Egglescliffe
Explosion extended a warm
welcome to the Middlesbrough
Lions B team who were missing a
few players due to absence from
training. There were also call
ups for Brittany Krimsky and
Claire Smith from the ladies
team and a debut for player
coach Hijab Zaheer.
Egglescliffe were buoyant after
beating SCM Supersonics 50-33
the week before and were looking
to extend a winning run which
would catapult them into third
place.
The game however didn't follow
the wishes of the home side as
Lions burst on to the scene with
a 12-0 run, Matthew Brown
opening the scores with a lay up
and then a 3 pointer. Miles
followed up with an And 1 play,
although he would miss the free
throw and then went to the line
again to convert 1 of 2, not a
great percentage but the Lions
play was looking good and having
the desired effect.
Midway through the quarter,
Egglescliffe chief; Gary
Ferguson grasped the game by the
horns for Explosion as he hit
the following 8pts and although
Brown increased the Lions score
to 14, Egglescliffe would finish
the first quarter in better
fashion with Damian Warriner
finishing off two shots to bring
Explosion within 2pts 12-14.
The
second quarter was not a pretty
one as both sides missed shots
and free throws were proving
especially frustrating for the
visitors as Lions' Peddie and
Zaheer failed to convert both
attempts when they visited the
line. Brown faired one better
but the stats showed a 1 of 8
return from the foul line, a
trend which would haunt Lions
throughout the game as they
finished 9 of 27 overall.
Explosion tied the game in the
first minute when Ferguson drove
into the key and hit the target
with a well taken jumper. Lions
responded with a quick drive
from Michael Peddie, although
the guard nicknamed the
sparkplug was not his usual
electric self this game. In the
ninth minute young Daniel Ryan
made a nice shot but a couple of
3 pointers from Zaheer and Brown
extended the Lions half time
lead to 7pts, 18-25.
Brown increased his tally with
another 3 pointer in the third
quarter after a sluggish start
for both sides. Matthew Darley
found the net in the fourth
minute and Marshall Patterson,
who was proving a leader on
defence powered to the basket to
take the scores to 20-30. With a
minute remaining, Egglescliffe
again finished well as Warriner
hit 6pts of an 8-3 run, Matthew
Brown hit a 3 pointer in reply
for Lions.
The fourth quarter proved too
much for Egglescliffe as they
managed to score only two
baskets, Warriner and Imran
Yasin on target. Lions picked up
the majority of points from free
throws as Egglescliffe lost some
of the composure which had
served them well in the third
quarter. Brittany Krimsky and
Claire Smith both made 1 of 2
free throws which resulted in
all players marking the score
sheet for Lions. As it
ended, Lions finished worthy
winners and remain top of
Division Two, unbeaten after
this latest 13pt victory.
