Middlesbrough Lions suffered a
bad defeat to 6 man Richmond
Vikings and although the home
side led at the end of the first
quarter, the Vikings lead grew
from 4pts in the second quarter
to 10 & 6pts in the third and
fourth quarter respectively.
Lions had a full team on offer
but the team aspect was missing
as they relied on too much
individual play while Richmond
were happy to collect the missed
shots and run the ball down the
court. The Vikings always raise
their game for the Lions
encounter and their passing and
teamwork was finely tuned on
this occasion to ensure the
visitors win was a fairly
comfortable one.
The game stuttered to a start as
Jaycie Hall went to the line for
Vikings to convert 1 of 2 free
throws. For Lions, James Burton
was quick to respond as he
buried a long range shot but it
was Vikings who were looking the
more composed outfit as rebounds
led to fast break opportunities
for Chris Lyle. In the sixth
minute Lions took a 10-5 lead
through a Burton drive and Rob
Bryson shot from inside the key.
Hall took advantage of some
sloppy defence to reduce the
lead by 2pts followed by Chris
Lyle being fouled on a shot and
converting both attempts. The
introduction of Neil Harrison
brought some intensity to the
Lions defence but still the
Lions looked disorganised at
times on both ends of the court.
With the score now at 10-9 Lions
then lost the lead as Lee Norton
drove to the hoop and was fouled
for an And 1 play although he
missed his bonus shot. Burton
(2) and Bryson (1) then knocked
down three 3 pointers to regain
the advantage and although
Michael Wassell missed two free
throws in the dying second of
the quarter, Lions were up
19-15.
A great start by Vikings
produced a 7-3 run to tie the
game as the explosive Lyle
continued to attack the Lions,
hitting all 7pts in the five
minute process. Only Daniel
Cooper responded for Lions in
the second minute with a 3
pointer. An under weather Ben
Robinson found the energy to
plough through the visitors and
was duly fouled leading to 1 of
2 free throws but more
importantly a 1pt lead, 23-22.
Mark Russell finished some great
passing from Vikings and in the
sixth minute Cooper and Ryan
Dixon traded 3 pointers. Ben
Robinson was again involved in
the seventh minute, the Vikings
finding the strength of Robinson
difficult to handle but the
Lions forward struggled with his
finishing. Robinson would later
return to the game after being
sick, showing tremendous
character, but still 50% of what
he is capable of.
Vikings meanwhile were having no
such problems as they stretched
out a 29-33 lead in the eighth
minute as Norton and Lyle
continued to wreak havoc. At the
end of the quarter Richmond were
enjoying a deserved 33-37 lead.
The half time team talk address
the problems of the first half
with coach; Sid Nicholls quick
to target poor help defence,
poor shot selection and poor
transition as problem areas. At
the start of the third quarter
Vikings though it was the
Vikings who continued to impress
as Dixon opened affairs with a 3
pointer followed by two fast
breaks from Norton and Lyle.
Burton responded with a 3
pointer but again the Lions were
relying on individual shot
creation rather than the
impressive style of team
basketball adopted by the
visitors. Richmond captain Craig
Nicholson further deepened the
woes of Lions as he looked to
have mistimed a shot which went
sailing into the hoop while the
Lions camp couldn't buy a
basket.
As the quarter rolled on, Lions
were losing what little grasp of
the game they had and Vikings,
already high in confidence never
looked like giving up the lead.
The threat of Lee Norton was
effectively controlled as Cooper
was assigned to deny the Viking
guard the ball and did so to
good effect, minimising him to
8pts in the final thirteen
minutes of play. Robinson, back
into the game for Lions hit 4
late points followed by Russell
of Vikings with a lay up from a
nice cut to bring the third
quarter score to 51-59.
With so much work to do, the
importance of a high tempo start
to close the gap was reiterated
during the break with Coach
Nicholls requesting a show of
pride in the last ten minutes of
the game. Unfortunately Vikings
yet again produced a body blow
of a run with Norton and
Nicholson driving with near ease
to the basket and Lyle
converting 4 consecutive free
throws to leave Coach Nicholls
desperately searching for a
solution that had been missing
so far in the game. Richmond
were now 14pts ahead with only
four minutes remaining.
Lions Robinson who had done well
to reach this stage of the game
went to the line but failed to
convert both free throws,
although he did make amends
straight after as he pulled down
a rebound and powered the ball
into the basket. The basket was
the culmination of a six minute
period of missed shots, a period
which further frustrated the
home side. Michael Wassell
managed to follow up with a
succession of rebounds and the
put back in a display of passion
that revitalised the Lions.
Wassell the went to the line
after being fouled and converted
both attempts, but his presence
on court would come to an end
with 1:30 left on the clock as
he collected his fifth foul.
Cooper provided a last gasp of
hope for Lions when he hit a 3
pointer in the ninth minute but
the Vikings held on for a good
64-73 victory.
Michael Wassell provided the
heartbeat for Lions in a
turbulent display by the home
team. The MVP though was a
choice of two Vikings with
Norton at his best, gracefully
penetrating and even under
considerable pressure still
managing to pocket 24pts but the
game high 32pt haul of Chris
Lyle earned the honour. Ryan
Dixon was also worthy of a
special mention as he notched up
an incredible tally of 10
steals, 9 assists & 1 block, a
super performance, let down only
by 7 turn overs.
After the game Lions discussed
the game in depth and vowed to
work on the identified areas in
training.
