson himself weaving to the
basket and Ben Robinson taking
the home team to 6-0 with a
powerful drive. Steve Turner
halted the Lions proceedings
with a jump shot from just
outside the key, while Craig
O'Malley then found the net to
bring Mariners back into the
game. Bryson and Cooper again
combined well in the third
minute to boost the lead and
shortly after, James Burton hit
a 3 pointer to take the score to
13-4.
With the game running away and
Coach Powlay unable to ring the
changes, Mariners had to sail
on. David Alderson hit a nice
jumper inside the key and
O'Malley hit a confidence
boosting 3 pointer in the fifth
minute to reduce the lead to 6
points only for Lions to finish
the quarter with a 20-8 run
including two 3 pointers from
Burton and a nice jump shot from
player/coach Sid Nicholls
earning the home team a 35-17
lead.
A much needed breather for
Redcar provided them with a
sense of determination at the
start of the second quarter as
O'Malley hit a 3 pointer and
Steven Jones converted 1 of 2
free throws after being fouled
on the shot. The sense of
resurrection though was short
lived as Burton drained another
3 pointer on his way to an 18
point haul for this quarter
alone. In the fourth minute
Lions went on a crushing 15-2
run with Burton providing most
of the damage and Robinson and
Bryson chipping in with a bucket
apiece. It was more a method of
damage limitation for the
Mariners as by the end of the
half, Lions were leading 61-29.
Free throws were proving a vital
problem for Redcar, in the first
half they had missed half of
their attempts, 5 of 10 and if
this trend continued, any hopes
of bringing the game back would
vanish. The tactical brain of
Sid Nicholls was in full effect
as he produced a number of
defensive strategies which
proved very effective.
At the start of the third, Lions
again fouled on the shot,
although to the dismay of
Mariners, Chris Powlay failed to
convert both attempts. A bigger
concern for Lions however, was
their increasing fouls with Ben
Robinson already in foul trouble
after collecting his third
personal. Steven Jones made
amends for Redcar with a great
solo move inside the key, taking
advantage of his long arms to
cushion the ball of the
backboard. Lions were quick to
respond with Cooper hitting a 3
pointer then a fast break.
Shortly after, Rob Bryson
collected his own rebound after
missing a shot and succeeded on
the second attempt to maintain a
34 point lead mid way through
the quarter.
For Redcar Powlay was
controlling the offence well,
but the scoring threat was from
only O'Malley as he ploughed a
lone furrow. It would seem the
Mariners attempts at conserving
energies were holding back their
offence on occasion, although
this would be the lesser of the
two evils. In the seventh minute
Robinson found his rhythm as he
drove through the Mariners
defence on three consecutive
plays to take the scores to
76-41. Mariners though still
kept coming and tired as they
were, they passed the ball well
and managed to find the net,
Powlay in particular finishing
the quarter well with an And 1
play. This great solo move by
Powlay was quickly replied to by
Lions as Burton and Bryson
combined in the dying seconds to
add 7 points, 83-46.
Mariners enjoyed their best
period in the final quarter,
actually outscoring the Lions
20-23. Chris Leighton, on his
debut for Lions enjoyed a good
game as he played excellent
defence and ran the court well
but his finishing was slightly
off until this quarter when he
began to find the target. His 7
rebounds & 3 assists also
boosted his rating. By the third
minute it was Mariners turn to
produce a run with a 7-4 spell
to rattle the home team for the
first time. Powlay hit a big 3
pointer which instilled some
belief back into the away side.
Lions countered with Burton and
Cooper combining well but this
time it was Mariners who were
quick to respond. In the tenth
minute the powerful Robinson
collected his fifth personal
foul and had to then leave the
game. Frustrations boiled over
as Robinson disagreed with the
call, resulting in a technical
foul to award the visitors with
2 additional free throws and
possession and this led to a
strong finish for Redcar as they
converted 3 of 4 free throws and
added a last second 3 pointer
from Powlay to reduce the Lions
win to 34 points.
In what was a free scoring game,
Lions can take many positives
from the performance, but
also some criticism as their
defence was at times superb but
also at times poor, especially
considering the number of fouls
committed at 21 compared to
Mariners 5. Lions transition at
times could have also been
better and this has been the
area identified to work on at
training.
A number of players could have
been MVP including a spirited
performance from Redcar's Craig
O'Malley who collected 29pts & 8
steals. Lions Rob Bryson also
impressed with the stats as he
had 14pts, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks
3 assists & 4 steals. Ben
Robinson was also in good form
and even though he sat out a lot
of the game due to foul trouble
he still managed 18pts, 14
rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals.
In the end the 38pts, 6 steals,
2 assists, 3 rebounds & 1 block
were enough to earn James Burton
the MVP.
